Maya Bay, Thailand 13 March - 14 March 2014

Maya Bay Sleep Aboard was amazing!!! As a Leonardo DiCaprio fan I was thoroughly excited to go to where “The Beach” was filmed. We boarded, went around a few islands and went snorkeling, kayaking, jumped off the top of the boat. It was SO MUCH fun!!  The fish and the snorkeling were especially amazing due to the very clear blue-green waters with so many colorful fish.

We eventually made our way to Maya Bay where it actually was PACKED. Obviously, it’s a very popular tourist attraction as it is so pretty and iconic from the movie. However, as it is a national park everyone had to go around 6 pm…. Not us! We had the entire place to ourselves. It was pretty phenomenal.

We had dinner (yummy Penang curry, veg & rice) on the beach. Then we all got our buckets of booze!!! Drinking in Thailand is not by the glass, but literally by the bucket!! This is where the fun began as everyone started to lighten up and start to talk a bit more. Booze and Janga were what ended up happening!! We met a Canadian couple, 2 girls from Essex UK, and 2 Spaniards. This ended up forming our little “crew” for the night. We had sooo much fun !!

oh yeah, and we had crab races !

We also fit in a night swim in so we could attempt to see the plankton glow in the dark. It was nearly full moon so we couldn’t see much, but during dark/no moon you can see them light up quite brightly (like the scene with Leo and the French girl, if you've seen the movie J)

Everyone claimed a spot on top of the boat to “sleep”. Due to the rocking of the boat, the bright moon, the excitement of the brightness of the stars, and all the above, no one really slept. We were woken up right at 6 am for coffee then go to the bay before the tourists arrived again.

We got the iconic jumping photo from the movie which was pretty awesome!! It was just so neat spending the night on a boat in the middle of the ocean, being on a small National Park at night with no one else around. So cool just appreciating the sound of the sea. Of course, knowing that you swam and walked on the same beach as the stunning Leo DiCaprio was also pretty fun.

Before heading ack to Phi Phi to catch the ferry, I had to jump off the roof of the boat one last time. For memory and for fun. Just swimming in the sea in the morning, so refreshing! It was a great way to end our time in the stunningly beautiful, Maya Bay. 

Crazy Koh Phi Phi, March 12-13

We hopped on a ferry from Phuket and 1.5 hours later we arrived in the crazy, but beautiful, Koh Phi Phi. Koh Phi Phi really is crazy and beautiful. It has gorgeous crystal blue green water and mountainous cliff backdrops which you only see in the movies. It is hard to believe that you actually are somewhere that beautiful.

enjoying some Chang on the ferry to Phi Phi

Crazy, well because it is the famous Koh Phi Phi; party central for backpackers, holiday makers, students on a gap year, and all the above. Anything goes in Phi Phi. Booze, Drugs, drunken tattoos, bars, and clubs. It is nuts. Las Vegas has nothing on Phi Phi for the shear amount of crazy you can see on an island probably only a mile long!

view from our guest house... not too shabby for $20/night

Our first and only full night in Phi Phi, we wanted to make the best of it. Plus, its sooo loud and the clubs don’t close until 3am or so…. If you can’t beat them, join them! There were a ton of fire shows along the beach, so we stayed and watched that for a bit. Young Thai boys and teenagers were dancing and playing with fire, throwing it around for the show. As being the super professionals that they were, sometimes missing and the sticks landing in the crowd. Definitely, hilarious, but as everyone is drunk, no one seems to mind. I was a little shocked that there also seemed to be Thai boys as young as 8 or 10 taking part in the shows!

fire show !

Then, the fire games begin! Large ropes are lit on fire and the tourists are encouraged to jump rope (single and double dutch), or play limbo, all for a free watered down shot of something you hope is alcohol. Well, that was super entertaining and hilarious! The next day all you see is A TON of people leaving the clinics with bandages on their heads, arms, and legs from getting burns, but not realizing it until the next day.  Classic.

fire show/ party on the beach !

After the fire show, we heard that at The Reggae Bar, people fought for a free bucket of booze. It seems anyone will do anything for free booze in Phi Phi. So, OF COURSE, our next mission was to find Reggae Bar. We walked in and only Thai Boxing was going on, but we figured we would still watch. So glad we stayed for a few drinks, because the rumors were true! Men and woman were signing up to do 3 rounds of Thai Boxing for a free bucket! (Buckets are THE thing to drink in Thailand. It’s a large bucket of ice, a bottle of booze, soda of your choice, and normally Red Bull as well… be warned Red Bull in Thailand is 6x more potent than anywhere else in the world!). Well, this was a GREAT experience. If the two fighting were friends, to be honest it was boring, but if they didn’t know each other, it was GREAT!!!!! Two men seriously attempt to beat the crap out of each other. Kicking and punching, for 3 rounds! You didn’t know who you would fight, so sometimes there was a huge buff dude versus a little one. Or, a huge buff chick versus a little girl. I saw some giant woman give a smaller girl a bloody nose. All for a free bucket!

thai boxing for booze... nothing like a swig of beer between rounds.

the famous bucket o booze

After a few hours of that, we headed back to the beach where the parties were everywhere, mushed into one. Dancing on the beach, fires still going, and just general debauchery. Koh Phi Phi is an island I think everyone must visit sometime in their life under the age of 30 (or for those 30 year olds at heart). Everyone is young, super nice, and wanting to just have a GREAT time. We were not even in Phi Phi for 36 hours and made friends. It was great.

