Thailand re-cap

Thailand was a nice ending to the first leg of my trip.

We spent almost a week in Ko Lanta, an island in the southwest near Phuket and Phi Phi. Because we went during low/rainy season, a lot of the activities on the island were not in business, so we spent a lot of time relaxing on the beach or by the pool at the resort. Unfortunately, we weren't able to visit Phi Phi, but near the end of our time there we were able to do a boat trip to four nearby islands. This was probably the highlight of Thailand - we swam through extremely choppy water through a pitch-black cave to a pretty cove, went snorkeling on two of the islands, and ended on a really pretty beach.

I was not expecting much from Bangkok, because most of what I had heard was very negative (dirty, smelly, loud, etc.). In fact, I thought Bangkok was an average big city in Asia. We only had one day to explore, so we went to Wat Pho to see the enormous reclining Buddha, then went to the river to see Wat Arun (though we decided we weren't up for the ferry ride across to the temple). After that was a quick trip to the Royal Palace, then a walk around Khao San Road (the main tourist area).

Now I've said goodbye to Jackie and am on my own again (at least for a day or two). My tour in Beijing was cancelled and it's raining today, so I'll probably spend most of the day preparing for my trip - picking up all of my documents and vouchers, doing a little shopping, arranging my luggage and logistics. And by total luck, one of my friends from Spanish camp happens to be in the city as well, so hopefully I'll get to meet up with her later today.