Faces and Phrases of the Trip

So I added the faces. I hope you add any phrases, that came up on our trip, as comments to this. Or just any memories that you have of this trip. Besides: Thanks to everyone, who provided his/hers pictures for my blog. :)

First thoughts when I think of my group:

Nadine – The cave woman... ;)
Laura – she bent her ankle the first day I met her
Sanna – always one of the last with me at almost every party night – the European connection
Nicholas – I guessed his name, when I met him first ... scary
Amara – was always in for dancing with me :)
Corn – as soon as someone says "shit", I am still adding "Corn" in my mind...
Tara – I will never forget u all wrapped into three ponchos when we arrived at the floating bungalows
Ben (group leader) – he seriously tried to take the lead away from me on our way to the cave...
Tiffany – we always wanted to do a Prickly Heat Powder Commercial. And I taught her some Afrikaans ... "Baie dankie (vir die bier)" (Thank you very much for the beer) or as Tiff said: "Buy me a donkey!"
Jen – we were a great team for taking some drunks home one night...
Kiesha – she was talking about how she needed to get Prickly Heat Powder a lot when I met her first ;) and she kept on loving it during the trip I guess.. ;)
Carla – she had some crazy dance moves at Highlands Restaurant in Railay
Kirsten – united in seasickness on the boat ride from Koh Lipe
Shannon – pink, double fisting Singha, Britney and my last sunrise with you
Nicole – cuddling up in our bungalow in Railay
Nathan – some awesome frisbee playing at Had Yuan
Bertus (group leader) – trying to take him home save from Pooh's bar
Leah – definitely the lapricorn story and when she asked me "Maddy, what would you be without French Fries?" and I was like "I would be just Mad"
Dave – a thrilling Jenga game at Koh Lipe
Jenine – united in pain at the massage at Big Mama's

Making my way home asleep

Leaving this awesome beach behind ... (Had Yuan)

I leave Had Yuan at about 10.30 am and when I arrive at Had Rin I shuffle up to the Travel Agency. This is the place the Taxi is picking me up. I am already falling to sleep waiting for it... well the rest of my day is pretty much explained by this: On the Taxi. Sleep. Off the taxi waiting for the boat. Trying not to fall asleep. On the boat. Sleep. On the bus. Sleep. On a truck. Off a truck... We have to wait at some place out in nowhere and have to say where on Phuket we want to go. As I am discussing where to stay best with one travelagent, he asked me for when my flight leaves and I'm like "Well...actually I have not printed my ticket yet..." He is like "What?!" So he takes me to the next internet place with his scooter... yeah...that's so me...but, hey, it always works out, right?!? Finally I have my ticket and I am getting on another mini-bus. They drop me off near the airport and I go down to the place I wanna stay...well...it's 9.30 pm, I'm f****** tired and all doors are closed ... I finally find a mobile number at one door and call it, and that's how I got lucky to not sleep outside... I was really thankful for my mobile phone that very moment...

Next day I take my flight back home. Phuket–Berlin in 11 hours and 40 minutes... I am lucky that it is still "warm" in Germany ... 10°C ...

My last day and night

Finally there is some sun again!!! :) We had 3 cloudy days and as this is my last one, I am so happy to soak up all the warmth and light. So I grill myself most of the time today.
Later that day we take a boat to Had Rin. I do some shopping and organize my trip to Phuket for tomorrow at the travel agency. We have a group dinner at some Mexican Food place with the funny name "Bamboozle". Yumyum...

My last group dinner

We move on, but realize that the next place has cider!! And as I love it and it is not that common here, we get one and want to move on. But Dave is coming up to us saying that it is the Kings Birthday, and we are not supposed to drink on the streets. So we chill in that cider bar for a while and go back to Had Yuan later. 

The moon at my last night – the kings birthday (picture by Simon Rumford

On the boat ride I put my hands out of the boat and let them slide over the surface of the water. The phosphorescence, which are kind of glowing bacterias in the sea, are sparkling along my fingers, when they hit the water ...it looks so beautiful ....wow...like I had little sparkles coming out of my hands...there is no way to explain these looks very well and even less to explain how it feels that very moment...you just have to experience this...

So, we chill at the beach and then at the peace and love bar, where Jenine and Leah are painting the walls (...?!..weird...). We are waiting for the sun to rise. And I am spending a lot time with Shannon in my arm, our feet in the sand, the warm water of the ocean floating around it, marveling at the sea and watching the sun slowly dipping the sky in some beautiful colors...I am trying to soak up all this, knowing that I will have to leave it behind soon...

As we see the restaurant of The Big Blue opening, we are leaving the bar. Stopping by one of the swings for some dandling.

Me swinging while sunrise

In the restaurant we are all so much looking forward to get food, and we finally get some menues...for drinks... All of us are pretty confused. Till Corn says "I'm sorry. I knew they open at 7 am, but the sign over there says 'kitchen open 8.30 am – 11 pm'" Shit Corn!!! Nooo way. That's another one and a half hours!! That's hoooorrible! So we sit there pretty depressed for another 20 minutes, not even able to order a drink...