Due to the lack of time in Phi Phi, even though I had a somewhat late-ish night (1 am is early for Phi Phi, but not for me!), I woke up early (8 am is very early in Phi Phi) to sit on the beach. It was completely transformed from the night before. No one was around, it was cool out, and the scenic view was just perfect. That is why I loved Phi Phi, it was out of control fun, but if you got up early enough you had the place to yourself. I absolutely loved it. For me, one crazy night and two days was enough, but I can imagine if I were 21 again, I would want to stay longer. Like I said, anyone under 30 MUST get to Phi Phi… Vegas has nothing on Phi Phi. 

Phuket-Thailand March 9 – 12, 2014

Phuket Island was the first stop on the beginning of our island hopping through Thailand! Most Thai Islands start with the word “koh” (Koh Phi Phi, Koh Lanta, etc.) However, Phuket is so large, it is just called Phuket. Phuket is extremely touristy as there are a ton of direct flights here from Europe so people can go on package holidays. There were A TON of Russians, like more Russians to Thai ratio; even signs were written in Russian.

the beach !

This was kind of annoying as the beach, yet beautiful, was packed with naked (yes naked) Russians. No matter what your age, woman were topless and men were in the tightest nastiest speedos I have ever seen. This was a definite confidence boost, however not a GREAT sight at all. Imagine a beautiful beach, but then you look to your left and right, half naked people (who really should be covering themselves up) lying there roasting in the sun. It was one of those sights which were so bad you couldn't look away!

cute dog sleeping under my lounger !

The best part of our stay in Phuket was where we stayed, The Boondaree Guest House Resort. It was only a 20 minute walk away from the beach, which was perfect as it was away from the tourist area. Our hosts were Winnie and Tee, a cute young married couple. They were so friendly, talkative, and so willing to help us out on any questions we may have. There was a cheap breakfast and unlimited tea and coffee. Plus, our back door lead to the small dipping pool. It was a great way to refresh after a long day at the beach or to wake up in the morning. The food was good and only 50 THB for breakfast (about $1.75 USD) for toast, butter, jam, orange juice, tea, and coffee. It is all you need in the mornings in Thailand as it is quite hot.

Now, Phuket is touristy, but worth a visit. At least as the gateway to start the island hopping. Phuket does have great beaches and you can easily buy a sun lounger with a much needed umbrella for only 100 THB. The people will watch your stuff while you swim, plus there is normally a bar a few steps away for food and snacks. It was a really relaxing time for us in Phuket, plus all the food we ate was great. As it was a bit touristy, there were more western food options (which we seemed desperate for!). We enjoyed ourselves most evenings at “The Coffee Club” as they had both great cheap Thai (and Western) food, but GREAT coffee. Real coffee, no instant Nescafé stuff (which is everywhere in SE Asia).

walking to the beach

Phuket was great, but it really makes you appreciate the other islands of Thailand more. It is the starting point for many when island hopping. It is worth a visit as it is beautiful and has a mix of western and Thai food. However, if you go you MUST stay at the Boondaree Guest House Resort. The couple who run the place really do everything they can to make you happy and are genuinely friendly. The place is super cheap, super clean, and has a pool with a great breakfast selection. What more do you need? Thanks Winnie and Tee for the great stay, you really made the difference in Phuket !!! 

The Amazing Ulu Temburong National Park, Brunei

The Ulu Temburong National Park is a part of the Borneo rain forest and is truly quite incredible. The experiences we've had here are probably one of the best travelling experiences I have had in my life. To get here you need to take a 45 minute boat ride in what the locals call a “floating coffin”, then you get picked up in a van and are driven about 20 minutes down the road to a different part of the river/stream. Here is where you ride in a traditional style boat that is maneuvered by a man who is part of the indigenous tribe of the area. This traditional style boat only seats 6 to 8 depending on the length. The driver literally takes you up stream over rapids (due to it being dry the rapids were only level 1, but still rather impressive!). This trip only took about 30ish minutes or so. Depending on the water conditions, you’re looking at about a 2 hour trip just to reach the national forest and the only resort in or around the national park.

the floating coffin

It is so secluded that while travelling upstream, the sounds of the forest really hit you. The water, the birds, the bugs, the wind, and that’s it. Nothing else. No other boats or people were around to disturb the peace; it was great. When we got to the resort, our guide informed us that we were actually the only people who booked to stay that evening. So, not only were we the only ones at the resort, we were the only people within this national forest (other than about 10 staff members) that were inside the national park, in the middle of the Borneo rain forest, crazy remote! We obviously got upgraded due to the availability, amazing! The resort was so peaceful, you can read my husband’s review here: whenitraveltheworld.com

over rapids on the traditional boat !

