Sorry Mom, things got weird!

I just said goodbye to Erica, thus sealing a week of mayhem in a memory box entitled: A Week Never to Forget. Laying around in the morning - over 5 years ago after sleepovers, movie watching, and junk food eating, we would outline hypotheses about our futures. Never would we have imagined that down the road, especially after 2 years of not seeing each other, we would be meeting up in some distant land, soaking up the Thai sunshine, and recapping on the adventures we have had since we were 18 and getting ready to embark on world exploration.

Erica's mom gave her this warning before Erica boarded the plane for the 'land of smiles' - she said, "Erica, don't get weird. I know how you get and...just don't get weird". Well after a costume swap Patong party, the night market, eating durian, getting Thai massages, getting caught in the rain, not having electricity or hot showers, watching Konan the Barbarian in a Thai movie theater with beer and couches, meeting lady boys at jazz night, being confused as honeymooners, seeing Phang Nga islands, caves, motorbike driving, learning to drive motorbikes, language barriers, Phi Phi island, fantasic food, beach parties, and losing all sense of reality for 6 hours, it is probably safe to say, "Sorry Mom, things got weird!" The tags can't do the week justice, but maybe the photos can paint a slightly better picture of the festivities.

 Erica and I at Wat Chalong - one of the famous temples here in Phuket. It is a massive area, complete with many temples and offering sites. We went shopping for ridiculous clothes for a costume birthday party and it just so happened that the long crazy pants came in handy when we wanted to go into the temples. Silk bottoms = culturally sensitive and fantastic feel!

Costumes came out at a friend's birthday party. Each guest was to bring an outfit in a bag and then pick a number, at random, for a different bag. Inside each bag was a collection random bag of costume supplies costing less than 200 baht or about 6 dollars. The results were hilarious!

 Once dressed and ready, we got a party van to Patong, a town in Phuket where the freaks come out at night. This place is famous for lady boys, ping pong shows, cheap alcohol, and crazy clubs. We took full advantage!

Hey, in Erica's time here we did some cultural stuff too! Going to the weekend night market is a must, especially if you want to try out some fried bugs! My first day in Thailand, 7 months ago, I ate bugs at this very same place. Delicious and nutritious!

One of the days, while I worked, I sent Erica off to do an island tour. She met rhasta boys and came back with all sorts of banana leaf gifts and fabulous photos of James Bond island, horse shoe crabs, and canoeing in caves. This island here is the famous "James Bond" island. It is the one featured in the movie - little claim to fame.

 The lady boy made me do it!

 Then we lost our minds for 6 hours out in Phi Phi. The Phi Phi islands are so picturesque and perfect for partying and soaking up some sun. This is the area where I went multi-pitching, but with Erica, our priorities centered around beach time and craziness. Oh, and it got weird.

Check out that beautiful blue water!

In a bikini, with a satchel - yes, satchel - and a beer, hiking out to sea.

 If I could summarize my feelings from the week in one picture, it would be this image of me with a 'clothes hanger grin' on my face. I had such a great time with Erica and I did not want it to stop!

Unfortunately, the week came to a close last night. Although I hated saying good bye to Erica, I was/still am so unbelievably happy that she came all the way out here to visit and I can not wait for our next big adventure. One of the greatest things about friends going to cool places and doing neat things, is that it means that we have to travel to obscure places if we want to see them! I can't wait to visit all of my friends, scattered all over the world, on different adventures of their own.

Thailand is a good look for me. I'm so happy here and I'm so so stoked that I got to share it with one of my best friends in the world. Getting to show someone your home also makes you rediscover the magic of the place that you fell in love with when you were first exploring it. We had a blast and sorry Mrs. Hills, things got weird!

Choke dee ka! (Cheers in Thai)

 <3