winter sun: my vacation to Ao Nang, Thailand

As an English teacher at a private hagwon (학원) in Korea, you generally receive a scant two weeks vacation: one week in the summer and one in the winter, during which your school is closed. At these times you are temporarily freed from the ear piercing screams and adorable shenanigans of small children. It is a blessing that must be taken full advantage of, especially since most of us are here with big dreams of travelling in Asia.

This past winter break I was tempted to visit home, as I dearly miss my friends and family back in Canada. But there is a problem with Canada in January. It's... Canada. In winter. Do you think I left that country just to return and freeze for a week, jet-lagged and shivering?

No. I went to Thailand.

Me, (as my dad said when I texted him this photo), "living my very best life" on one of the islands.

I've actually wanted to visit Thailand for about a decade, since I was volunteering in Vietnam in 2008 (remember 2008? Obama had just been elected, I was 18 years old, the climate apocalypse seemed less tomorrow-y despite Al Gore's best efforts to convince us otherwise). I had heard amazing things about Thai food, the hospitality of Thai people, the splendor and history of Thai temples, and the plethora of beautiful beaches. The last point was especially relevant for this vacation plan, because like I said: winter.

I ended up deciding to stay in Ao Nang. In the south of the country a couple hours from Phuket, Ao Nang is a sunny coastal region that is home to many small resorts. It is a popular destination for divers, rock climbers and tourists who want to visit the picturesque islands nearby, including the well-known Phi Phi islands.

After realizing that most of my friends here had a different winter break, I planned to go by myself. Being alone used to be total anathema to me, but as I've grown and worked on my relationship with myself, I've come to appreciate it. I knew I wanted to chill out on the beach basically 100% of the time, and besides, chatting up other travellers comes pretty naturally to me (plus there are apps for that)! However, my Independent Woman plans quickly changed when I learned that my friend Rebecca was free for the week. (Hi Reb!) I maintain that travelling with a new person is always risky, even if you've known them forever, because people can change in new surroundings and you might not have the same travel priorities. However, this was a risk that I'm super glad we both took, because it was awesome to share the whole experience.

Reb soaking up the sun at a beach resto. 

We had a really, really amazing time. We stayed in a small hotel with a really lovely owner and staff (called Z-Talay if you're looking to visit- there was also a great hostel down the road called Reset). We were super close to a beach, and we went every day. We made a new friend named Kaitlin (hi Kaitlin!) who is teaching in Japan and is from Wisconsin, like Rebecca; they actually have family in the same neighbourhood or something, because that's what happens when you move across the world (tbh I didn't reeeeally pay attention to this conversation, because I don't know anyone in Wisconsin, just something about cheese? I don't know). We rode a motorized scooter, and I got impatient while Reb tried to get used to it so I drove even though I literally can't drive, and there may have been a teeny tiny accident involving some gravel (sorry mom, also sorry again Rebecca). We did guided scuba diving and I admit I panicked momentarily, but then it was great. The world underwater is so cool, like a parallel universe. The whole trip was a perfect mix of relaxation and adventure.

Me, somewhere I should definitely not be.

Of course, I also have to tell you about the food, the most important part of any trip. I think Thai food might be my new favourite cuisine. It's incredibly delicious, quite varied, and extremely bold in flavour. The curries are wonderful- one thing I never really considered is the proximity of Thailand to India, and the two countries have a long and important relationship (which you can notice in other important areas, such as bright and colourful clothes, religion, and the number of Sanskrit words in the Thai language). My favourite thing to eat in Ao Nang, especially at the beach restaurants, was som tam (green papaya salad). It has strong flavours of Thai chili and lime, as well as garlic and (of course) fish sauce. If you like punchy flavours, you will love this salad, and probably eat it everyday on vacation, like me. The other thing I ate every day (okay fine, sometimes multiple times) was mango sticky rice. Honesty, those three words are making me happy just thinking about them- Mango. Sticky. Rice. I'm salivating.

The love of my life.

If you ever have the opportunity to visit, I would definitely recommend checking out this region of Thailand, especially for a vacation. I'm planning to return to Thailand when my contract ends, so if you have any suggestions please leave them in the comments below!

We also went to a Muay Thai match. It was mostly youth competing, and the best part was all the grown Thai men who were cheering like it was a UFC final.