A Final Recap

So three and a half months have flown by and I barely had a chance to update the blog. I will try and bullet point the highlights since India up until now, but this post isn't going to do my experiences much justice.

I. Ko Chang, Thailand
-After fleeing India in a bit of a hurry, we decided that the beach was our only option if we wanted some R&R. We did the math and decided that although we devoted 2 weeks in December to Thailand, we would head East a little early and relax on Ko Chang.
-We beach bummed for a few days, ate a TON of pad key moo, and enjoyed the slower pace.
-One day we decided to rent a motorbike (or as the islanders call it, a moto) to explore the highly advertised jungles and waterfalls. When we went to rent the bike, the lady said they only had one left, but it was fine to ride three to a bike. (Apparently the locals often fit families of 4 or 5 to a bike). We were slightly apprehensive, especially because the three of us had never ridden a moto before, but we paid upfront and headed off to the waterfalls.
-The writing was on the wall from the beginning: renting one moto for the three of us was a poor decision.
-I drove first and got the three of us to the falls in one piece. We jumped off the cliffs, swam around for a while, and then the park rangers told us that they were closing. On our way out I slipped and landed on my elbow, but I am often Messica, and laughed off the golf ball-sized lump.
-We switched drivers and planned on looping around the island once before heading back to our bungalow. At the end of the road we went to make a turn and out balance was thrown off; we skidded, hit a parked moto, and landed in a ditch.
-Long story short, we did not make it out unscathed. Here's a quick breakdown of our injuries:
Seth: two stitches in his knee and a couple of scrapes.
Brett: a broken rib, a very badly sprained ankle/foot, a few stitches in his knee, and a giant bruise on his thigh.
Me: a two and a half inch gash on my shin, a few stitches on my leg, some scratches on my other leg, and an inoperable puncture wound to the bone.**
-An expensive hospital bill later, we were driven back to our bungalow where Brett and I remained immobile for 3 days. The pain was unbearable and the medicine the doctor prescribed did nothing for my leg. Seth was amazing and held my hand as the doctors dug around the wound without any anaesthesia; Brett couldn't stomach my screams and had to leave the hospital.
**The puncture wound was too deep to stitch at the time of the accident, which led to a bandage redressing at the hospital every other day for 10 days. It got pricey and annoying, so I convinced a nurse to teach me how to redress my leg myself. After 5 weeks the hole finally closed, but my leg is pretty badly scarred. I'm over its unattractive appearance (no need to remind me how gross it is when you get to see it in person). I am fondly referring to it as my Thai Tattoo.

-This post is getting too long, so I am cutting out the details.

II. Sri Lanka
-went on a safari along the southern coast of SL; saw a leopard, elephants, wild boars, a cobra snake, jack rabbits, and a ton of birds and types of deer
-stayed in the rain forest for a night and saw snakes, monkeys, lizards, frogs, butterflies, and birds
-experienced a rain storm in the rain forest; thousands of termites evacuated their hives (?) and swarmed the light from our guesthouse/us (this was hellish)... then they all died and littered the guesthouse floor
-saw the Tooth Temple (which houses the Buddha's tooth)
-went to dinner with a world famous artist, Senaka Senanayaka, and his wife

III. Vietnam
-Ho Chi Minh City: saw the War Remnants Museum, shopped in the Ben Than Market, crawled through the Cu Chi Tunnels
-Mui Ne: sledded down the white and yellow sand dunes, waded through Fairy Stream, avoided the typhoon
-Hoi An: had a tailor custom make a few dresses/coats (the boys had some suits made) for dirt cheap, wandered through the old town (UNESCO world heritage site)
-Ha Long Bay/Cat Ba Island: went deep water soloing (rock climbing the rock structures in the middle of the bay with no equipment or an instructor)
-Danang: wandered through the caves and climbed up the peaks of the Marble Mountains
-Hanoi: visited the Temple of Literature, saw Ho Chi Minh's preserved body, took the epic journey (2 hour bus, 1.5 hour rowboat, 1 hour climb up--then all the way back again) to the Perfume Pagoda
-Sapa: took a trek through the mountains and visited 4 Hill Tribe Villages

IV. Cambodia
-Phenom Phen: got violently ill for four days (which cut out our sight seeing), and visited the Killing Fields
-Siem Reap: explored Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, the temple from Tomb Raider, and saw sunset at the top of another temple (the entire Angkor Wat complex was my absolute favorite thing I saw/experienced this trip)

V. Thailand
-Bangkok: bargained our way through the weekend market, ate copious amounts of street food, tried deep fried maggots (tastes like potato chips)
-Ko Tao: scuba dove around the coral reef
-Ko Phang Ngan: attended the Full Moon Party (along with 30K other people)

I am filled with stories and way more details on the good, the bad, and the gross, but I have no more time at the internet cafe; however, I return stateside on Sunday and can fill in all the gaps when I'm home.

xoxo