I had never given much thought to Hawaii as a travel destination. 

In my head, it was the place people went to do a lot of shopping and not much else... 

In some ways, having that expectation was a blessing in disguise. Hawaii absolutely took my breath away. In particular, our time in Maui was a dream. 

I really can't put into words the beauty of Hawaii - the food, the weather, the animals, the land, and above all, the people. The locals of a destination make the place - I love people and to be able to be surrounded by the energy of the people of Hawaii was an incredible feeling. 

Maui was a dream I never knew I had.

1/ Perfection as we reached the dock en route to Ko Tao. 

2/ Coral viwe?

3/ Lunch in paradise!

4/ Shirley admiring said paradise.

5/ Our snorkeling instructor in his element!

6/ Absolute paradise.

It's no secret that I fall in love with every place that I visit... but Ko Tao truly took my breath away. 

I've heard it being called an island paradise, and I couldn't really think of another way to describe it. Crystal clear waters and amazing greenery. Granted, I didn't see too much of it and it was relatively quiet in the area we saw, but it was stunning!! We were here only for one day as part of our snorkeling tour, but I can safely say the views left me breathless. Thailand is truly such a beautiful country. 

1/ Our pretty porch! To the left... the ocean. Had many a-naps here. 

2/ On top of a jeep!

3/ Pretty views from The Treetops restaurant. 

4/ Thailand offers amazing nature views. 

5 & 6/ Jeep safari! 

7/ Even Jeep Safari's get caught in traffic jams, apparently!

8 & 9/ Buddha's Magic Garden. Truly magic.

10/ More magic.

11/ This little cutie was helping his dad set up his pancake cart. I spoke to him, but he pretended not to be interested, until I whipped out my phone, then he was all hands on deck!

12/ AMAZING view from our resort. (The Sarann)

13/ Full moon party was LIT! ;) 

Oh beautiful Koh Samui... You have stolen a piece of my heart.

Now, don't get me wrong, Koh Samui is absolute tourist central! Every where I turned, I could hear an Australian accent. The prices go up in comparison to Bangkok and there is a much greater western influence. However, I've never been deterred from tourist-busy places. I am definitely someone that buzzes off of other people's energy, and what greater energy is there than somebody on an adventure?! 

If you ever go to Koh Samui, I would recommend strongly to go on a jeep safari tour. Again, incredibly touristic however so much fun! An entire day of touring major attractions in a jeep. The drivers give you the option to sit on a bench of top of the jeep (without seat belts or safety) and go out of their way to make the ride as rocky as possible. Please do not pass this up! 

Koh Samui is a truly magical place. A high recommendation to visit one day if you get the chance!  

1/ We LOVE Tuk Tuks! 

2/ Challenge: How many coconuts can you down in one trip?

3 & 4/ The vibrant Floating Markets! 

5/ Coconut ice cream, served in a coconut of course,
6/ Cute little cafe at the Floating Markets. 

7/ Pretty lights in 'Istanbul'... at Terminal 21 Shopping Centre, Bangkok. 

8/ The view from Vertigo & Moon Bar... Unreal!
9/ We REALLY love Tuk Tuks! 

You hear a lot of things about South-East Asia, particularly Thailand... Some good & some bad. So going to Thailand this February, I really was not expecting to fall so completely in love with it. 

Bangkok was loud. It was hot. It was smelly. It was dirty. There were rats openly roaming the streets. There were scams. There was creepy old men. There was ping-pong shows. 

But the energy is unreal. It's such a vibrant city, with what seems like an equal amount of locals & tourists roaming the streets - excited at the notion of good food, barter and Singha.