Well, what to say...there is so much to explain, and remember at once. Well, yes Germany was the perfect taste of Europe, it makes both Trav and I excited to see more of Europe. The Euro is very expensive, so that will be a huge expense to take into account. Travis was able to have his very first...truly perfect....Mocha at a cafe there in Frankfurt. He loved the three different layers so much that he had to come back the next day and get the same. You should of seen the excitement in his eyes as it was served, it was to great! The LRT or they call it the S-Bahn or U-Bahn in Frankfurt was great, and we used it mutliple times per day, luckily our hotel gave us a free transit pass while we were there, so that definitely was not an investment. As I said in an earlier post the buildins and archeticture; both new and old, were fabulous! The main train station known as Hauptbanhof was right out of an old movie, or similar to Harry Potter, lol. On our third day in Frankfurt we took a river boat trip up the River Rhine to see some very old old buildings, castles and churches. It was definitely worth it to just be taken along and to view such history. The tour also included lunch and some wine tasting which was a plus, travis ended up buying a bottle of ice wine and we just had it the other night here on a beach in Thailand, while we watched a Fire Show. Back to Germany: I loved it although some German's ( as all people) can be quite rude when they want too, and we had a view openly make fun of our English. I had one women repeat everything I said while I ordered a Banana Split and mock and scoff at me to her fellow employee's. I am glad I can have some restraint at those times, my mind was definitely on the road of revenge but......that is not the way! Right? Right! From Frankfurt Airport to our hotel and then back to the airport we had to carry ALL of our luggage, which was definitely a struggle, but we made do. We have : two very full and heavy backpacks, travis' very big guiding bag with his gear, my large rolling suitcase full of books, a briefcase, backpack, and two camera bags...so haha, you could hardly see us under our pile of luggage as we moved...it was good to see carts at times! The flight to Germany was just about 9.5 hours, and the flight from Frankfurt to Thailand was just under 10 hours, so we are quite aways from home, but still ok! O

Our first three days in Thailand were spent in Bangkok, we arrived into a very pretty and busy Airport and were able to get a cab straight to Khoasan Road which was quite close to where we were booked into. Wild Orchid Villa's were great, and such a perfect location. There is so so so sooo many market area's in Bangkok, every street there are merchants and setups. There is also much poverty, at times it makes you quite sad. Many people bring there handicapped children to the sidewalks and just leave them there with a cup for money infront. Some are parapalygects and sit there all day for people to stare at...I feel so horrible when I see that. How sad. Also, many times you walk by alleys or small shacked up areas thinking they are simply a food stall when really they are peoples houses and residences. The very small amount of money they make is only enough to survive, and it is hard seeing that when in North America we have too much instead of too little.
Thailand as we had heard before we came is very ' cheap ' as in terms of buying clothing and goods. This is true but it is more inexpensive yes, but not as inexpensive as we were thinking. The Thai people have become very used to foreigners coming and buying there merchandise and when many of us foreigners think we are getting a good deal, the price is much more than what it cost. So, I think over the last decade Thailand has become a bit higher priced, but nothing drastic. A Quicksilver board shorts and muscle shirt cost 15 dollars, and they are legit merchandise. They are just as nice as the80 dollar ones in WEM. A billabong swimsuit is 15 dollars too, and in the same quality as well. So no one can complain, and when you see much of the state of living here, it is ok even if they are making more than it cost....profits are needed. After Bangkok we took an overnight train to Krabi is South Thailand, it was wonderful! me and travis had a better nights sleep than we had the night prior in the hotel, so we can't wait to do it again in a few days! Once off the train there was the last 3 hour bus ride to Krabi which was a good price and nicely air conditioned. We were going to stay in Krabi but we decided to press on to Phi Phi Island so we did! It was a hour and a half ferry boat. Phi Phi was great, the first night we stayed at Phi Phi Relax Beach Resort, which we do not recommend. It was just as many of the negative reviews on Trip Advisor said....a no go. I wish I had known before I booked it. Anyway, the second night we stayed in the cheap room in the local hotel...which was even better than the other resort, so we were happy! I believe it was one fourth the price of the resort. That day we went on a day snorkelling trip which was fantastic! Although...lets just say we are two crispy canadians! We both burned our white skin off, and are red salamanders! lol. we went to 5 different spots snorkelling, it was ok, but nothing like we expected...we go again tomorrow to another island which is supposed to be the best in Thailand...so yay! I was stung by baby jelly fishes ALL day, they only are as big as a bead or smaller but when you don't have much skin hair...they get ya, and I got it ALL day....it was annoying! So, that was a great day! Later that night we found out it was the Thai New Year and Songkhran celebrations which were a fire show, fireworks, music and of course...a country wide water fight, so we decided it would be the perfect night to celebrate our 4 year wedding anniversary. Travis opened up the wine and we sat on the beach and watched the fire performers....it was amazing! The next day we just hung about with our bright red backs and shoulders and waited for the ferry at 130pm. We stayed in the shade and soon arrived in Phuket. (Poo-ket, by the way!) Luckily we were able to catch the bus heading for Kho Lak, and this is where we are now! We love this place, it is way laid back! We rented two scooters today for 6 USD a day...it was great! We went to see 2 waterfalls in the area and just zoomed...it has been the highlight of the trip. I have also found a great spec shop, they have a great pair of D&G sunglasses, for much less than home...so, i might get em. As of right now, it is 10:30pm and we are on our 2nd night of three, at NangThong Resort in Kho Lak...which we love! The beach, restraunt, and staff are amazing and we wish we could stay! Tomorrow we check out the similan islands with snorkelling and ...we can't wait! We are not so crispy now, so we are hoping to be ok in the water tomorrow! Oh, and I haven't been at a place where there is wifi to transfer pictures so...you'll have to wait! Sorry! I will do when I can! Much love yall! Sam

Off to Phi Phi Island!

