Holiday Review

Best drink:
Danae> I would rate as the highest the Spark (the banana/vodka/something else yum cocktail I had whilst watching the sunset in Phuket, just before Chris proposed) and the Chocotini (a combination of baileys, vodka, hazelnut liquor and with choc sauce
around the rim) that I sipped at the Moon / Vertigo Bar, a swish establishment on the 61st floor of a top end hotel in Bangkok.
Ryan> The tower of beer at the Hippy Hi Bar, Bangkok.

Worst drink:
Heidi> Only 30 mins before the Chocotini, had some kind of overpriced curdled, nausea-inducing.... juice at a dodgy bar in Patpong, Bangkok. nausea-inducing cocktail of kahlua, coconut cream and pineapple juice. The only cocktail I haven't finished IN MY LIFE!
Chris> Full Moon Party buckets. Tasted nice enough, but there is something not right about that much Red Bull

Best Pad Thai:
Ryan> Some dodgey little eatery on some dirt road in a shack at Koh Phi Phi. I was completely drunken and it tasted awesome. It had ho-fun noodles.
Chris> I am not a fan of the Pad Thai

Best night:
Danae> The night Chris proposed to me was definitely my best and most memorable night.
Ryan> Full moon party, getting down and dancing to the trance music on the beach was epic.

Worst toilet:
Danae> There's a few competing for this title, but probably the one that was in the ferry carpark, on the way to Ko Pha-Ngan (I think), that had a substantial hole in the wall looking out to the carpark, and didn't lock, and was dirty as could be. No toilet paper of course.
Ryan> Chang Mai in the markets. There was no ass gurney and had only a tissue and a Muay Thai ad to wipe my ass.
Heidi> At the hot springs, Chiang Mai - the only squat toilet of my trip . I got off easy - after some of Danae's reports I just managed to hold it in!
Chris> Grand Inn Come Bangkok. The toilet was fine except Danae clogged up on the first night of the holiday.

Best street vendor:
Danae> The best street vendor was the pancake man at Ko Tao, where Heidi and I devoured a plate of crispy Thai pancakes of the tasty concoction of peanut butter and banana, with condensed milk drizzled over the top. It may sound revolting but it tasted divine!
Ryan> The fried chicken street vendors, its like KFC at every corner!
Chris> Sausage lady in Koh Tao

Best view:
Danae>The best view was from the viewpoint at the top of Ko Phi Phi. It made the very long and steep walk well worth it! Beautiful limestone cliffs cascading down into the ocean and a great view of all the island's beaches
Heidi> From the viewpoint up on the hill in Koh Phi Phi. The view from the hotel in Koh Tao runs a close second, especially since I wasn't nearly having a heart attack or sweating like a prostitute in church.
Ryan> Paradise view hotel balcony at Koh Tao, would have said Koh
Phi Phi lookout, but it was a complete bitch to get to.

Best memory:
Danae> My memories are all slightly fuzzy due to large amount of cocktails consumed on the trip, how could I go past the romantic evening that Chris orchestrated for the proposal? It began with cocktails at sunset on the beach (when I just happened to comment to Chris that I wished I had a cocktail to compliment the view, when a waiter mysteriously appeared - cocktail in hand - wishing me a happy birthday!), and then a romantic candlelit dinner beside the gorgeous Naithonburi resort pool, with numerous delicious and impressive looking cocktails, and finishing with the fantastic finale of Chris getting down on bended knee and asking me to marry him. Applause!
Heidi> Any of the times we were all sitting back at a restaurant on the beach with Changs and cocktails in our hands
Ryan> The third dive we did had some really awesome underwater life.

Worst memory:
Heidi> Possibly waiting at Chiang Mai airport waiting for a plane or any accompanying information that never came.
Ryan> Losing the passport.

Worst meal:
Danae> The crappiest thing I ate was an undercooked satay chicken pizza with too much base and not enough topping. The coffee and wine everywhere was also terrible.
Heidi> Noodles a la salmonella on Koh Phi Phi. Ironically the same day I had my only hangover, and right next door to the shop with the best pad thai.
Chris> The musim village in Ko Panyi. I didn’t eat the worst meals but I had to watch the others struggle de-shelling marinated prawns.

