Draft; Back in BK

Had to share this because I found it hilarious. I looked through drafts for old blog posts that I never ended up finishing, or forgot to publish. Among others I found one named 'Back in BK', simply reading;

'En dag i BK - nattbuss till Koh Tao luktar skit'

Translation; One day in BK - night bus to Koh Tao smells like shit

Ah, the memories!

Time flies

A lot can happen in a bit over a year and a half (i.e. the time that I spent not writing in my blog). All though I sometimes ponder over how fast time flies, I must admit that looking back at everything that's happened since my last post - the few tries to catch up in May excepted - in March 2014, time also has space for a lot more than you might realise while it moves. In my next couple of posts I will try to sum up some of the things that I experienced in the past year and a half - memories I know I will enjoy looking back at in the future.

Almost two whole years

So, this is embarrassing. The new years resolution of 2014 - to write every day - ended up in me not writing anything after somewhere in May, and then nothing at all the following year. And now here we are, in the middle of January, 2016! Crazy how time flies.

Yet again my new years resolution is to write. Something small every day - something positive that happened that day. And so far I am keeping my promise, writing a line in my agenda every day. But seeing this now (and honestly - laughing at myself) we will just have to wait and see how long it lasts.

I spent the morning looking through all of my 2014 posts and really enjoyed it. Therefore I will try to add my every day notes here as well, to make sure I am able to come back and look at them again later.

Happy 1 and 3/4 years later to you all!

The Golden Triangle

Before leaving - and almost missing our flight because our bus back from the days trip was so super slow we went to visit the last point of interest while in Chiang Rai: The Golden Triangle, which is the point where Myanmar, Laos and Thailand meet. This place used to be a trading-port for drugs, opium in particular. It was a strange feeling to have lunch while looking at three countries at the same time. It kinda blew my mind.

Myanmar

Or; Burma

The next adventure from Chiang Rai was a visit to Myanmar. We didn't have a visa so were only allowed to stay one day, but it was still very exciting! We caught a little local minibus to the boarder and then walked from Thailand and into Myanmar. We caught a cute little man with a tuktuk and he brought us around to see the scenery, some temple and the long neck village. I saw one of these tripes once before in Thailand (Chiang Mai) and it is a very strange thing. They wear rings around their necks to make them look longer, but it does not look very comfortable at all and if you were to remove those rings from a woman's neck it would most certainly break as it no longer has any muscles. 

Before leaving the country again in the afternoon we asked our driver to take us to a place for local food, which was easier sad than done since none spoke any english. We ended up in a little joint next to the street where Valle got some crunchy chicken-thing and I ended up with a really spicy squid salad which wasn't too bad.

When we returned to Thailand we had to wait for the bus back we went to a little fruit corner and bought one of my fav's: cumquats! They are not only yummy but are also so cute and have the awesomest name. These along with a big bottle of water later became my rescue in the over heated bus that took ages. In the evening we went for a live performance at a restaurant where we got amazing grilled fish and thai soup. A good day and a country that I must come back to with more time on my hands.

Wat Rong Khun

Or; The White Temple.

After Bangkok me and Valle went to Chiang Rai. One of the first things on my list there was to visit the White Temple, which my dad had recommended. While waiting for the bus we found a little Chinese group that were also going there, so we all decided to split a tuktuk. When we got there the driver asked us what time we wanted to be picked up for our return, and we asked to stay until after sunset to see the pretty temple in the night. When do the sun go down? The answer was around 5,30. 

We went inside and looked at the temple which is indeed gorgeous. It is completely white and filled with little mirrors that twinkle in the sunlight. Sadly we were not allowed to take any pictures inside the temple, which was also a very interesting sight. Inside were wall paintings of all kinds of cartoons, animation figures etc. There were super mans, batman's and spider mans. Transformers and angry birds. All you can imagine - apparently in an attempt to lure a younger generation to visit the temple. What a sight!

Outside the temple there were a lot of constructions being done, and it was beautiful to see all the hard concrete next to the white temple and the golden buildings next to it. We wrote blessings on little silver leaves and left them among a gazillion others hanging around the place. Beautiful!

Afterwards we stuck around to see the "light show" that we had heard about. After dark they were going to turn on lights that would make the temple twinkle even more in front of the night sky. And so we waited. And waited. At 5,30 when our driver returned the sun had still not set. It didn't do so until after 7. And then we waited again. Until we finally realised that there was not going to be any lights switching on, because they had started only doing it on public holidays. Bummer.

And now (about 2 months later) I got the sad news that the temple has been closed due to damage caused by a recent earthquake. Im so sad about this news, and so happy that I had a chance to see it.

