& on to Bangkok we go!

Now I don't want to come off as a negative nancy here, but... there's no easy way to say this is there? I didn't quite like Bangkok. At times I may or may not have uttered the words "I hate this place" or "urg I can't wait to leave" but I digress. A few things affected these negatory feelings from within - the weather for one. It was dreadful. Rain, clouds, more rain & even thunder. Terrific. Second was the SCAMS. If you ever head over to Thailand's capital city, just be prepared for scammy scam scams when it involved anything&everything tuk tuk related.
Putting this sadness/sourness aside, I actually loved seeing the gorgeous temples (touristy of me I know, but whateva) + eating some delicious noms + walking through some craycray markets. The Grand Palace, Wat Pho & Wat Arun are the 3 main temples that are MUST SEE in Thailand. I can go on&on about the descriptions+things to see, but photographs will take care of that. One warning (again) though - don't listen to ANYONE outside the palace or the other temples. People approached us (one in a fake police uniform for goodness sake) telling us the temples were closed for prayer/thai only/the day and to come w them to another temple then some jewlery/textile warehouse outlet. Trust you-me, THEY ARE ALL OPEN. Anywhoo, one other special tip... for the BEST thai ice tea I've ever had EVER - its right outside Wat Arun in this little park-like area where there is a small food+beverage booth. The woman made us the mouth watering concoction that I am still salivating over.

entrance to the ferry

cruising the Chao Phraya River

what have we stumbled upon here?

cooking up some fresh pad thai

Grand Palace

Wat Pho - reclining Buddha

behind the reclining (slash relaxing) Buddha, there are about 100 (I think, may be totally wrong) bowls as shown above where people drop coins of some sort in each and everyone...so while you're there you just hear constant "tings, pings" *this is coin noises*... thought you'd might like to knooooowww

one of my favorite pics of the trip

Wat Arun

Koh Phangan [FMP]

After Koh Samui, it was time to hop islands & head for the one & only FMP. For all you mere mortals out there, FMP=Full Moon Party (get it together) which if you don't know what that is... well it's a ridiculously bright, crowded and "eventful" party on the beach of Haad Rin in Koh Phangan, Thailand. It was a rowdy all nighter filled with fire, infamous buckets (can of redbull+can of pop+mickey of alc) & loud music that went on until sunrise (which was beautiful). We stayed at a great little spot called Beck's Resort. This place had an ideal location (in my opinion) since it was only 5 minutes away from the ferry piers & 15-20 minutes away from Haad Rin (close enough to get there quickly but still a ways away to relax the days before & after). While in Koh Phangan we enjoyed the beach/beach bar at our resort, an incredibly delicious night market, a morning shopping trip to Haad Rin for essentials for FMP & of course FMP.
I feel like pictures will give you a better idea of my experience in Koh Phangan slash I'm sure you are already tired of my babbling already, BUUUUT one last piece of advice/tidbit: while getting to Koh Phangan is fairly easy (especially the days leading up to the FMP), getting a ferry out proves to be more difficult with ferries being fully booked the days following FMP. My advice is to book a ferry out (if you know when you will want to leave...FYI don't leave the day after FMP, you'll be too hungover/still raging) when you are booking your ferry there (aka from Surat Thani or Koh Samui or wherever you're coming from) or as soon as you arrive!

cruising around the morning b4 FMP

so much BRIGHT

absolutely DELICIOUS fruit shakes for less than $1

our purchases of the day

nomming

MY FAVORITEEEE

mangos galore

outdoor Muay Thai 

our resortttttt

the beach/bay

many many beach shots were taken

right b4 I ran into some casual nudists...it was awkward

Beck's Resort!

@ FMP

Fire Jump Rope...

typical

the girls

FMP in all its glory

Relaxing in Koh Samui

After a little persuasion (not really though) from friends, I booked a last minute flight to Thailand to "get away" for the Easter break (I swear I go to school...it may not seem like it, but I promise I do...really mom, I do!!). I flew Thai Airways (great airline to fly around Thailand btw, lots of flights a little bit everywhere & if you're lucky you can catch them on some serious seat sales) to Bangkok then over to Surat Thani which is the closest airport to Koh Samui+Koh Phangan (infamous for their full moon partayssss). I landed late in Surat Thani and since the last ferry leaving for Koh Samui/Koh Phangan is at 6pm, I had to stay overnight at a cute/comfortable hotel a little ways in the city. Kaew Samui Resort is a unique little hotel with great rates, clean rooms & awesome service... but it's kind of in the middle of nowhere. But for a quick stopover, it's perfect.
The next morning I met a friend at the airport & we took a bus+ferry combo to get to Koh Samui. Side note: Thailand has an INCREDIBLE tourism focus and they are SOOO great with getting you to places, transportation, hotel bookings etc... The bus to Donsak (ferry docks) took about an hour-ish while the ferry took about an hour & a half to get to Koh Samui (add another hour if you are going to straight to Koh Phangan). We got to our hotel, Elements Boutique Resort & Spa, which was an absolute dream. It is a petite resort on the South-West side of the island, away from the hustle&bustle. It is very secluded with an incredibly gorgeous infinity pool. One downside is the beach is located on a bay which is a bit murky...not the nicest but it was fine. The room was gorgeous & the spa treatments are a MUST (got a thai massage of course). After Koh Phangan we ended coming back to this hotel (it is that good) and rented a moped for the day to travel around Koh Samui.
All in all, I say there isn't much "to do" in Koh Samui, other than relax, eat (yummy mango sticky rice) and enjoy the beach. Definitely check out the shops+touristy areas on the North-East part of the island, but if you want an escape I'd stay away from those huge resorts & choose something more exclusive :)

my funny cab driver for Surat Thani - couldn't speak a word of english, but somehow we still got along :)

found this gem while heading back to the airport

welcoming @ our hotel

gorgeous gorgeous GORGEOUS

in love w the infinity pool (duh)

beautiful resort 

towel elephant

legit how you buy gas on the island haha

great start

nomming on some calamari 

followed by some pad thai

little hut for the night

mango sticky rice = HEAVEN

one margarita, coming right up

nom nom SPICY green papaya salad

tour around the island

pretties

and off to Koh Phangan/FMP we go!