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

Racing day, the scary dwarf and the dream of French fries coming true ...

We are taking a boat to Haad Rin for the race quizzie. The tasks we have to fulfill are fun. Shannon is the one who gets the longest memory of this quiz I guess. As there is a task to get a tattoo. Real one or hannah... well...Shannon gets a real tattoo this day. You might think that she will regret it, but actually it is just perfect. It is the quickest tattoo the woman ever drew and it has flowers and pink in it, and it's just so Shannon.

Whatever, we are having fun to find someone who has a bed, that we could take a group picture in (we find some greek guy...) and to get in a shower some place or to take a picture with a policeman and in a Thai boxing ring. But we are a too confused group, so we do not manage to fulfill all tasks. No winning for us, I guess...but so much fun... :)

Watch out for this group in the Thai boxing ring...

Charlies Angels Style with a Thai Police Man

Task: Take a pic with a guy with hairy chest...
our group leader ben fits perfect for that ;)

After dinner Tiff and I join in with some others going up to Eden bar. It's a really nice place and we sit down on some blanket and chill. This is the place of the Happy Shakes. I am thinking about drinking one, but then there comes the waiter... some tiny little guy, who smiles kind of like a maniac at us and his eyes glowing from the black light and says with his high voice "You want some Happy Shake, hehehehe...." Aaaahhh, even if I wanted one before, i would just not want one anymore now, as this scary dwarf is asking me this...(don't get me wrong, he's nice, but sooo scary. Sometimes he even sneaks up behind you all of a sudden and you don't know where he just came from...)


Well night goes on and I am getting so hungry. But there is nothing open where you could get any food. And I want French fries soooo bad. Then I decide to beg for some bread at the kitchen. And it works. I get a bread and even a butter to go with it for 40 Baht (0,80 Euro, 1,25 CAD)!!! I am so happy. Put the butter on the bread, wanna add some salt, open the salt can...and stupid me spill half of the whole salt thing over my bread...i try to get most of it off and I'm so hungry that I eat it anyways...well let's just say, your stomach doesn't like that much salt in it...


We move on to Peace and Love bar. And someone is like: "They have sandwich." And I'm like "I do not want a sandwich. I want French fries." Someone:"Would be hilarious if they had French fries." So I ask that guy and he is like "Yeah, so one French fries?!" I just stare at him and tell him how much I love him. That was like my dream coming true, as I was seriously already talking about fries for more than 4 hours... it takes another 40 minutes till we get them, but they are the most yummy French fries I'd ever got. Like they just digged the potato out of the ground, sliced it and fried it in a little bowl...wow...so I had these French fries before we saw an awesome sunrise at Had Yuan beach....perfect night, perfect morning...I love Thailand!!

At the ocean again and seeing some guys beating themselves up

As soon as we get rid of our luggage we get food and then jump into the ocean, play frisbee and just chill. I move on to the other end of the beach, where the other two FREE & EASY groups are staying at Barcelona's. That's where we play another round of beersbee. And I finally hit that can of the other group down :) hehehe...still kind of proud :)

Beersbee at Had Yuan

Later that evening we went to have food at some Indian place. Some trouble coming up, because most of us, don't have enough  money with them for the whole upcoming night. Well, we finally get the chance to pay for the boxing the next day, so everything works out.

So we take a van to got to the Thai boxing place. There are a few fights to watch for 600 Baht (13 Euro, 19 CAD). Before anything starts, everyone is getting up, for the Thai anthem. This gives me the heebie-jeebies. First fight: They do their routine before the fight, which is really interesting to watch. When they start kicking each other, I'm scared at first for someone to get seriously injured, but after a while it is fun to watch. :)

Only bad thing: I am sooo tired from the whole travel day, that my eyes are getting heavy. I am finally having a little nap in between the best fights...

There is even one Canadian guy boxing. Looks so weird to see some western person trying to do this...and he's actually more boxing than Thai boxing.... But I shouldn't say anything about that Canadian guy, as there is a German one too... and he's worse. He wins his fight against an about 68-year-old-thai-guy because he falls on him...what else should I add to that...??

The boxers getting ready

Wow, I guess he got him pretty good

Refreshing break

Guess he lost...