Catching up

So as I realised yesterday I have a lot of catching up to do. And today it is just raining and raining and raining. Pouring down. I already finished my studies for the week so I figured I might as well get some writing done. Ready or not, here we go!

So...

Oh. My. God. I am so far behind on my new years resolution. It is just too damn hard to blog while traveling. Because 1. the wifi is usually not good. 2. even when it is I don't want to blog from my phone. 3. I don't have a computer. 4. So when I go to an internet cafe it is to study, and I prefer leaving as soon as possible. And most of all; 5. The sun is shining and I have so much else to do and see and smell and try and and and. 

I'll try my best to get better. Or well, I'll write sometime at least. Maybe. Or when I get back. Let's se..

Zzz..

Am having a really hard time settling in to the time rhythm. Once I get into bed I cant seem to fall asleep until about 5 in the morning, and then I'm super tired all day. It's very noticeable how moving through 15 hours of time difference in less than two weeks is fucking with my head. Zzz..

Chiang Rai

Next stop; Chiang Rai. Today we left Bangkok and flew north to Chiang Rai. My dad visited here this winter and seemed to really like it. I have been recommended to see the White Temple both in daytime and nighttime. And then what we came for: crossing the boarder into Burma, or Myanmar. A country I have yet to explore- I am so excited.

Kim!

In the evening of our first night in Bangkok we found Kim's bar The Jappp - Yay, reunion!!! So nice to see my thai bestie again, it's been almost four years. He now has his own bar and is engaged to a super sweet Korean lady. He still plays and sings in the bar though which makes me happy! We got to hear him sing and talked and laughed. Went back there all three nights we were in the city, hung out, listened to different people playing and singing and had a blast. We laugh so much together, just as we did four years ago. <3

Shake Break

Sitting on my bed in the little lime green hotel room trying to finish my essay for English class. Valle is passed out over in his bed (it was so hot today, and I am quite jealous of his siesta). We are comparing the main characters of Things Fall Apart and The Heart of Darkness as well as discussing possible interpretations of their fall. It is interesting, but haaard. Im going for a shake break:

Hello Thailand

And so we flew to Thailand. Apparently you were supposed to book food for the flight, but the option had fallen out of our booking somehow - so we didn't get served any food on the plane but had to purchase our own. Sadly there wasn't that much to choose from, especially being a vegetarian. So the 11 hour flight resulted in some icky little cheese sandwich and chips. I was so hungry once we arrived. My friend Kim had booked us in to a place called Four Sons - too bad there were about five of these in the Bangkok area and we did not end up at the right one. Fiiiiiiinally we found our way and got settled in our little lime green room. We went out and had some food (omnomnomnom) and then went straight back inside for some sleep, since our entire night just disappeared (again!). We woke up at about four o clock in the afternoon and went for more food. Take me hooome, Khaosan roooad.

Good Bye Sweden

25th: And off I go again! 

Hello Sweden

Sweden. Here we go again.

Good bye Jamaica

Jamaica day 15!
Our last day in Jamaica. Got up early to enjoy our last morning. Our flight didn't leave until about 15 o clock so we had the whole morning to ourselves. We had planned to go for a last snorkel in the morning, but sadly this morning the sea was way to rough. We had planned to get our last sunbathing on, but sadly this morning it was very cloudy. Even though there was no chance for a good snorkel we still went in the water. The waves were amazing! There was a difference of probably 4-5 meters low to high. We got our floating mattresses and went flying over the waves. It was awesome - but a bit scary when trying to get up the ladder, it had to be perfectly matched with the movement of the ocean. Oh, and we had planned to be able to dry our swimmers in the sun before we had to leave, but oh right, there was barely any sun this morning. Things never really go the way you plan them, huh? 

Our ride was supposed to pick us up at 12 o clock. At 15 past they still hadn't arrived so we went ahead and called them - apparently our booking had gotten lost and if we wouldn't have called no one would have showed up. Rocky (whos company we have been going with on all of our extersions this trip) solved it the best way he could though. He called up a friend of his who had a car near by and got him to pick us up, he then called and explained what had happened and begged our forgiveness a hundred times. Half way down the road he even met up with us to apologise in person and gave us a discount on the fare. He then asked us not to give him a bad review but he really didn't have to do all that, we still would have only said good things about him - he's been great. 

The flight home was long and I didn't manage to sleep one bit. When we arrived in Stockholm it was about midnight in my head but 7 o clock in the morning local time - the entire night just disappeared. The best thing would have been to just stay awake all day though obviously this was not possible. I went down at about 11 and didn't get back up until 16, turning my entire day and night around.

