cats of Thailand, part 3

here's a light and fluffy post for you: more cat pictures from Thailand. because, who doesn't love kittens? [also, is it sad this is my third post about cats from Thailand? wait... don't answer that.]

we came across this guy during our last visit to Railay and he looked really familiar... maybe from this post?

he was just a baby last time we saw him! I have to say seeing him all grown up and healthy made me really really happy. he was sitting on the stoop of the mini mart that I had seen him in before, so obviously the owner is taking care of him.

this little one was so sweet. she followed us for a bit and ran right up to be pet. I contemplated scooping her up and taking her with us... but I don't think customs would have been cool with it.

also, please note that while I love cats and will occasionally pet stray ones I see... I always wash my hands thoroughly afterwards and NEVER approach a cat who looks hurt, scared, or mean. mostly, I just take pictures.

I mean... how do you resist taking a picture when you come across cats cuddling? answer: you don't.

[for more cats click this post and this post]

living the dream

if you read this blog, you know that while my current country of residence is Taiwan, I am back in the states visiting family + friends for two months. and you also know that the month before that I spent traveling around Taiwan and vacationing in Thailand. [including time spent on my favorite beach, above, in Railay]

so when I saw today's prompt for blogtember: if you could take 3 months out of your current life to do whatever you wanted, what would you do? I thought, well I'm already doing it.

[I don't want to rub it in anyone's face. I don't want to be one of those look-at-my-life-it's-so-awesome-be-jealous people. but I feel it needs to be said I fully realize how awesome my life is, and that I am truly truly grateful to have the freedom to spend my time this way.]

are there things I would change? sure. I'd love for Husband to have been able to stay with me in the states. I'd love to have unlimited funding while I'm here so I could rent a cabin up north and fly all my American pals up to hang out for a week, drinking and sunning and catching up. I'd love to have spent a few weeks in Turkey or Italy or California before heading back to the mitten. or, you know, to win the powerball...

but seriously. I've been able to spend the last few months traveling the world, vacationing on exotic beaches, and also seeing the people I love. working on my tan, eating amazing food, snapping endless photos, cuddling with my kittens. that's pretty awesome. in fact, I don't know if I can come up with something I'd rather do more than that.

vacation brain + other things

vacation brain. you guys know what I'm talking about, right? when you let yourself relax so much that your mind even slows down. and then it starts to tell you things it normally wouldn't: go ahead, skip the mascara. coffee? dessert? drinks at lunch? why not, you're on vacation. messy hair, glasses, and umbrellas.... sounds like it's time for a photo shoot. oh, and don't bother checking your exposure. look at this cool temple/statue/building/grafitti/cat! take its picture. in fact, why not take pictures of everything! there's room on the memory card.

[on Railay beach one morning after breakfast... Husband and our friend Hundey who met us in Kuala Lumpur and traveled to Thailand with us this last time. yes, they are wearing matching tank tops.]

sure, you have a great time while you're at it. but then you come home and realize you have a bajillion pictures to go through and edit and write blog posts about. and you get a little overwhelmed because you've never really been great at just posting as you go, and with one vacation after another for 4 months [I know, #firstworldproblems] you suddenly realize it's practically september and you have photos and stories from june. but also from last weekend.

I'm trying to process all these things. but also to enjoy the time I'm spending back here in the states. I'm trying to figure out what to start sharing, and get back into my groove.

but still be on vacation. because, technically, I am still on vacation.

which makes this next part sound really crazy: do you guys remember when I [kindof] participated in Jenni's blog every day in may? well... she's sharing a new challenge for september: blogtember. thankfully, this one skips weekends and doesn't start until after the holiday, so maybe I'll make it a better than 50% completion rate this time. [or, let's be honest, maybe not] but a few of the topics on her list I really want to try writing about. and somehow mix that in with all the other stuff I need to write.

this should be interesting.

railay: the last sunset

tragedies happen, life goes on. dogs are walked. words are written. photos are edited.

these are the last of my Thailand photos: our last night in Railay. we spent the afternoon drinking at the pool and playing cards, but managed to hit the beach for dinner and sunset. the tide was low and the crowd was out in full force. there were kids playing soccer and some guys doing what must have been a muy thai kickboxing demonstration? it looked like dancing and fighting at the same time. sadly, no pictures of that. but we have sunset and longtail boats aplenty...

to be honest, the sunset was a little lame and my pictures went a little wacky. but we sure had a blast running around the shallows and hopping onto boats.