Funniest joke:
Ryan> Saying "you forgot your boarding pass" at every airport, or any place that required some sort of ticket to get transport.
Danae> I found it very amusing that Ryan created the new reference to our growing "pad thighs" after the numerous pad thais consumed on the trip. It was pretty hilarious too when Chris set up a scenario where he "accidentally" forgot his boarding pass in the Chiang Mai airport, just so Ryan would have to say "don't forget your boarding pass".
Heidi> Hoo har diddly diddly
Chris> “The entirety of this journey”, “The heat bat”, “Caining the beers”

Worst transport:
Heidi> Air Asia, followed closely by the bus trip to Surat Thani which took almost 8 hours instead of the anticipated 2.5.
Danae> Our worst transport was the taxi rides in Bangkok - we nearly died countless times - they drive like maniacs, swerving all over the road in peak hour traffic including onto the other side into the path of oncoming vehicles and braking suddenly inches from crashing.

Worst or best ass gurney:
Ryan> One one Koh Tao, the seal at the bottom of the trigger leaked, so the water went everywhere when you tried to hose yourself off.
Heidi> The slightly overpowerful one at the hotel on Koh Tao - best or worst depending on what rocks your boat.
Danae> The last place in Bangkok because there was no ass gurney. I miss the gurney action now that I no longer have one at my constant disposal.
Chris> The one in Koh Tao was on the left side of the toilet!

Best story:
Ryan> I would probably remember a good one if I wasn't drunk everytime there was action going on.
Heidi> The engagement - not really my story but one that will be told for a long time.... at least until the wedding :P
Chris> When we were waiting for a not-so-overloaded Sawngthaw to take us to the Full Moon Party, Glasson called Ryan and told him to come out to Home nightclub in Sydney.

What you wish you knew for next time:
Heidi> Timetables, prices, lane markings, rules and laws are merely rough guidelines.
Ryan> What you wish you knew for next time: Air asia and Bangkok taxis should be avoided at all costs, spend as little time in Bangkok as possible.
Danae> More thai
Chris> Don’t take two pairs of jeans. Thailand in the hot season is bloody hot.

If you had to cut anyone from the team who would it be:
Ryan> Me, so the others wouldnt have anyone to poke fun at. That'll learn them.
Chris> Ryan. All he wanted to do was cain beers for the whole holiday.
Danae> I actually enjoyed the company of everyone in the team and wouldn't have cut anyone out.
Heidi> Everyone at some point. Kidding - it wouldn't have been the same!

Best massage:
Danae> The best massage I had was a Swedish oil massage in Ko Pha-Ngan. The traditional Thai massages were a bit too intense for my liking.
Chris> Chang Mai, 120 Baht.

Best or worst purchase:
Ryan> Probably the fitted suit I purchased.
Danae> Worst purchase was probably the handcrafted umbrella - I bought it early in the journey and it proved awkward for traveling and I really don't need it.
Heidi> My snorkel. It broke before I used it, so I had to share Ryan's. The only other time I went snorkeling was on Koh Tao where they provided one anyway. Doh.
Chris> Best purchase were the big stubbie coolers.

Best deal:
Heidi> Danae's mini tub of monkey balm for 4 baht???
Danae> The best deal was in Ko Tao when we got accommodation and Chris' scuba course for 8000 baht (the course alone would cost 8000 baht), and only had to pay a little bit extra to get an air-conditioned room.

What you will miss most:
Ryan> Cheap beers, drink promotions, lack of
responsible service of alchohol and some crazy maggie sauce that I put
on my scrambled eggs and omlettes.
Heidi> The lazy days of eating and drinking by the beach
Chris> Ass gurneys. (although won’t miss having to put toilet paper in the bin or brushing teeth with bottled water)
Danae> Thai Food

Worst nights sleep:
Danae> Worst night's sleep was on the plane on the way home. I slept well every night, and during the day (wombat woman).
Heidi> Either the flight home, or one night spent staring at the ceiling worrying about Ryan's passport. Well someone had to I guess.
Ryan> I think I slept pretty well, nothing really outstanding, but the beds were hard as.

Most amount of toilets ruined in one day:
Ryan> 5, this was probably only slightly above average for the trip.

Worst beating taken from the heat bat:
Heidi> Bangkok - the car fumes gave it more sting
Ryan> Doing the climb at Koh Phi Phi

Is there anything else you would like to mention to the blog people?
Chris> You are very lucky I forced the others to do the blog. They just wanted to relax constantly.
Heidi> Just wanna say thanks to everyone I know that read this blog. I think that's just you Mum :P
Ryan> Haven't they had to read enough?

Write your own question and answer it here:
Ryan> Why are holidays so short? Because our god is a vengeful god.
Danae> What were some of the silliest moments? Amusing times were when Chris lost one of his thongs and replaced it with a random thong for the rest of the holiday and Ryan forgot his passport after telling me how careful he is with it.
Heidi> Who wants to go again? Me.
Chris> Why do the others hate me so much? Because I am a meany