Trat

Yo.

Our two weeks in Trat were a wonderful blur of "work" and efficiency.

Here is a breakdown of a basic day in Trat:

-Wake up around 8 o'clock and have a lazy morning coffee and chat about anything on our minds, or begin planning for the day.

-Walk down to the indoor market for a delicious breakfast of Khao Phad (Fried rice with chicken and veggies or egg and veggies) or Phad Thai (fried noodle dish with tamarind sauce and onion, sometimes with chicken or egg).

-Head over to the internet cafe to send emails, update the blog, chat with family, research for our travels and business opportunities or anything else that may be of use to us.

-Eat fruit such as pineapple, oranges, bananas, or jackfruit for lunch.

-Go home for a nap and then another coffee in the heat of the midday.

-Walk around the lovely city of Trat, enjoying the fantastic markets and beautiful scenery.

-Eat dinner in the outdoor market, perusing through the aisles of freshly cooked food and trying new things daily.

Will this be tonight's dinner?

-In the evenings we would often go back to the internet cafe to catch family and friends who may be online in the morning.

We also saw a parade to commemorate the independence of the region from French rule.

Nice leisurely dragon boating in the city.

BFF...best friends forever!

On one particular morning the owner of our guesthouse, Jah, knocked on our door and asked us if we wanted to go to a completely empty beach right by the Cambodian border. We decided to go, as did a fantastic English couple, Kris and Kate. We spent a very relaxing and fun day on the beach (which we were told by Jah was actually private property, but that the owner was in Bangkok at the time).

During the last few days in Trat a festival was on and we went every evening to enjoy the festivities and eat some amazing Thai barbeque and drinking Thai beer from a bag with ice in it through a straw (when in Rome...).

Val dancing onstage at the festival.

Beer in a bag, who'da thunk it?

On the last night of the festival, a very popular band played and the festival grounds were full with thousands of Thai kids going nuts and dancing up a storm. The few fights that broke out were met by a suprising amount of police and army brutality.

Can you spot Val?

The army there for "protection".

Trat was a great place to spend two weeks and we can't wait to come back!