Zimbale

Jamaica day 14!
Today we visited the resort Zimbale - a place located up in the mountains, where they grow their own crop and serve only organic food. A place of piece and love for the nature. The day begun with a tour around the gardens (well, a small part of it at least), afterwards we had lunch - it was a three course meal produced in front of our eyes in the restaurants show kitchen. Everything tasted delicious and it was a great way to get involved in what you're actually eating. After lunch we rested for a bit, Albin played some guitar (one of the instruments the owners have laying around) before going for a walk to the "Bob Marley Hole" - a clear river running through the area with a nice little spot to jump in and cool off.

In the evening we went back to the Hungry Lion for our last dinner. All the restaurants in the area had Valentine specials and we got some lobster (yum.) and wine. We walked back home and packed our bags to be able to enjoy or last morning at the castle.

Asia

(A break from the Jamaica posts, don't worry - the last few days are coming!)

So. I have been home for ten days. And now it's time to take off again. Tomorrow I jump on a plain to Thailand. Am not sure exactly where I'll be going and I don't have a return ticket yet but am planning to return just in time for the lovely Swedish summer to begin.

And as always: God how I love travelling. But God how I hate packing.

Appleton

Jamaica day 13! (Part 2)
Our next stop was the Appleton Rum Factory. Got a great tour guide, and a nice tour around the property. The whole tour seem to be a way to get people drunk so they will buy lots of rum afterwards, haha. It begins with rum punch, as much as you can drink before the tour starts. Then a walk around how everything works, the containers etc etc etc. Quite interesting! Afterwards there's more drinking. About 10 bottles are put up on a table and the guide leaves you with a bunch of little glasses and tells you to make sure to try everything. And it was fun, and yum, and all that. We enjoyed our time at the factory and yes, we got some rum before we left. 

The last stop was the "Blue Hole" - When I was here the last time this place had this little blue hole, a hole in the ground with rock walls and clear blue water at the bottom. There were about three people there, swimming. Some other people building a little wooden house and that was it. A walk through the forrest got us to a plantation of well, I'm sure you can all figure that out. Now, 4,5 years later, there were two huge empty hotel buildings (one orange, one blue), a swimming pool, a volleyball court and two bars. The hole in the ground was guarded by "life guards" and it cost 10 dollars to jump in. What a joke. Obviously we didn't stay long. And didn't go for a dip. When we later told a taxi driver about it he laughed his ass off. "Ten dollars to jump in a hole? HA HA HA!" - the whole thing felt quite sad, although its interesting how much can happen in a few years.

Since we didn't stick around the blue hole we got home in time for this weeks steel drum band at Canoe. And since this time there was no rain and no Bob Marley Bash the place wasn't as crowded, and we could sit outside on the beach. The band were also placed outside - it was just a gorgeous setting. Im so glad we went there instead of paying ten dollars to jump in a hole.

Pepper shrimp

Jamaica day 13! (Part 1)
Adventure day! Despite the fact that some places are annoyingly touristy, they are fun to see and so, since none of us are very big on touristy things, we decided to get all of them squeezed into one day.

We were picket up at the castle in the morning and started the day off by stopping at a fruit and veggie market to get some fresh fruit. And cucumber (man, do I love cumbers!). We then started our trip at the Black River for a crocodile tour. Got to see a lot of crocodiles, but it was a bit too touristy for me. Last time I visited me and Julia came with our driver and friend and ended up on a small boat with about five people. The captain of the boat showed us how clear the black water really is, stopped to pick flowers for all the girls on board and stopped for a swim (about 20 meters after wed passed a huge crocodile) - this time we were a ton of people on a big boat and everyone stood up every single time there was a crocodile so that no one else could see anything. I try to stay away from these kinds of things, but it was still nice. Driving across the waters it did feel awesome to look at all the greenery and feel the breeze in your face. 

When our driver asked us what we had thought of the tour he seemed surprised that we thought there had been to many people, and that we prefer less touristy things. Our lunch totally made up for it. We told him that we wanted something authentic, preferably street food. First off we drove through an area where he said people along the road were selling "pepper shrimp" and naturally we asked him to stop so we could get some. Turns out it was actually crayfish (I LOVE crayfish!). We bought a bag from an angry-looking little lady (How do you say nay to that face?) and brought it over to a little place next to the road where we got some grilled fish and seafood soup. (A cup of yummy soup with another whole crayfish in it - joy!). The lady came up with a plate of actual shrimps and claimed hers were much better then what wed gotten on the road (well, they weren't even the same thing) - but Oh My God, these shrimp were amazing. Naturally we had to get some more - well done lady! It was one of the best meals of our entire time in Jamaica.