Our honeymoon to Thailand

Sorry to be posting this late. It's been crazy since we got back from Thailand. I was recovering from some weird stomach bug and doing new teacher orientation at my new school.

So lets begin at the beginning of our trip. We left Sunday morning and took the ferry from Shekou (the city where we live) to Hong Kong International Airport. Very cool to see the sights from the ferry. Dylan was not too excited because we were not on the nicer ferry but nonetheless it was pretty neat. We even did a pre-check-in at the ferry terminal which was nice too. We hung around the Hong Kong airport for a few hours and I must say it is by far the best airport I have been too. Stores such as Burberry and Gucci who actually sell real brand name things not fake like in Shekou. No I did not buy anything but was tempted many times.

We boarded the airplane and flew Thai Airways. Very nice and the service was wonderful. We flew directly from Hong Kong to Phuket (pronounced poo-ket not fu-ket . . . I have some people who need that little tidbit). Once we landed we had to go through customs which took a long time. If you are traveling to Phuket you do not need a visa if you are from the US and there are another 29 other countries that qualify too but not sure which 29. After going through customs we grabbed a taxi and told the guy where we were going. So we get about two minutes away from our place where we are staying and the taxi driver asks us . . ."So where is your place?" And we were like "Uh we are not from here and we thought you knew when you left the airport." Needless to say the guy pulled alongside of the road and found out where we were going.

This place where we stayed was AMAZING! It was a friend of ours who lives here in Shekou and has a house both here and in Thailand. He was so nice to allow us to use his place while we mailed my passport back to the US. On Monday the Fed Ex guy came by and we sent my passport in his hands to be mailed to Houston, Texas. I was a little nerve wracked so Dylan and I go venturing out to see what Thailand looks like during the day to get my mind off of mailing it out. We ended up renting a motor bike which was key element that made our trip extra exciting. When we get to the place to rent the bike, the lady asks for Dylan's passport and holds it until we returned the bike 7 days later. So the lady is trying to start the bike and has so many problems starting it and I kept thinking we are going to be stranded someplace because we cannot start this thing (we had to jump start that thing every time we went someplace). I asked the lady to give us a crash course on how to use it and Dylan was like "It's OK we know what we are doing." I was thinking "when in the hell did he ever ride a bike?" but I trusted him and took off with our bike. First of all they drive on the wrong side of the road (wrong side meaning the left side verses the right). I guess wrong can be right in most places. So Dylan drove and I held on for my life. He did really good and we never crashed or had a "holy blank blank" experience. I called Dylan my "Hog Stud" sorry but he was a bit sexy riding it. I can say that being married to him and all that goes along with that subject.

The beaches were so gorgeous and we rode to about three or four of them. Dylan had a suit made there too. Evidently Thailand is known for the following: Custom made suits, eyeglasses, and foot massages. We indulged in having massages on the beach which was soooooo nice with the sound of the waves in the background. We also decided to try out the Tuk Tuk which lead us to renting the bike because Tuk Tuks (which are little truck/car/van thingy majigs) cost half of what we spent on the bike one day. As for the suits, there are guys lined up and down the streets just standing outside of their stores. "Hello my friend where are you from?" We were very nice at first and said we were from the US . . . then we shook their hand . . . . thats when they have you and dragging you into their stores. So we ended up saying that we were from China and the guys were not too impressed but laid off of us so we found the remedy. Dylan did end of getting a suit made there. I must admit the suit is really nice looking and looks awesome on Dylan. We ate awesome food everyday for about the price of what gas was before George W got into office the first time . . . . around $1.50 for crab fried rice with real crab. We ate at a really nice restaurant on the beach for about $20 each which is not bad at all.

Everyday was paradise . . . wake up go out on the balcony that overlooks the ocean and check our emails. Wonderful. Our next big purchase is a house there. We figured that we can do it in the next few years and go there on short breaks to chill out and offer it to our friends and family. NOT YET . . . so no asking please. On Saturday the Fed Ex guy found us in town and gave me my passport with my Z Visa that allows me to use one time to get into to China and work there. Yeah don't ask please its a jacked up process but we have to abide by it if we want to live here. The next process is going for my interview with the police station where they ask me questions off my resume like where did you go to school how many years. We ended up pushing our plane departure date to one more day because at that time we weren't sure when we were supposed to get the package. So the new departure day was Tuesday instead of Monday. This meant our flight was leaving at 7:00 AM. However, we were not sure if we could get a cab from where we were at that time of the morning so Dylan and I decided to stay at the only hotel near the airport The Phuket International Airport Hotel. We left our friend's house Monday evening and got a taxi to take us to the new place . . . . again we told the guy where we were going and he seemed pretty sure where we were going. Until . . . . . we got to the airport. . . . . . driving through security gates with armed guards. So thankfully the armed guards are nice just as the rest of the people of Phuket and explained to our driver where to go . . . yeah still didn't have a clue. So we stopped a local shop and the driver asked and so we made it. When we arrive at this place it looked like The Bates Motel. The place was just not what either of us had in mind but it was only $30 for the night so we got exactly what we paid for. The guy shows us to our room. Too funny . . . so you entered the room through a sliding glass door . . . yeah what does that tell you. So I am laughing the whole time. You walk in the room and above the bed are Christmas lights for "mood" lighting. Again I am laughing so hard. Dylan says "Go in the bathroom" . . . I walk in and it's like I am outside next to the pool. The floor is the ground like it is near the pool and its wet for some odd reason. I am just laughing all night while Dylan is ready to kill me because he is trying to write his paper and I am just a nut the whole time.

We ended up leaving the next morning at 5:45 AM. So sad. Flying from Phuket to Bangkok was not such a good idea but it was the only option. Bangkok's airport is so jacked up. Once you go through the X-rays there are no restaurants so just remember that if you decide to fly there. Plus I am walking around feeling like I am going to hurl or run to the bathroom. Yeah got really sick from something in Thailand and thought I was going to die. Stomach bugs suck sorry but they do. I am better now.

In a nutshell . .. We love Thailand and would recommend it to everyone and anyone to go and visit. Nice people, great and cheap food, relaxing environment . . . What's not to love? The flights from the US are going to be a pain but fly to China and visit us and then go to Thailand.

Hope all is well with you . . . Be on the look out for my first day of school blog entry coming this week after Thursday.

Dylan and Amanda :)