The Sun Also Rises In Afghanistan: Thailand: Part I-III

One of the biggest perks of working at Roshan is the vacation time. I was promised four "home-leaves" that total forty days of vacation, and the company pays for round trip tickets on these leaves. In addition to the home-leaves, there is a beautiful thing called public holidays. A couple of weeks ago, the Muslim world celebrated Eid and Afghanistan shut down for a week. Joel and I took advantage of this holiday by jetting off to Thailand for ten days. It was my first time in this glorious country and although we only had ten days, I think we nailed it. Below is a short summary of how awesome the trip was, and some tips on what to do if you're thinking about a quick trip.

Thailand Part I: Bangkok and Railay Beach

We arrived in Thailand 24-hours after leaving Kabul, tired and angry at the world. Six hours later we woke up in our guest house in Bangkok and took in the sights of Kho San Road. We ate, shopped, got Thai massages and drank buckets on our first night in Thailand before taking off to Krabi the next morning.

By 2pm the next day we were on the beach. Railay is marked by massive forested cliffs that push sharply into the sky. The water here is turquoise and the sand is soft between your toes. Railay beach is this tiny little town that actually compromises of Railay East and Railay West. West is for the day time: beach, kayaking, mango shakes at lunch and sunsets. East is for the evening: outdoor bars with live music, Jenga, Connect Four and most importantly, buckets. A bucket is a Thai phenomenon whereby they mix a 2-6 of Thai whiskey, coke and red bull together in a bucket, throw some straws in, and charge you $10. Then they make it even more attractive by offering you a promotion you'd be silly to pass up -- buy two buckets, get one free! Do the math... there were two of us. Krabi was a perfect start to the trip: we paid $40/night for an awesome room and the days/nights were filled with lounging, hanging, massages, napping and drinking.

Pad Thai and a Banana Shake for $1.50

Thailand Part II: Ko Phi Phi
Joel and I arrived in Ko Phi Phi overwhelmed and wishing we were back sipping banana shakes and green curry chicken on Railay Beach. This place is NOTHING like Railay. People everywhere; vendor stands, shops, restaurants, bars, bikes and lights on what felt like was a massive island. This was not the Ko Phi Phi that was made famous in the 90s with the movie "The Beach." Sure enough, after a bucket or two we opened up to the potential of the place. And by potential I mean Cancun-style parties on the beach at a place called "Slinky's." Slinky's was both awesome and terrifying.

Ko Phi Phi nights were a blur of buckets and Euro trance music. If you do find yourself in Ko Phi Phi, go to Carlito's on the opposite side of the island - it has a pretty impressive fire show every night. And two-for-one buckets.

Joel's first dive site, Bida Nok

Ko Phi Phi is also the place to dive. Joel and I did a full day of diving- his first scuba diving experience. He was little apprehensive in the beginning (the whole breathing underwater with an apparatus part doesn't always sit well) but before long, he was pushing me out of the way underwater to check out sea turtles and leopard sharks. He also insisted on being called, "Scuba Joel" for the rest of the trip.

In the end, Ko Phi Phi was my favorite stop. The highlight was this tiny hole-in-the-wall authentic Thai place called Papaya where I ate the best Pad Thai I've ever had. In addition to the food, I got to experience one of the things I love most about Joel. When he eats spicy food, you can actually gauge the spice level with the amount of sweat that forms on this head. It's truly amazing. Below is a before and after picture.

Unfortunately, we overdid it by returning to Papaya twice in one day and Joel paid the price with a full day of the stomach flu. That's the nice way of saying he had diarrhea.

Thailand Part III: Ko Lanta and Bangkok

Ko Lanta is a massive island, and a boring one. The only good thing about this place, other than the truly breath-taking scenery, was that it produced perfect weather. We spent all day roasting in the sun, reading books and enjoying our legitimate beach front bungalow. After a week of sub par weather, it was a welcome change. (End of rainy season means generally comfortable temperatures but overcast days.) You can see how terrible Ko Lanta looks below.

Joel and I were happy to return to Bangkok where we did more shopping, more eating and a little sightseeing. We topped off the whole experience with a "fish pedicure" where we dipped our feet into a tank filled with dead-skin-eating fish. It was horrifying at first, it felt like a torture device and insects were crawling all over my body. After 15 minutes it was fine, and after 30 I had super smooth feet. Check out the video below.

All in all, the trip was a huge success and a wonderful break from the monotony of Kabul. I would have spent an extra day in Phi Phi and Railay and skipped Lanta altogether but again, who am I to complain about spending a couple of days in total paradise and getting a beautiful tan?