ABROAD WITH LOLA

  
  
The first time I traveled to Australia I had planned on going sky diving in Cairns. I had it all booked and everything. Unfortunately, the day we were meant to go sky diving the winds were too strong, therefore it was cancelled. I was extremely disappointed but promised myself that one day I would sky dive!

Now you can literally sky dive anywhere in the world, but I really wanted it to be somewhere special and having a spectacular view was a must, so I began planning my destination. After deciding I was going back to Australia to live for a year, I knew it had to be somewhere in Australia and the first spot that popped into my mind was the beautiful Whitsunday’s.

Skydiving is one of those extreme sports that you really want to do with a friend, so I had some convincing to do with my travel buddy. He was not so keen on jumping out of an airplane and free falling towards the ocean! We discussed it many many times, until I eventually convinced him it was a good idea! How did I do it? Well, I was lucky enough to have my birthday in the Whitsunday’s, so when he asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday. I simply said, “The only thing I want to do for my Birthday is go skydiving” (with a sweet smile), and he sighed and finally agreed (nothing like a guilt trip and in the end I think he had an amazing experience!).

I was so excited when we woke up in the morning to go sky diving, I could hardly contain my excitement. I wasn’t even a tiny bit scared, I was just bursting with excitement! We arrived quite early to the location. Signed some waivers, got into our gear and off we went! The plane ride alone was spectacular, the views of the Whitsunday’s from the air were absolutely stunning, we are also lucky enough to have a beautiful, bright, sunny day. As we reached the correct height, we began to get ready to jump! We were jumping from an altitude of 14,000ft directly over crystal clear blue waters and white sandy beaches.

I watched 4 people go before me and oh man was I itching to be next! It was finally my turn, we began inching towards the open door. The best part about the whole experience is you have to jump tandem (you are attached to a pro skydiver) and the instructors don’t even let you think about what you are about to do. It’s not like, “You ready?”, nope, they literally get to the side of the open door and just toss you out the airplane! What a thrill!

We were free-falling at 220km/hr for an insane 60 seconds, best 60 seconds of my life. It is one of the best things I have ever experienced. When the canopy went up, I was actually disappointed the free-fall was over! However, floating around in the air for 5-7 minutes taking in the breath taking views that is the Whitsunday’s was an experience, all on it’s own. Seriously, the best birthday I could ask for and I am so happy I got to experience it with a friend.

  

  
We finally made it to Australia after numerous flights and hours in airports. We flew Phuket to Bangkok, Bangkok to Sydney, Sydney to Brisbane and at last Brisbane to Hamilton Island. However, we were greeted with gorgeous clear blue skies and the beautiful blue water that surrounds the Whitsundays. 

It was such a surreal moment walking off that plane, after 3 years, Hamilton Island was still just as breath taking as the first time I visited and I was incredibly happy to be back in Australia. We bought our tickets for the ferry to Airlie Beach, it was such a stunning day, so the ferry ride was quite a lovely journey. We finally made our way to our hotel, Club Croc Hotel. It is a family budget hotel and it was really nice. We had a pool, an air conditioned room, there was a BBQ we could use to cook food. We were pleasantly surprised and exhausted. We popped into the grocery store down the street, Mike cooked a delicious meal for us and we were off to bed for a much needed good night sleep. 

I can’t tell you how good it felt to sleep in the next day and have nothing planned. After 6 weeks of jam packed plans and many many nights of drinking, it felt incredibly nice to just sit back and relax. 

We made our way into town for lunch the next day. We settled for a little pub that was over looking the water, they had a pizza special, so being back packers on a budget, we went for that. I can’t tell you how shocking the prices in Australia are after having traveled through South East Asia, where every thing is dirt cheap. We were definitely going to have to budget a bit better, now that we were in Australia. 

After lunch we made our way to the Lagoon, which is basically a public pool that looks like a lagoon in the middle of town. You are not able to swim in the ocean in Airlie beach because of the deadly jellyfish, you will literally die… The lagoon however is not a refreshing experience because it was so hot in Airlie, it was basically like getting in a hot bath. We hung out there for a bit, laying in the water, basking in the sun. My goodness I just love Airlie Beach, such a fun, relaxing vibe. 

