Island of elephants

'Ladies and gentleman, because of poor visibility conditions at the Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bankgok, we will have to direct our flight to Phuket', what an irony, the number one on the list of places not to visit in Asia and there we were...

Even tough we had to wait for almost 4 hours, the commodity of Etihad's plane (Boeing 777) , the excellent service from the crew and the upgrade we got from Connections, made our visit to Thailand’s largest island, a 'shorth' and pleasant, even the wait we can really say Ethiad rocks(also because of turbulence for half the journey)!!!!

Before midday we arrived to the modern and well organized airport in Bangkok, of course being a Colombian implied an extra procedure to be able to enter the golden land. A free shuttle took us to the bus terminal were we were just on time to catch our bus to Trat, the transferring spot before reaching our first destination, the island of Ko Chang.

The bus ride, of about 5 hours, was smooth and colorful, not only for the wats (temples) on the side of the road, spirit houses (located outside houses and businesses), palm and banana trees, but also the abundant thai and yellow buddist flags.

At our arrival in Trat the perfect timing was also on our side, and before sunset we were able to catch a taxi and a ferry to Ko Chang, the island of elephants. After a half an hour we were there, on our first destination in Beautiful Thailand.

A pickup car that serves as a Taxi took us to White Sand Beach, were we were supossed to find the hotel for our stay. The one we had in mind was packed, and the only room left too expensive, so we took another option, but on the second nigth we moved to apple's bungalows, a clean and comfortable place located some meters away from the beach.

The first two days were very relaxed ones, and with not so hot weather (26C). As we were still tired from the long journey and the hours difference (-6 GMT), we just hung around, at the beach and enjoying from being finally here, so far from home, and so close to paradise (ahum actually we are already in paradise).

Even tough Ko Chang has more restaurants serving western food than local one, we have been able to explore some Thai specialties like noodles, pad thai, fried rice, spicy papaya salad, red snapper on garlic sauce, tempura onion rings, banana pancakes (for breakfast) and heavenly banana roti. Fruits are all around and taste the way fruits should taste like, thats why instead of a coca cola or even wine we stick to fruit juices or a cold Chang beer.

The landscape is colorful, with mountains covered in tick green jungle, blue and turquoise waters, white sand beaches, and orange sunsets. Even though it looks a bit like Colombia, it has the charm of being the land of smiling friendly people. On the four days we have been here we have been able to visit the Klong Plu waterfall, and to go island hopping around Ko Chang.

The island hoping was part of a boat tour, that also had the purpose of letting us practice some snorkeling and see the amazing underwater world. Fishes of all colors, sizes and shapes swam next to us, and gave us an amazing experience. Jonny wanted to wrestle with sharks but they were just too afraid of his huge thorax so didn't dare come near.

There have been some remarkable moments on our first days: drinking a beer at the beach, while laying on comfortable cushions, hearing the waves and seeing the orange colored sun disappear on the horizon; promising each other everlasting love (well, you know) at the lighthouse in Bang Bao Bay; holding hands while snorkeling; feeding elephants (Jonny didn't feel like wrestling them)and many others that we will keep to our selves.

On the funny side we can say that every time that Angela orders food, it comes a lot later or has been forgotten by the waiters; meanwhile Jonny has lost the count on how many times he has bumped his head against doors, mangrove trees and more, as he might say midgets all around :), also the frustration from Angela's while trying to 'flush' a Thai toilet in the local way.

Not knowing the language can be a barrier to have contact with locals, but so far we are trying to learn some thai and for now we can say hello, thanks and delicious. We'll try to improve this with time.

Now we have spent a couple of days in hotter Bangkok (32C) and we really enjoy this amazing town. Keep you posted...

Now or never...

A collective dismissal can be a catastrophe, but for Jonny and Me it is the opportunity to do what we enjoy the most: TRAVELLING.

Without a doubt we can really say that 2008 was an amazing year for us, a year to be grateful and to remember. Many plans were made, many dreams were in sight but a change of direction made things change but only for the better.

Jonny´s contract at the University of Leuven ended the 24th of december, and mine at WWL the 31st. We "bougth" two houses -and for a reason that we now understand and even celebrate- they were not for us. The plans for becoming parents also changed, so in our case: no job, no debt and no kids only leads to adventure.

Some migth think that we are a bit crazy (may be we are), but our approach to life and the way we decided to prioritize on what´s important for us helped us to take the decision of travelling to an exotic destination before becoming completly adults :) Our first tougths were in Africa and Oceania, but then Asia caugth our full attention.

After many conversations with close friends, and experienced world travellers, we decided to do a trip of four months and discover a new continent, another culture, different spices and another way of living life.

This is how we are finalizing all the arrangements for our great adventure, that will start the 21st of January at the International Airport of Brussels on board of a Ethiad Airways plane.

As the Lonely Planet recommends, we will be travelling with a ligth load phisically and mentally; our backpacks will only have the basics and will leave lots of space for keeping all the experiences and learnings we´ll have during this 4 months.

Our itinerary is not completly pre defined, but we plan to visit Thailand, Myanmar (Burma), Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. The South East Asia on a Shoestring (lonely planet guide) will be one of our sources of information, the rest of the info will come from locals and fellow backpackers.

The first stop will be the airport of Abu Dhabi, were we will be in transit before arriving in Bangkok. Our first approach to the Asian Culture will happen in Ko Chang, the second biggest Island of Thailand, home of the National Marine Park, a natural resource containing 75% of untouched rainforest.

After Ko Chang we plan to head up north, and go with the flow and the information we can get fom our multiple sources: people, internet and some books.

Voila, that´s a little introduction, enjoy our stories as much as we will enjoy our trip!