Travel Plans

Our flights to Thailand are officially booked and paid for! The travel time to Thailand is about double the flight time to Europe so this should be an adventure.  It will be necessary for me to stock up in every single item that will possibly make my flights happy and relaxing.  At this point I'm thinking only medications are going to do the trick :) (just kidding, kinda) Our flights are as follows....!

1. Depart Salt Lake City     June 9, 2010 at 9:40pm
2. Arrive San Francisco      June 9, 2010 at 10:46pm
3. Depart San Francisco     June 10, 2010 at 1:35am
4. Arrive Taipei, Taiwan     June 11, 2010 at 6:00am (day trip planned for this very long layover)
5. Depart Taipei, Taiwan    June 11, 2010 at 8:25pm
6. Arrive Phuket, Thailand  June 11, 2010 at 11:50pm

Total flight time = 19 hours and 56 minutes (and that is just air time)
Total miles = 8,968
Needless to say, the itinerary looks intimidating....Hello sky miles!

Tentative Travel Plans

Our trip home will be a little different.  When we leave Phuket, Shae and I will be leaving the YouthLINC group and the plan is to head to the Ko Phi Phi islands for some rest and relaxation after our 2 1/2 weeks of working.  The main island, Ko Phi Phi Don, is a very touristy spot but exceptionally beautiful and easy to get to from Phuket.  (Ko means island in the Thai language and there are hundreds of them.)  We will be there just after the busy season so it shouldn't be too crowed or overly expensive.  The sister island, Ko Phi Phi Ley, is the uninhabited smaller island which was the location for the movie The Beach (gives you and idea of how beautiful it is). It's not possible to stay on Ko Phi Phi Ley but there are may day trips to the island which we will most likely take advantage of.  I am hoping to get some snorkeling in, a hike or two to some view points and a cave I have heard about, and of course, plenty of beach time and Thai food.  

From the islands we want to head up north to Chiang Mai by airplane.  It is the original capital of the country before it was moved to Bangkok.  That area of Thailand is a cultural hot spot featuring hundreds of temples, old villages and ruins.  Shea and I have talked about trying to find a yoga class to take while we are there.  I have also read that Thai massage is a big deal around this area so perhaps we will have to find some time for that :).  The food is said to be amazing and the history is deeply routed.  Every Sunday the city shuts down Ratchadamnoen Road and have a huge market that almost runs from
one side of the city to the other.  They call it the "Sunday walking street."   We will be there on a Sunday so we are planning on stopping by.  We will spend a couple of days Chiang Mai and then take an overnight train to Bangkok.

Since our flight home is leaving out of Bangkok our original plan was to end the trip with a few days in Bangkok to see the modern side of Thailand.  However, because the political climate in Thailand is a little tense at the moment we are now  planning on staying only one night in Bangkok.  Everything could change by then but a big city isn't on our "interests" list anyways so one day should be plenty.  According to most travel guides I have read it is very possible to get what you want out of Bangkok in one day.  We will arrive in Bangkok on the overnight train early in the morning and have that day to see the sights and then leave for home early the next morning.    

We leave in 54 days!