After we had enough of the sun and water, we grabbed a fruit smoothie, so delicious and strolled around the town checking out the shops. It was nice to just wander around, not worrying about what time it was. We finally decided to make our way back to the hotel. We decided to walk, since it was such a nice day and we wanted some excercise. It was about a 30 minute walk, but it was a beautiful walk. 

When I first traveled to Australia 3 years ago, I strongly believed I would never return. And here I was back in the beautiful country that I fell in love with. 

 

  
We all met up for dinner for our final night together! We were all having so much fun together, but the evening had a bit of sadness in the air as it would soon be time to say good-bye to new friends. After dinner we headed to a bar, unfortunately I wasn’t going to be able to stay out late because I had to be up at 5:30am the next morning to catch a 6am cab to the airport. I could already tell it was going to be a good night, everyone was in high spirits as the night began to unfold.

I was having such an amazing time dancing, taking pictures and genuinely enjoying the company of my new friends. It was a lot harder to leave the bar than I thought it was going to be. We spent 8 days in total with 35 people and you think you won’t possibly be able to establish real friendships in such a short period of time, but you really can. Travel friends are different. You develop a bond like no other, because you spend every moment of every day together. You see peoples ups and downs, you see people tired, cranky, drunk, hungover, happy, you see everything… It’s a bond that lasts a lifetime. I can genuinely say that the friends I have made while traveling will be friends I will always have in my life, no matter the distance.

I made some fabulous friends on this tour, but all good things must come to an end. Since the night had some good energy, I had to force myself to leave earlier than everyone else. Saying goodbye was so sad (as it always is), I realized I have more of an effect on people than I realized, people actually didn’t want me to leave.  There were a few people I really bonded with and we made promises to wake them in the morning before we left to catch our cab. Two of the girls bought me a bracelet that said ‘people’, claiming that they hate most people but they really liked me, so I’m their ‘people’. And one of the other girls bought me a bracelet that said ‘I miss you so much’ and then four us all got bracelets that said ‘Wolfpack’. So so sweet and so kind. I have never felt so loved and adored. We hugged everyone good-bye, danced a little more and continued dancing down the street with them waving good-bye, and slowly their faces faded away.

  
 

  

  
We woke up at a decent time the next morning feeling great. We made a plan to meet everyone at 11am to grab a long tail boat that was going to take us to Railay Beach. I was particularly excited for this day excursion because I had seen pictures and it looked absolutely stunning. The boat ride took about 15 minutes from Krabi to Railay Beach, I sat up front and was constantly getting sprayed with water, I didn’t mind one bit, I was enjoying every second of it. I still to this day cannot get over how stunning the water in Thailand is, it’s absolutely magical. I had one of those cheesy moments of pure serenity, I was just so in love with life at that moment.

We got to Railay and it was everything and more. There are limestone cliffs surrounding the entire beach, making it any rock climbers dream come true. The views are breath taking and the pictures taken don’t even give it justice. The water all around is a clear, teal-blue, so so beautiful, just thinking about it now makes me want to go back!

The first thing I did was jump in the water. It was so glorious, it was extremely hot out, so the water was so refreshing, not too cold, just pure perfection. It was such a beautiful day, not a single cloud in the sky, clear blue skies with the sun beating down on us. We spent a good amount time in the water, just taking it all in. Then it was time to explore the island! We saw some people hiking through the trees, so we decided to check it out in our swimmers and bare feet! It was a little tricky bare foot but we managed with time. We passed a bunch of people rock climbing, it looked incredible. I really wish I knew how to rock climb, it looks like such a thrill!

We continued on through the trees and finally came to an opening where there was a secluded beach with barely anyone on it. Since it was such a sweltering day and we had such been hiking we went for the water immediately to cool off. We hung around for a bit and then made our way back through the trees to the original beach we were on.

We had worked up an appetite after our hike so we grabbed some lunch on the walking street just off the beach. I had the most amazing burrito and fresh strawberry smoothie. So delicious. If I was going to miss anything it was definitely the food and fresh fruit smoothies!

After lunch we walked around the little markets, explored the streets, came across some cute little monkeys! We eventually made our way back to the main beach for one last swim and grabbed a long boat back to Krabi. Since it was our last day, a few of us decided to treat ourselves to a massage. I got an hour long foot massage, oh my goodness, it was amazing. For anyone who does not enjoy a foot massage, I do not understand you. We made our way back to our hotel, showered and got ready for our final night together!