So I finally went to pack my bag... well...yeah...I had not packed yet... :)

9 am, I am done with packing, we are back at the restaurant for breakfast. And then it is time...time to leave. We go down to the taxi boat and hugging the first ones to say goodbye, I just can't stop myself from starting to cry...
I am usually doing pretty good with goodbyes...but all these friends that I made are living in Canada! It's not that I will see them too soon again. And all this makes me realize that this trip is over now. And I do not want it to be over...it just should not be over yet...there should be another couple of sunsets and sunrises with these people that made their way into my heart.
At some point I have to jump into the boat. And they push us out into the waves. It is jumping up and down pretty hard, but I do just not care. All I do is looking at all these awesome people standing at the beach waving me goodbye. By the time we pass the surge, they just get smaller and smaller, left at the beach altogether and I am on the boat, crying in between some strangers, on my way to Had Rin ...

# MUSIC I've got a feeling by The Black Eyed Peas

This full-moon-party-night was a really good good night.

Full Moon Party

We have barbecue at Barcelona's first and then start painting ourselves or each other for the Full Moon Party with neon colors.

Painting Tiffany for Full Moon Party

Going over to Had Rin at about 11 pm. Waves are so scary that the boat ride is a lot fun! After getting a starter bucket at the travel agency and a hint for a "secret toilet", we go down to the beach and to one of the dancing spots where our groups will be partying the whole night.

I am pretty much walking back and forth from the mini-mart and back for drinks till I feel like sun is coming up and I have not really started to dance yet. So we all keep on dancing till the sun rises. It's amazing. And it's even better when it starts raining and everyone is just dancing in the rain at the beach. And all those flip flops floating in the ocean...unique sight...This party is just crazy and ends just by our leaders telling us we should leave before no one else is left at the beach anymore...so we take a boat back at about 9.30 am...wow, I did not think I would make it till 6 am... and now I feel like I could still go on... and NO I did not take any drugs but alcohol...

Dressed up crazy for Full Moon Party

Sunrise while Full Moon Party

It's light, but...

...the party goes on

Well by taking the boat to Had Yuan the "night" doesn't end... we jump into the ocean and as I am coming out, I feel like playing some basketball...so I run up to the others, get the ball, run towards the basket with my wet flip flops and....BAAAAM...slide some further towards it on my bum and ankle...wow, that hurts! But I laugh and just jump into the ocean to wash it off ... (I will not be able to sit for the next 2 days as my butt is seriously scratched all over...)

Jaine, Bertus and me go to Barcelona's and just chill there...till Simon, the Photographer comes up, after two hours of sleep and challenges Bertus for a drinking competition... the worst idea he could possibly have... everyone is telling him not to do this...well...a few hours, 4 Tequila, 4 Sambuca, 1 Jägermeister ... each ... later, Bertus is passed out, but Simon has still a whole big Chang to drink to win the contest... and he luckily is convinced to give up!! Weird thing: The other people from the group were getting up one by one, coming to the restaurant for breakfast, while we were still in our party outfits and these two guys were still drinking shots...

Simon trying to catch up with Bertus
(already passed out on the table) still thinking that
he has caught "the beast" 

Clayton and Beach-Traveler-Ben posing on passed out Bertus

I go back to the Big Blue Resort to have breakfast with the others that got up again ... this is when I realize that it is already 3.30 pm... well I go to bed at about 8 pm this day...finally...after 38 hours...I have a quite good sleep that night...

A morning at Had Yuan & the Beach Volleyball Tournament

Just imagine this: You get up, walk three steps out of your cute little bamboo hut 200 meters from the ocean and jump into your hammock. Really, really comfy hammock... all you hear is the chirr of some unknown crawlies, funny colorful birds and the rush of the ocean. All you smell is warm dampness and unfamiliar plants around you. If you have some roommate enjoying her Kurt Cobain biographie that very moment after she took care of her bug bites, you might even have the sweet smell of marijuana mixing itself with the distinctive aroma of tiger balm around you as well. This is the very moment you think about the last few weeks, the awesome people you got to know and the amazing time you already had and ask yourself, why you should ever leave this place....

One of the days in my great time in Thailand: Having fun at the Volleyball tournament

Volleyball tournament (picture by Simon Rumford)

The prizes

Massage à la Big Mama & Amaras Adam-and-Eve-leaf-birthday-party

Jenine, Leah and me hike over to Had Tien beach to get a massage at the Sanctuary. Had Tien is even more calm than Had Yuan and it is a stunning view when we come over that rock and look down on it. There is no massage woman at the Sanctuary, but they tell us to walk down the beach and there would be a hut, where the Big Mama and her daughter give massages. So we go down there and are happily welcomed, and we get a really hard Thai massage...arrrrg...,but it feels so good ... afterwards.

View of Had Tien beach when you come over the hill

It's Amara's birthday and she is having an Adam-and-Eve-and-leafs-theme for her night. So everyone picks some leaves and dresses up for the dinner at Bamboo restaurant.
This is were I order Hard Shell Tacos from the Menu and get some really yummy Buritos....wow...soooo delicious!! Everyone around me is quite disappointed that I make it to eat that big plate of food... :) Well, let's say a tequila afterwards is definitely required...
The party goes on at Eden Bar and by the end of the day, Amara seriously has had as many shots as years that she lives: 19!!! WTF?!?

Sanna. birthday girl Amara and Nadine in their Eve outfits

Jaine and me with leaves for Amara's birthday

Bertus, Tiffany and Kiesha dressed up as Adam and Eves