Thailand to Malaysia: We made it out just in time! Recap on the Full Moon Party, Muay Thai, Monkeys, Caves, Sharks & so much more!

Well, that was a close one! Martial Law has been issued in Bangkok, RIGHT when we were supposed to be back there for a departure flight. We have instead decided to forfeit our flights to Singapore and take a bus straight to Malaysia making our way slowly to Singapore via bus. Smart and safe decision on our part.
 
Some background on what is happening: Martial Law.
 

Powerful photo I found online.

Martial law is the imposition of military power over designated regions on an emergency basis. Martial law is usually imposed on a temporary basis when the civilian government or civilian authorities fail to function effectively. In full-scale martial law, the highest-ranking military officer would take over, or be installed, as the military governor or as head of the government, thus removing all power from the previous executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government- thanks Wikipedia.
 
What is happening is being regularly referenced now as Thai Coup. Check it out on Twitter if you’re interested by searching #ThaiCoup and a good person to follow on Twitter regarding the coup is Richard Barrow [@RichardBarrow]. Check out some of his tweets.
 
 

 

 



Victory Monument- where the video below was taken.



 While we were in Bangkok there were smaller protests going on that weren’t anything of notice to us but now that we are looking at photos, it appears we may have walked right through one. See video below. Yikes.

 
 
But all in all- we are safe and out of Thailand so EVERYTHING IS FINE, MOM! J Here are a few things to note since the last blog..
 
Thailand Full Moon Party & Muay Thai Fight.
Holy neon paint. Everywhere. Adam thought he was Pablo Picasso so he used as much paint as he could on me. I think it brought him back to Burning Man days in Nevada.
 

We were so lucky that our two friends, Maria & Sebastian, from the Chiang Mai jungle trek were going to be down in Koh Phangann for the party as well! It worked out that we were staying super close to each other so we met up prior to the party and adventured there together.

The 4 of us painted up!

The hotel we were staying at provided round trip transportation for a small amount of money so we all opted for that and were on our way. Once we got there, we immediately purchased a bucket and our own mixers- we were READY.

 
The party was CRAZY. Dancing, music, fire, everything. They even had a flaming jump rope that Adam wanted to give a go at. He did, and sizzled part of his mustache when it hit him in the FACE!!! Yikes.

#BurntStache

I kept on walking and figured that wasn’t the best idea for me to try. We people watched, laughed, and danced together on the beach all night.

Sebastian & Maria

We made it until 3am and that was impressive for me! It was a blast and having our friends there made it that much better!

Strangers proceeded to ask Adam to paint them while on the beach.

Me & Adam!

Me with Maria & Sebastian

On our last night in Koh Phangan, the four of us decided to check out a Muay Thai fight. We all had an awesome dinner on the beach and made our way to the fight.

Me & Maria during our romantic dinner on the beach! haha

Muay Thai time!

It definitely wasn’t what I was expecting! It opened up with what appeared to be 7 to 10 year olds going at it! And they were GOOD! There were some good fights in between and it ended with some older guys fighting which we thought was a joke…but it wasn’t! Another fun night and it was time to say goodbye. We feel so fortunate to have met these two and will definitely keep in touch and meet again either in Argentina or back in the US!
 
Thailand Short Recap.
I MISS IT ALREADY! Amazing food. Truly the Land of Smiles. Even when they have no idea what you are saying, they smile at you. We got to ride elephants, pet a baby monkey, white water raft, experience an earthquake, and spent 3 days in the Jungle. We met a group of awesome people from all around the world that we will keep in touch with and meet again in our [or their] travels. Cheap food and clothing. I literally bought 8 pairs of what Adam calls “dumpy pants”. I don’t care what you want to call them, I call them COMFORTABLE!!! And we got them for $5 each. We got fish pedicures and it was disgusting feeling!  


Fishy Fishy Fishy!

We bought bracelets from two lovely female monks on the street. 

I am looking rough but all in the name of GOOD KARMA! :) We haven't taken our bracelets off.

We both got small tattoos that mean: "Good Luck, Be Lucky & Good Fate/Fortune”.  We saw a Ping Pong show and it cost us over $100 for less than 20 minutes because we got scammed by the Thai Mob and had to pay it. I will have nightmares forever about what I saw. We tried tons of local street food and made good friends with our Tuk Tuk driver Tim who took us to all the best spots to eat. We took over night trains, tuk tuks, mopeds, ferries, and busses to get around- the worst was the overnight train by far. My choice of transport: Elephant. We took a flight to get to Thailand and a bus to get out. We will DEFINITELY be back. When the Thai Coup is over of course.  