  
 

 

  
We woke up early in the morning to have our bags outside for pickup, grabbed breakfast and headed to the ferry. It was hot, I was melting in the sun. The humidity in Thailand is insane, so freaking hot, you are sweating within minutes of being outside. We got on the Ferry and headed to the top of the boat. We were still in the sun and I was dying from the heat so I walked around a bit, taking in Koh Phi Phi one last time. I didn’t want to leave, it was so so beautiful. Once the ferry got going a few of us decided to head down one level lower where we could sit with our feet dangling over the edge of the boat with the wind in our face. It was so peaceful. I enjoyed every minute of it, sailing across crystal blue waters. 

We finally arrived in Krabi around 1:30pm, after a painful parking job by the guy driving the ferry. It legit took him 5 or 6 try’s to finally get it right. It was painful to watch and experience. Finally off the ferry with our bags we got on buses that were to drive us to our hotel (30 min away). Once at the hotel we were welcomed with bracelets made of flowers, they were so beautiful, what a way to be greeted. We also were offered a refreshing drink, some sandwiches and fruit. Thank goodness because I was starving! 

Once we had a little group meeting we headed up to our rooms, I got some laundry sorted out that I needed washed, dropped it off and headed for lunch and then a full body massage! Now when travelling South East Asia, you should be aware that yes the massage rates are incredibly cheap, but you are also taking a 50/50 chance. It’s either going to freaking amazing or absolutely horrible. Now this particular massage wasn’t my best experience. I was either in pain or struggling not to burst into a fit of laughter because it was so ticklish. How that is possible, I am still not quite sure. I knew I needed to go back, because I couldn’t end my Asia trip with a bad massage. 

We headed back to the hotel to the pool for a quick swim, showered and went down for dinner to enjoy another free buffet. After dinner three of us grabbed a Smirnoff each from the 7 eleven and went up to there room to listen to some Christina Aguilara and Britney Spears (in my freaking glory) and then went to meet the rest of the group. We were headed to a bar called Boogie Bar, can’t really go wrong with a bar called that. 

We started off the night right with a Tequila shot and a Vodka Sprite. There was a live band playing popular songs, that were quite good actually. Eventually Stefan got up and started singing some songs, he was shockingly good. And then that enticed Kelsie to get up and sing. She was unfreaking believable. She sang a bunch of Adele songs, I KNOW. She was THAT good. So much fun, I had goosebumps every time she belted out a lyric. We danced the night a way.

  

  
The next morning we were slightly hungover, but pushed through it. We slept in and then I met up with a few of the girls from my group to have some lunch. After lunch we walked around the streets a bit, shopping and buying cute little things. 

Koh Phi Phi is one of my favorite places I have travelled so far. You can literally walk from one end of the island to the other in about 20 minutes. The streets are filled with cute little trinkets, bracelets, scarves, tank tops, the list goes on… I could have spent hours just wandering the street looking at everything and watching the people go about their day. And the beaches, oh my goodness the beaches! They are out of control. It is literally paradise, from cliffs, white glorious sandy beaches and beach front jungle. It is literally love at first site.  

After walking around for a bit we decided to go hang by the pool at our hotel for a bit. It was so nice and refreshing, I just love pools, I wish I had a pool at home to enjoy in the summer months! 

A little later in the day some of the people from our group decided to go on a hike to Phi Phi View to see the sunset. Let me tell you it was definitely a hike. Here I thought I was in good shape, but I was tired by the time I reached the top! However, I am really happy I did it because the views were incredible, well worth the hike. And it was a beautiful sunset. Anna, my friend from my previous tour group, had decided to do the hike too, so I met her at the top.

After we watched the sunset we decided to grab some dinner and then sat and chilled on the beach just gazing at the star and watching the waves come in. I was seriously in pure bliss. The air was nice and warm, it is just so beautiful in Phi Phi, I really didn’t want to leave. But all good things must come to end, tomorrow we were off to Krabi, another paradise. 

  

  
We woke up early the next day for a boat exertion to Maya Bay, the destination where the movie The Beach was filmed. We headed out on the boat at about 9am, our first stop was Monkey Island, where we went to obviously see Monkeys! They were adorable and quite clever little things.

