I first met Ouma at Trevor’s 29th birthday party. Trevor and I had only been dating a few months, and this was my first opportunity to meet his friends. A petite, outgoing, lady introduced herself as Ouma followed by the phrase “Trevor and I are best friends, will you take our picture?”. The rest of the evening went by quickly, as all good birthday parties do, but in between rounds of Pac-Man and drinks, I learned more about Ouma, and could see why she and Trevor had been such good friends for all these years.

A few months later, Trevor and I finally had the chance to meet up with Ouma again. She had just returned from a trip to India, and over dinner in SE Portland, she told us stories of her adventures. After we learned about her yoga retreat, she eagerly informed us that she was already planning her next trip abroad. “I want to go to Thailand for my 30th Birthday. And you guys are invited”.

Sitting at a bar in SE Portland, this idea seemed amazing, but also quite a stretch. She was planning this almost a year out – I had no idea where we would be in a year, let alone if we could make it to southeast Asia for a birthday party. Still the idea of going to a beach in Thailand was appealing, and I thought perhaps we could consider it – maybe turn it into a long, international vacation…

As our first post stated, one “crazy idea” later, Trevor and I found ourselves settling into our new apartment in Hong Kong, our lives completely different than what we had thought they would be in that bar in SE Portland several months earlier. So when a facebook notification popped up with an invite to an event titled “Thailand!” we realized our first SE Asia adventure was just around the corner, and it would involve one of Trevor’s best friend’s birthdays and the beaches of Ko Samui, Thailand.

Our journey to Thailand was easy, a perk of living in Hong Kong. A quick flight to Bangkok, a short layover, and a final (very short) flight to Krabi, and we had arrived! After a bit of ATM frustration, we gathered up enough funds to get ourselves to our Airbnb that the group had rented for the weekend, and met up with the rest of Ouma’s birthday crew at dinner. I had never met any of Ouma’s friends, but as you can imagine, a group of people willing to travel around the world for someone’s birthday are some adventurous, quality people. Within minutes, introductions were made, food ordered, and drinks sipped. No awkwardness, no attitudes, just amazing people, good conversation, and the background music of a questionable Thai cover band.

Our first day in Ko Samui began lazily, with a breakfast of smoothies, and street food, that we gathered while shopping amongst the Thai markets. We had read that a trip to see the Elephants would result in some messy adventures, and were on the hunt for something disposable.  We quickly realized, that no matter what we purchased, we would look like ridiculous tourists, so we embraced the local market culture, and purchased clothing that was head to toe covered in elephant prints and graphics.

Upon arriving at the elephant sanctuary, Trevor and I met our elephant, Honey. We were given cucumbers and bananas to feed her, while we petted her, and got to know her a bit more. After a small snack of what must have been 30 cucumbers, Honey was comfortable enough for us to take a short ride on her back through the nearby forest. I have never been so close to such an amazing creature. So strong, so gentle, and so intelligent. At the end of our trek, the elephants bathed themselves in the water, and we fed them more snacks.

Our second day in Thailand was spent boat hopping amongst the beautiful islands off of Krabi.  Ouma had arranged for a boat to pick us up and drive us from island to island for the day. We quickly realized that our boat Captain did not speak a word of english, and that our boat had a few holes in the floor, but the group was put at ease (or at least distracted) as soon as we got out amongst the islands. The bright blue sea stretched on for miles, and the weather was perfect, sunny, and clear.

Throughout the day, we snorkeled, practiced our underwater photography, swam, floated, and relaxed along the beaches of Krabi and it’s outlying islands. Our boat captain prepared for us, a beautifully ornate fruit platter and thai lunches and we supplemented with fruit shakes and coconuts throughout the day.

We swam through caves, hiked to the tops of islands for panoramic views, and I photographed around the crowds to get the pristine, isolated shots that everyone wants from these sort of tropical locations. Thai beaches are beautiful, but it is apparent that everyone in the world knows that now, as every place we went was packed.

After an evening of playing on the beaches, we decided to unwind with what had become our “usual” for the group, a thai massage. At $3USD an hour, we quickly became regulars (going almost every evening throughout our trip) at a local shop, and all opted to repeat this luxury again. After we were fully relaxed, and had completed a delicious Thai dinner, we somehow found ourselves searching for some Thai live music. After settling at a particular spot, Adam got it into his head that he should sing a song, and Trevor quickly offered up to cover for the band’s drummer. Before long, they had taken over the stage, in a performance to remember of Red Hot Chili Pepper’s “Under the Bridge”. The night ended with Trevor convincing the frontman of the Thai band to sing Ouma “Happy Birthday”.

We awoke on our third and final full day in Krabi, a bit tired. Our late night out, and day in the sun, had finally slowed us. And so, on the final day, our group split off into small groups. Ouma wanted more beach time; while Adam, Demetra, myself, Ken and Trevor opted to go see the Tiger Temple. I hopped onto the back of a motorbike, and we zipped off to the tiger temple.

The ride was long, over an hour (on a motorbike!), but beautiful. We arrived to the temple in late afternoon, and after a quick picture with the giant Tiger statue, started up the 1300 steps to the top of the temple.

The stairs were steep, but exercise felt amazing after the long ride. We were constantly entertained by the groups of monkeys stealing ice cream cones, water bottles,  and backpacks from unsuspecting tourists as they hiked to the top.

The view from the top was well worth the hike. The top housed a clear view, ornate floors, statues, and a giant golden dome. Such a stark contrast to anything we have back home in the States.

After taking in the view and resting, we made our way back down the stairs and purchased some waters just outside the temple. It was hot, and there was a cute puppy trying to stay cool by laying under the freezer.

Our ride back was one of my favorite memories (although un-photographed) on our trip. We followed Ken on a detour to get ourselves off the highway and ended up driving through a forest of pineapple trees as the sun was setting. It was beautiful and the perfect way to end our trip to Thailand.