Ok, Germany was great....you'd never think you'd see a model everytime you look up, but it is quite true, germany is full of beautiful people, and much taller people than me and trav. ... lol. We loved Frankfurt, it was better than what we expected. Jason; you were wrong, it wasn't dirty and the people were nice as well, lol. The shopping as I wrote earlier was great and it was hard for me to not buy, so I just had to get one new pair of boots..love em! We are now in thailand it is our fourth day and we have six left...bangkok was nice, better than we expected too. Travis was quite nervous getting there, but he relaxed after being there a few hours. The markets are unbelievable, I wish Lindsay was here so she could show me more, lol. A shopping partner would of been great, because we all now how truthful guys can be when you ask them if the pants make your butt look fat...lol. We just arrived in Krabi and are eating so we can go to the ferry, our food is here so I will update more later...hopefully pictures too! Adious

Frankfurt, Germany

HERE IS OUR LATEST BLOG (Travel Diary) :
The stay in Calgary was a lil extended, I actually booked the flight from edmonton to calgary a day early by accident, but we stayed at Travis' cousins and caught up with him which was worth it. The flight was just over 9 hours long, which was definitely long enough. :) We arrived yesterday morning early and the airport and city-train station was soo busy...it actually is always busy here...no matter what time of day. I am very happy because the hotel that I booked us into is right outside the main city train station, and it gives us free train passes for the city, so that is great! It is very odd to here a different language everywhere, but I am quite surprised at the amount of English everywhere, many of the menus and all the signs are in English too, so it has been much less stressful than I thought it would be.
I've had quite a rough time here with the hotel manager, her manner from the time we checked in has been anything but nice, and after I phoned the Front Desk to inquire about our room. (Being the wrong type: two single beds instead of one Queen bed) She told me I was wrong and that in Germany...Twin means a different thing, anyway, I said to her that I had my booking confirmation right in-front of me and it said ONE QUEEN BED, so I definitely caught her in a lie...that was the first thing! Then! O then, she said the hotel was booked solid and I would have to wait a night before I could switch, that seemed ok, but I asked if I would be reimbursed the difference....and then, she started yelling at me over the phone, Travis even heard her! That sent my blood boiling! She said ( a lie once again! because the hotel was NOT full! ) "Come down to the desk with your key and we will switch them ok? Just come down! " ***Click***
I really didn't expect or appreciate it all, I was so angry I couldn't even talk to her because I knew I would blow up! ....Another kind gentleman helped so that was nice, I was going to, and think I still will write a letter to the manager, but I have just found out that the manager is her! So...anyway, I'm glad that was yesterday and not today. :)
After checking out the city for a few hours we came back and wanted to take a nap, and well the nap turned into a longggg sleep! We ended up sleeping from 1:30pm to 9pm...haha, so later....we went for a walk!
Yikes! They sure do have a lot of XXX shops here, and pubs! I've never seen such things put out for all to see, they are definitely not afraid of revealing themselves, even in public! The city is beautiful at night as well, there are many lights and the spectacular skyscrapers are amazingly architectural and light up beautifully! After being up for a few hours we slept till 530am this-morning, which was great! Trav used the hotel gym and I unpacked a bit, and have found that I definitely brought a bit too much clothing! O!!! And talking about clothing! Frankfurt has the most huge, and great Shopping Centers! It is an area named Zeil and the malls are over 5 stories tall, and are quite intimidating actually! Every store I've known seems to be there...and the prices are quite normal too! I think a lot of Deanna when I am there!
Also, the cars here make your jaw-drop! Most of the time there are rows and lines of Mercedes, BMW's, Volvo's and Infinities down the streets. Most are black with chrome and tinted windows. Chris Vw, we think you would love it simply for that! One of the nicest we have seen is a black Maserati, it was very nice, but I've no idea what make that is anyway.
Travis has also been entranced with Germany's many bakeries! I though I had a sweet tooth! For breakfast he had a donut, chocolate croissant, and rhubarb pastry! LoL! He will have his hands full with pastries and will see another bakery and go and get something new....I can't believe it! And here I thought I was the sweet tooth champ! We have found what we call a 'German Tim Hortons' it is called Camps and sells a few donuts, bagels, coffee's and fulll loaves of bread and pastries.! Yum, and its prices are quite nice too!
This morning we wandered down to the Zeil and visited the Saturday Market, and wow, did I ever think of my Dad there! Instead of markets with trinkets and clothes, this market was mostly Breads, Sausages, Meats, Lagers/Wines, and Flowers! And it was huge! Travis thought it was paradise! lol. He wants to go all the way back there for dinner after tasting a stalls cooked potatoes and pork, lol. We tried the AppelWein, which I believe to be Apple Wine, it was ok, quite light and smooth. Nice!
Now, we are back at the hotel, and can finally use the internet because we had to go find an adapter so we could plug in the computer.... Travis is napping, and hopefully we will not nap for too long again! So...the pillow is calling so I will type more for ya'z later!
From: Sam