Christmas/New Year Adventures!

I knew this Christmas break was going to be like no other. This would be the first time away from my family for Christmas and after what has been a crazy year from the Christopher clan, I did hit home Christmas morning that I wouldn't be home with everyone. That being said, I was excited for my upcoming adventures. Instead of exploring the Islands like the other English teachers, I decided to make use of the multiple entry visa I obtained to travel to other countries.

Christmas Party Performance.

After the Staff party on Xmas eve, where I danced to a Mariah Carey/Dirty Dancing/Will Smith/LMFAO medley (pretty eclectic right?), drank more wine coolers than I should have and watched in awe as other teachers were winning iPhone 6's and cars(!!) in the staff raffle, I travelled with the rest of the teachers down to Don Mueang Airport; they were off to Phuket whereas I had to wait for a shuttle bus to Suvarnabhumi to then get to Cambodia...such a long night! All in all, it took me no less than 16 hours to reach my final destination of Sihanoukville which weirdly reminded me of an Asian Maguluf or Ibiza...so many westerners walking round giving out leaflets for beach parties and bugging you with their Booze Cruise sale pitches (one even tried to convince me to go to one with an offer of Pu$$y for days...gross.) But regardless of that, I met this cool guy called David, who I ended up spending most of my trip in Cambodia with. Instead of wallowing in self-pity for the fact that I'd be eating Xmas dinner alone, I decided to join him for dinner at an Italian restaurant called Olive&Olive. I had heard good things about it from Dave and was excited to see how good it was for myself. Boy, was he right! It was literally the best Italian food I have ever had...big feat I know (I'm even salivating whilst writing this at the thought of wanting to eat there again). I had tagliatelle with artichokes, bacon and a white wine sauce and creme brulee for desert. The meal all together totalled around $12 (they use U.S. dollars in Cambodia interestingly). Now, for living in Thailand, I would consider that quite pricey, but not thinking about that for a second, it was seriously worth every penny and I would have happily paid more for it.The next morning, and after a 14 hour sleep (I really needed it), I finally ventured to the beach to relax. To be completely honest, I was a little disappointed with the quality of the beach...WAAAY too many westerners around and I was being bugged too much by old cambodian ladies asking to cut my toe nails. After visiting the Perhentian Islands in Malaysia (my favourite beach ever!), I can't help but now always seeming to find something to nitpick with every beach I visit...the sand isn't white enough...the water isnt clear enough...haha, but really it felt like I was at a British beach but the weather was just tremendously better.

Best Italian Food...EVER!

Money was running short whilst on my Cambodia excursion (when using US dollars, it working out a little pricier than expected), so I decided to bail a day early and go back to Bangkok; not without getting a $3 haircut whilst purchasing my bus ticket though...YOLO? After a 4 hour taxi back to Phnom Penh, I eventually landed in a terrential-rain filled Bangkok at 11pm with nowhere to go...phone was on 1% and I was strapped for cash. Luckily, I had some US dollars left over which got me enough to stay in a room in Silom (Bangkok's gay district) where I rested and recuperated ready for exploring the city tomorrow. When the rain cleared and morning came, I left the one hotel, checked into the other one I had already pre-booked and then heading out. My initial plan was to explore Wat Arun with a friend, but as she wasn't available and because I left my sunglasses in Cambodia, I decided to head to Chatuchak Weekend Market. This market in Bangkok is famously known to be one of the world's largest markets, spanning 27 acres with over 15,000 booths selling an array of items. Like I said the main goal was to purchase some cheap sunglasses, but I couldn't help but be tempted by the cheap t-shirts and fake designer items. After a bit of haggling, I came out with no sunglasses and instead a Louis Vuitton hold-all for 1650 baht (the real one would retail at almost 50 times that..not kidding! - so I was pretty chuffed with myself!).

Chatuchak Weekend Market was CRAYYYYY.

That night, I met up with a new friend who is a Sargent in the Air Force for drinks in Silom, it was nice to chill out and talk to someone after spending the majority of the trip so far alone. The next day I was to fly out to Kuala Lumpur, a trip in all honesty I had mixed feelings about. I had already been to KL once this month but this time I would be doing it alone, and without the trusted hands of my friends and ex-boyfriend. This time though, I decided to FINALLY visit the Petronas Towers and see for myself what the hype was all about. Luckily for me, I decided to treat myself whilst staying in Malaysia and checked myself into the Hilton in central KL. What a paradise! This was the first time ever that I had stayed in a 5* hotel and it was just amazing; I could have sat in bed all day it was that great! But, my itchy feet got the better of me and I went around the mall and window shopped, ate some hot plate yee mee (which is chicken, mushroom, noodles and egg in this rich, thick gravy! - delish!) and like I said, make my way up 86 floors to the top of the Twin Towers. Once the tallest building in the world and still remains the tallest twin towers in the world, the towers have a skybridge on the 36th floor connecting the two buildings together, with an obversation deck on the 86th floor which offers spectacular views of the city...shame the weather wasn't on our side because it did turn out a little anti-climatic - if I ever go again, I'd definitely like to see it in the night time.

View from Petronas Towers.

After initial plans to stay in KL for new years with my friends were scrapped, I decided to book a last minute flight to Koh Samui and join my Assumption friends who were already there. Leaving at midday, I finally got into Samui around 6pm - would have been quicker if Thai people weren't so laid-back and slow...ok, I don't mind it sometimes as it does come as a nice change...but on new years eve? COME ON LIKE! I want to go out and party! haha. I finally met up with my friends for dinner and was presented with an AMAZING rainbow tie-dye shirt from Grace which would later become my party outfit. We had some mediocre Italian to prepare us for the inevitable alcohol consumption (although I only had 4 drinks the entire night) and then headed to the beach to watch the countdown. On the way, we had lost a couple of the guys leaving myself,  Grace, Ais, Natalie, and Shubhu partying on the beach whilst the final countdown loomed. The main bar on the beach, Ark Bar, was ridiculously packed and full of boisterous westerners (um...no thanks) so we decided to head to the next bar which was a lot quieter and had space for us to dance and enjoy the environment. As 12 o clock hit, we were barricaded with fireworks from all angles. It was such a spectacular and surreal feeling...I will never forget it. We cheered, screamed, hugged, danced on the beach, frolicked in the sea, and laughed. I really wouldn't have wanted to be anyone else at that moment. It was made so clear to me how amazing this whole experience had been thus far, and will be this coming year. After a whirlwind of a year both emotionally and mentally, I see the new year as a fresh start. And at that point, I forgot about all the shitty things that had happened, and twerked on bar benches to Iggy Azalea instead (such a gay boy...) whilst getting soaked from champagne showers from the next table. As morning hit, the main strip of Koh Samui became a ghost-town; all the obnoxious westerners were still in their pits after the crazy night before, and the beaches were semi-filled with mostly families sunbathing there. It was very relaxing.

NYE on the beach!

The only real unfortunate thing about the trip was the 20 hour journey back to Korat. Thank goodness we were all together because I may have pulled my hair out not talking to anyone, or having no phone (my iPhone died about 6 hours into the trip). But overall, what an amazing trip it was. I felt so fortunate to be able to visit so many places, meet new people, and be in great company. To my knowledge, I will not get any lengthy break until the end of the term in March, so for now, its back to the grind of work and the end of feeling like a tourist.

Such a great moment! Great people, great place, great photo!

HAPPY NEW YEAR, FOLKS.