After the long journey we stuffed our faces to a delicious meal of foods we had not had before, which was fun. Once it got dark we headed off for our night walk in the jungle. Not going to lie, this was pretty scary. We headed down the river in the middle of the night in the traditional boat. All we had were our flash lights. Then, we get dropped off and were expected to start wading through water towards the rain forest. We were told to watch where we step due to snakes, to say I was creeped out is an understatement!  Well we saw many frogs including the Borneo Horned Toad and our scary list goes like this: scorpions, HUGE spiders, gargantuan ants the size of my thumbs, and of course a snake, swimming the water! I was ready to cut our “sightseeing” short to head back to the resort, but I toughed it out… rather bravely! In my opinion, we actually saw the best animals at the resort. We saw a porcupine chase after a civet cat! Then we also saw the civet cat by our room climbing in the trees. The Civet cat is the cat that eats the coffee beans, then poops them out and its really expensive coffee called kopi luwak. Any who, that was way more exciting and non-scary. We saw an owl and a few bats, which also were not scary after the jungle hike in the safe vicinity of our room.

on our night jungle hike

We then went to bed as we had to get up at 4:30 am to climb to the canopy’s to see the sunrise. This, hands down was the best thing we've done thus far on our trip. I think it is going to be nearly impossible to beat. Once you've watched the sunrise in the Borneo rain forest on top of the trees, I don’t think any other jungle or rain forest experience will ever top that. We were awoken promptly at 4:30 am and were on the traditional boat by 5 am to start out journey. We climbed, in the dark, over 800 steps to get to the canopy. Then we climbed 50 meters up scaffolding to get to the top that overlooked the trees. IT WAS EXHAUSTING, but we did do it as fast as we could to get up there before the sun rose.

getting ready to climb up the scaffolding, in the dark!

looking pretty tired after climbing the scaffolding

We made it to the top before hand and waited. The sound of the forest waking up was so beautiful and peaceful. Different birds waking up and singing their morning songs. The wind bristling in the trees. The sun light slowly rising over the horizon warming the forest. It truly was an amazing experience. Words cannot fully describe how I felt. It was like we were one with nature, truly appreciating mother nature in her full beauty. We were the only ones there, watching the sunrise, waking up the forest. The sound, the smell, the sight of it was just one of a kind. I will always remember it. This is why people go to Brunei, to come experience the sun rising over the Ulu Temburong National Park. We stayed up there taking it in for about an hour or so, we didn't want to leave.

our amazing sunrise

When we finally made our way down, our legs and back were definitely a lot sorer than before! Trekking up as fast as we could probably wasn't the best idea, but well worth it. When we got back we ate some breakfast and relaxed for a bit. Then we decided to go kayaking down those rapids! They looked too fun not to! Being in the canopy was an enlightening experience, but kayaking down the river was just plain fun! We went down a ways then jumped in the water for a swim before going to the “fish spa”. It was a pool filled with little fish that ate your dead skin when you walked in. I hated it, it tickled and felt weird and they were pretty aggressive. It was a laugh, but I didn't last long.

looking down on part of the scaffolding we climbed

slowly making our way down

kayaking!

before taking a dip in front of our room =)

We eventually had to get back to the resort to clean up and pack. We needed to make our 2 hour journey back to BSB. We sat in front of our room just listening to the river and the rain forest, taking it all in before we had to say goodbye. It was a great way to end our day, reflecting on how lucky we were to have been a part of this once in a lifetime experience. 

thanks Ulu Ulu for the AWESOME experience !

enjoying a coconut on our flight leaving Brunei.... goodbye Brunei, it's been great! 

Bandar Seri Begawan, The Capital of Brunei

Bandar Seri Begawan (or BSB as the locals call it) is the capital of Brunei and also the largest city. However, there is not A LOT going on. You can see all the city has to offer in one day. We were there two full days and a lot of time ended up at the grocery store comparing prices and trying weird brands of food.

Brunei Flag

BSB is worth a visit though, as there are some phenomenal Mosques painted in gold, surrounded by moats. The lavishness of them is quite amazing. They will never amount to the amazing Hagia Sophia, but they still were quite beautiful to see.

Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque

at Jame' Asr' Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque

BSB is also home to the world’s oldest standing, largest, water village. Some homes are extremely nice and look like any other suburban home on stilts, whilst others are really worn down without any modern plumbing. The water villages have their own stores, schools, and doctors’ offices due to its enormity.

a water village, the side you don't see

Brunei is also relatively cheap. One Brunei dollar is about $0.80 USD, but things here were cheaper. We went to a hawker and ordered drinks, 3 main dishes (as we couldn’t decide what we wanted) and it only cost B$7.00 (Brunei dollars) which was only about $5.60 USD depending on the exchange rate. It was more expensive than Malaysia, but still you could eat Nasi Katok (rice, fried chicken, and hot sauce) for B$1 ! I had seafood Nasi Goreng for B$3! Always cheap and always delicious!

nasi katok

BSB is worth a visit, but the main reason to come here would be the start of the trip to the Ulu Temburong National Park Resort….. It was SO AMAZING… but that is to come in a different blog post =) 

at Jame' Asr' Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque, its so large it has many of these to put your shoes prior to entering