Monsoon

**this took over 24 hours to publish, so when I say "today," I mean Sunday.**

Today was our first day of rain, so considering we planned our trip during the rainy season, I didn't mind too much.

This morning was the first we didn't have breakfast included with our overnight stay, so we headed back to the beach where there was a cheap little place offering some breakfast options. We all tried Thai pancakes and they were delicious! I could get used to waking up and enjoying breakfast at a table on the sand with waves crashing behind me!

I don't have any pictures, but there are no vehicles where we were on Koh Phi Phi. Everyone either walks or takes a bike down narrow brick paved pathways. All along the pathways are storefronts - guesthouses, restaurants, massage parlours, gift shops, and tattoo shops. They enclose the pathways tightly on both sides, making the whole place somewhat surreal feeling. I don't know, it's kind of difficult to explain without a visual aid.

We left Koh Phi Phi, and the stairway from hell, and headed to the pier to catch a ferry to Ko Lanta. 

It had rained while we were packing, which other than while we were sleeping, was the first time we had experienced "monsoon season".

As soon as we started walking to the pier, however, the rain stopped. It, thankfully, continued to hold during the whole hour and a half boat ride to Ko Lanta. But the water was super choppy with really large swells, a few of which really had me questioning where the life preservers were!

We arrived to the island - which reminds me more of Nova Scotia than Thailand - and made our way to our hotel. What an improvement! This place was relatively inexpensive, and we have two connecting rooms, so we can all stay together! If I had to be stuck anywhere in the rain all day, it would be here! 

As soon as we got into the hotel and met our host, Chai (the Thai grandpa we all wish for), the rain came back, and didn't quit. We, of course, we're starving, so we braved the downpour and headed down the road. I've heard that a lot of places close down for the off season, but we really haven't experienced that until this island. It's kind of a ghost town compared to the bustling life of Bangkok and Chiang Mai, and even Phuket! But Chai recommended a little place called Sawadee, so we walked down to it and enjoyed another delicious Thai meal. I'm never going to get sick of this food! 

After that, we walked around a bit, and even though the weather was still lousy, we headed down to the beach. The waves were crashing in, the sand crabs were out and scuttling about, and there were beautiful shells to search for.

The grey clouds were threatening again, so we stopped and grabbed some beers, and went back to the hotel. We waited out the rain by playing a drinking version of Uno, which I won :)

When Shana had had enough of being indoors, we all headed back out to explore. While Shana got a pedicure, I stocked up on some Thai snacks. I tried the butters corn breadsticks (which later became a treat for some wild dogs that were suspiciously following us), but I passed on these: 

If I have the nerve, I'll try them later. And the shrimp flavored. And the seaweed flavored. I did, however, opt for the shish kebob flavored Cheetos... Look for review later. The buttered corn breadsticks were weird, so I didn't feel bad giving them to the dogs.

We headed back to Sawadee for dinner, endulged ourselves again in some delicious Thai with a side of French fries, and headed back to the hotel to shower (long overdue) and head to bed. Which is where I leave you now, to dream about my perfect coconut curry dinner :)

-Julie, smoothie free for 1 day