Merry Christmas from the Knotty Travellers

Day 100 – Written by Aus in Koh Chang, Thailand on the morning of December 24, 2010


First off, Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas.  We hope that all of our friends and family are enjoying their own version of Paradise for Christmas.  The only thing that could make ours better is having more of you, the people we love, around us for the holidays. 

As you see from the header, we are now on our 100th day of travel.  That is approximately halfway through our trip.  That is amazing to us, as we have been anticipating this trip for so long and now that it is here it is just flying by.  We thought that seven months was a lot of time, but we are finding out that we are just scratching the surface of all the infinite possibilities available in terms of adventures and travel.  We have already had to cut some places off our wishlist, notably Maldives (due to cost), Mongolia (due to time), Nepal (time), Russia (visas), South Korea (security), Turkey (time),and the whole of South America.  Time just flies, and we are definitely loving every minute, but as usual, we want more time!  For now though, we are savouring every minute of having a few friends around for Christmas. 

When we last posted, we were on our way to Bangkok.  Well we obviously made it, and are now all the way down in far south-eastern Thailand on the island of Koh Chang.   And we are pleased to report that we have successfully rendezvoused with Craig.  We have also met Tim from England who is here doing his scuba master’s course, so we have a nice little ready-made group of friends to spend Christmas with.  There is not much to report on in terms of events since last post.  We arrived in Bangkok, had a frustrating experience trying to catch a shuttle to the Best Western at the airport, and then had another Bangkok taxi experience trying to get downtown to apply for tourist visas for visiting India.  This blog entry though is not so much like the rest of our posts, but more of just a way to say all the best to everyone at Christmas.  So rather than go into great detail about our last few days, I can tell you that after a comfortable minibus ride and a short ferry trip, we have arrived in what can certainly be described as Paradise.  It is not overrun with tourists, the vibe is chilled, the weather is amazing, and we have great company.  We hope everyone else is as content as we are over the holidays.   For your amusement some photos of our surroundings for Christmas…..

We pulled out the welcome mat for Craig at the airport, who also has a flattering nickname….

Our digs over Christmas……

And now a shortened but special Knotty Traveller rendition of 'Twas The Night Before Christmas’:

‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through Koh Chang, we were so happy to see our old friend from Pang….

The stockings were hung by the bedpost with care….

In hopes that Saint Timothy, soon would be there…

The children were nuzzled, all snug in their beds, while visions of Changovers danced in their heads….

and Kim in her swimsuit and I in my cap, the Knotty Travellers had already been across half the world map.

When in the nature bar there arose such a clatter, the beer just kept coming, platter by platter….

Away on our motos, we fly like a flash, we have such a good time here on so little cash.

The big full moon party that we had just missed, had just intersected with the winter solstice.  When, what to our wondering eyes should appear, but our good buddy Craig with fistfulls of Thai beer. 

With the time flying by, so lively and quick, Of all places to spend Christmas, this was a great pick.  More rapid than eagles the hours fly by, we’ve all enjoyed a few plates of Pad Thai.

Now Kimmie! Now Craiger! Now Tim and Terry!  We are sure that this Christmas will be very merry.  With Tim right next door and Craig down the hall, every bit of the day, we are having a ball.

Christmas came early when Craig brought our new iPhone, and now Kim can’t even leave it alone. 

This must be about as good as it gets, and we are being spoiled by world class sunsets.

We miss those back home, but have great friends here.  In just a week, it will be the New Year.  We’re loving each minute and the trip has just flown, its quite safe to say that our minds have been blown.

The nights are cool and the days are hot, 2010 was the year that we tied the knot.  So thankful to all who gifted our marriage, we’re hoping for some time before we  travel with  baby carriage. 

We have scrimped and saved to put this trip within reach, and now we’ve found paradise here on Lonely Beach.  With the sun on our faces and a great group of friends, we hope that our time here never ever ends. 

We wish we could share these great moments with you, but we hope that great moments are finding you too.  With friends to my left and friends to my right, I should sign off and say Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

Cheers,
The Knotty Travellers