Railay, you were wonderful. relaxing, tasty, and full of adventure. I can't wait to go back...

railay: the lagoon. almost.

there is a lot of great rock climbing to be done in Railay. the trail that Husband and I took to find the lagoon [rumored to be hidden somewhere in the jungle] involved more rock climbing than we anticipated. it may not have been the best idea I ever had to go through with it. being, as I was then, a girl who was recovering from a scooter crash related knee injury and hadn't really worked out in 6 months. but, we did.

I should also mention that in the interest of saving space while packing [and in an attempt to be realistic- really, like I was going to start working out again while on vacation?] I left my nikes and workout gear at home. so I ended up doing this climb in flip flops, a bathing suit, and jean shorts. oh. and with a DSLR slung around my neck. when I make a bad decision, I really just go all in.

the hike/climb involves going up a steep, rocky incline with the aid of some ropes. and then to get to the lagoon you have to go down again. a few times. we made it down two levels before we decided to call it quits. we could see the lagoon [pictured above. kindof.] but we could also see that the next stretch of rock was completely vertical and had no ropes. and that there was at least 2 more drops after that.

I really wanted to climb all the way down. we could see it. it was so close. and we had already come all that way... but we decided that we wouldn't go any further, for fear of not being strong enough to get back up. it was really tough for me to give up and climb back. I'm stubborn. and I don't like not being able to do things. but it also was probably a really good decision not to get us stranded out in the jungle with no cell phone and no one knowing where we were.

I would love to say we made it all the way to the lagoon. but we didn't, and that's ok. looking back it seems pretty impressive that we made it as far as we did. and since we've been home I've been working on building my strength back up... because there's always next time.

railay: longtail adventures

one afternoon during our stay in Railay, Husband and I hopped a longtail boat to Ao Nang for a late lunch. taking a longtail taxi is interesting. it's cheap... about $3 US for a ride. but you wait until they have 8 passengers before the boat will leave, unless you want to pay the private boat fee.

we weren't in any rush. [it's vacation, after all]

ten minutes, a few splashes, and a pirate boat sighting later... we found ourselves on the shore of Ao Nang. our stomachs were rumbling and our feet were soggy and sandy. and in my case, in pain.

on that particular morning I had sliced my foot open on a rock while Husband and I were exploring the shallows. salt water + open wounds = sting-y. wet feet + sand + cut = possible infection.

it was strange to see all the cars and traffic and people after being on secluded Railay beach for a few days. after wandering through the streets + shops for a bit, we stumbled upon an Irish pub. Husband was pleased because the pub was playing European futbol [aka soccer] on the big screen. I was pleased because I was able to rinse of my sandy, sting-y feet in the sink. AND they had Weston's Cider on tap. which means happiness for the gluten-intolerant! Husband had fish + chips, and I had a giant plate of nachos [which turned out to be better than the ones we got at the Mexican place a few nights later. go figure.] Irish pub for the win!

happy with bellies full of tasty food [and maybe just a little tipsy] we strolled through the various shops along the beachfront. we found a pharmacy to pick up some IP alcohol for the gash on my foot. and then we hopped a longtail back to Railay, where the boats were thick in the water and begging for a photo op. I definitely enjoyed the change of scenery [and food options] but it made me glad we chose to stay in the much less crowded Railay. besides- cider is only a boat ride away!

railay: monkey business

we spotted our first monkey less than 5 minutes after arriving on Railay Beach. a pack of them ran across the trail we were on, headed to the hotel. another gaggle of tourists was snapping pictures and oohing and ahhing over how cute they were... until one snagged the banana right out of her hand.

I laughed when I saw the sign on our balcony door, thinking it was a funny way to let guests know they had to keep the monkeys out of the room. not thinking the monkeys would actually break into the bar. I was wrong.

we heard the shouts of an angry Thai woman before we spotted this guy scampering along the edge of a wall. seems he had stolen her orange soda before she even had a chance to open it.

one afternoon I came back up to the room to grab some more sunscreen for the pool, and I heard some interesting noises coming from the room next door. I though the French couple next to us was just having a fight, but there weren't any shouts to go along with what sounded like chairs and such being knocked over. I peeked out on the balcony and sure enough, it was a pack of monkeys.

one was sitting on the railing [you can kindof see] chowing down on a bag of nuts, while two more were on the roof ledge wrestling open a can of pringles.

it was one of those moments where you grab your camera and just start shooting, not stopping to think. apparently I had left the settings on manual from the night before [instead of switching back to Av], and the bright sunlight left me with nothing but this. or maybe it was the monkeys?