After a quick stop on Monkey Island, we headed to Maya Bay, our main destination! I was so excited to see this spot, it was meant to be incredible. It did not disappoint, it is without a doubt one of the most beautiful beaches/destinations I have ever seen. Absolutely stunning. The water is so blue it actually looks like you could be in a pool, it’s insane. And the water is such a beautiful temperature, I was in heaven, I could have stayed there all day.

Unfortunately, it is very popular spot, so it is packed with people and it is not a very big beach to begin with so it doesn’t take long to fill up with tourists. We were lucky, we got there quite early so it wasn’t too bad.

After spending an hour at the beach and in the water we headed to a lagoon to continue swimming. It was incredible, the water is so calm in Thailand, it is just magnificent. We spent an hour just jumping off the boating and swimming and then we were off again to go snorkelling.

After our snorkelling stop we were back in the boat off to Bamboo Island, where we grabbed some food and just chilled on the beach for a couple of hours. As soon as we got back to the main island we grabbed some lunch, went back to our hotel and chilled out for a bit. It was a pretty full on day, so it felt nice to just relax for a bit and we had quite the night ahead of us.

We had a buffet style dinner as a group and then were provided a fire show on the beach right in front of our hotel. The guys were incredibly talented, it was insane the tricks they could do while twirling fire around, absolutely mental. After the fire show and a few drinks we headed to one of the bars on the beach. I grabbed myself a Vodka bucket with pineapple juice and this is where the real fun began. We started a beer pong marathon right at the bar which was so much fun I can’t even tell you. I think I have actually mastered the game, I have become a beer pong genius! After many rounds of beer pong we moved on to the next bar, which was a dangerous bar because it had a mechanical bull and pole…

Now if anyone knows me at all, in my drunken state I think I am capable of much more than I actually am. Everyone was dancing around this pole, that is meant for people who actually know how to pole dance, some people in our group were actually quite good. So of course I would think in my stupid drunken state that I can totally pole dance, no problem! Wrong! Oh, but I went for that pole, you know it. And I spun, and spun and spun myself right off the pole onto the ground with quite impressive force I must say. And this wasn’t just in front of few pole, no of course not, it was in front of a full crowd of people. Needless to say I stayed away from that pole for the rest of the evening.

We spent the remainder of the night dancing our asses off on the beach. We just had the best time. At the end of the night we walked out to the water, with the tide out, dipping our toes in the water. It was an exceptional night.

    

 

  Now after having a night of unlimited drinking at the White Room on Bangla Road you can only imagine the state of our group in the morning. It was dreadful. It was not a pretty site. Want to know what was on the agenda for the day… a TWO HOUR FERRY RIDE. Let me just say it was an extremely painful journey.

We arrived safe and some what alive in Koh Phi Phi, which is one of the most stunning places I have visited. I fell in love immediately.  We had some dinner and then took a stroll down to the party beach to see what it was all about. It was definitely a party beach! there was so much happening, so many people, guys twirling fire batons left, right and centre and so many bars! We didn’t stay long, we had a pretty early night because most of us were still recovering from the previous night.

We had a whole day in Phuket the next day, some people opted to go to James Bond Island, but I decided to stay back at the hotel so I could have some time to myself. I legit hadn’t had a day to myself for like a month straight and I like my alone time, so it was much needed. I spent most of the day lounging by the pool and ended up meeting a lovely couple from Melbourne, who I am still friends with to this day!

After a beautiful day relaxing by the pool, I met up with the group for the Simon Cabaret Show (Lady Boy Show). It was pretty family oriented, extremely PG, yet still entertaining. After the show we headed back to Bangla Road, yet again… Of course our destination was, The White Room. We paid 800 baht for unlimited drinks for 3 hours… Now if you are not familiar with the currency that is $30.00 Canadian dollars. Yes you read that correctly, $30.00 to drink unlimited amounts of alcohol for 3 hours!! If that doesn’t spell disaster I don’t know what does. The problem with unlimited drinking is you forget to pace yourself, as soon as you finish your drink you go straight to the bar for another! Needless to say we all were feeling pretty good. It was one of my favorite nights whilst travelling still to this day. We danced and danced and danced the night away. If anything this group knew how to party and have a good time. We left the bar at about 2:30am and of course made a stop at McDonalds on the way back to the hotel.

If you ever visit Phuket, you should probably party at the White Room, but be advised it is not for amateurs.