Bus from Thailand to Malaysia.
It was much more than just a bus that brought us from Thailand to Malaysia. In fact, it was one ferry, one bus, and 3 vans until we got to our hotel at 9pm. The ferry and double decker bus were fine- as we thought we were home free once we got great seats on the bus! Boy were we wrong. We were crammed into vans with other backpackers and people crossing the border. The one van was blasting Thai karaoke and wouldn’t turn the music down. It sounds like it may have been funny or fun- but it wasn’t. We were practically on top of each other and it was very hot. It did lead to us all having a great conversation and meeting each other though, which was nice.
 
We met two girls from Norway that proceeded to tell us how they both have been mugged in their travels- EEK. One said she was mugged walking alone down a street at night… and that it probably wasn’t the best idea! Apparently, the guys driving mopeds will cut one strap of your purse that is over your shoulder and take it. The one Norwegian girl explained that when it happened to her, she was dragged a few feet by the guy on the moped!!! Luckily she is fine and all she had in her bag was a few bucks- she took her phone and all important things out before she left. LUCKY.
 
It was a long travel day, but we made it to Malaysia!  
 
Ipoh.
We spent a few days in Ipoh, Malaysia checking out the night markets and malls- trying to find a replacement charger for my Microsoft Surface. Sidenote: NO ONE SELLS THE SURFACE ANYWHERE. POS. Two great things that came out of Ipoh: 1. Found a man on the street to rig my charger up so it works & 2. WINNIE!
 
The charger is looking rough but we are back in action! More importantly, we met Winnie! Winnie took care of us when we stumbled into a tea house looking to grab a bite to eat. She helped us through the menu and suggested wonderful drinks and things to try for food- all were DELICIOUS!! We even sat on pillows, I loved it!

Winnie!

We were full, but told her we would stop back to get a snack for dinner later and try some of their deserts! Winnie greeted us with a huge smile when we came back and surprised us with a souvenir so we would always remember Ipoh! She also was kind enough to send us on our way with some teas. Thank you, Winnie!!! You are awesome. J
 
Kuala Lumpur & the Batu Caves
When searching for places to stay, price is always something that plays a big role on what we pick. We found a reasonable room in Kuala Lumpur in a busy area for cheap! Perfect. Until we got there. The welcome was terrible and Adam reprimanded me for being rude... which sometimes I admit I lose patience when someone has awful customer service. The room was fine once we got up there and breakfast was included. The worst part is yet to come.
 
This area was BUSY. I mean, CRAZY BUSY! We haven’t gone out to experience the night life in a city in a while so we changed and made our way out. We had a great dinner and the drink specials were flowing along with the live music!

We met some awesome people [Aylwin!] while out and finally called it a night.

When we got up to our room, we realized why it was so cheap. It was on the second floor of a dance club. The room literally shook from the loud music until 3am so we were up until that time every night. EVERY NIGHT.
 
When we wanted to stay in and have a quiet night, this proved hard. We could only watch the movie channel on the TV if they had that channel on in the reception area. When we requested for them to put it on, the guy at the front desk told us it would be 2 hours…he had to finish his show…WHAT. I was so fed up with this place. He came up at 1am to tell us he changed the channel so we could watch TV. SO KIND.
 
“Breakfast included” also didn’t happen. Since we didn’t come down the first morning for breakfast, we lost breakfast privileges for the next 3 mornings. That makes sense. We were offered white bread and hot water when we did come down and were told, “well you didn’t show up yesterday so...” Out of luck.
 
/end rant.
 
We did see the Petronas Twin Towers, the Sunway Pyramid, and the Aquarium which were awesome!


Photo of the Petronas Twin Towers from Adam's Instagram [@the_bautz]

 


SHARK!

But the coolest part was the Batu Caves. 

Outside the Batu Caves

Before departing KL, we had a cab take us to check out the Batu Caves and it was so worth it. 270+ stairs to get up to the caves and TONS OF MONKEYS.

Stairs up to the Batu Caves with a beautiful view behind!

Tons of monkeys that did NOT like Adam. At one point one charged and growled at him. They must have thought he was a big bearded mean gorilla. 

Monkey & Baby!!

Awesome cave and I still thought the monkeys were cute!

Adam inside the Batu Caves.

Monkeys!

I also have to note- this location was the THIRD TIME someone has asked to take a picture with Adam. WHAT THE HECK IS THAT ABOUT?! Who could they possibly think he is? It happened twice in Thailand before it happened here in Malaysia. Adam is starting to think he’s famous. HA
 
Where we are now: Malacca.
We just arrived today in the historical town of Malacca. There is so much to see here and we plan to explore around here for at least 4 days, probably will extend to more. It’s quiet and I think we really are going to enjoy our time here.
 
Phew, this was a long one!! Hope everyone is well at home- missing it more and more!
 
Until next time!