Ayutthaya, Thailand.

We took a day trip from Bangkok to Ayutthaya - the ancient capital city of Thailand that was the capital city of Siam for many years. We visited temples and ancient ruins for the day - Wat Phra Si Sanphet, Wat Phra Mahathat, Wat Ratburana, and Chai Wattanaram.

We had a traditional Thai lunch and our favorite was the pumpkin chicken curry. Lastly, we visited the Royal Summer Palace of King Rama before heading back to Bangkok.

Kevin+Kristen

Bangkok, Thailand.

Sightseeing included the Grand Palace (royal residence of the King), which included the Wat Phra Kaew (temple of the Emerald Buddha), Wat Pho, Wat Arun, Wat Traimit, cruising the Bangkok waterways, visiting Chinatown, shopping at the Patpong Night Market, and even getting a Thai massage at the Wat Pho Traditional Thai Massage Medical School.

One evening we went to the new Spiderman movie and out of the blue saw our friend Kyle Harke and his girlfriend Megan, so we had ice cream and talked about out travels! One morning we did a Thai cooking class (5 coures) at the Silom Thai Cooking School!! The cook took us to the market to buy fresh ingredients for our meals - so fresh the chicken and fish were still alive when we got there. Kevin and I had a blast learning how to make green curry, pad Thai, chicken salad, hot coconut shrimp soup (for Kev), and banana coconut dessert.

Just about to board our flight to Chang Mai!

Kevin+Kristen

Hot Water Beach & Auckland, New Zealand.

RAPIDS from New Zealand! Last day in the campervan (much to Kristen's delight). We spent the morning at the Hot Water Beach, where we dug a hole in the sand to the underground hot springs. As we dug, our hole filled up with the steaming water and we had a natural hot tub right on the beach! Then we had a drive back to Auckland to unpack and return the campervan. In the evening were off to watch the Auckland's NRL team, the Warriors play rugby against the North Queensland Bulldogs. The Warriors of course won and we even got to touch the game ball after a drop goal :)

Woke up bright and early and were off to the ferry to Rangitoto, a volcanic island off the coast of Auckland Harbour. The morning was spent hiking up to the breathtaking views of Auckland's harbour and surrounding seas. Then back down to the ferry and back across to the city. We spent the afternoon walking around the harbour and downtown Auckland before heading back to pack all our things and move Kevin out! Off to the airportr where we started our sleepy night flight to Singapore.
Kevin+Kristen 

Rotorua, New Zealand.

We woke up in Rotorua to icy toes and frosty windows. It dipped down below zero degrees last night! Chilly!! We visited the Wai-o-tapu Geothermal Wonderland where we saw 26 active volcanic thermal pools and mud pools. Heather - you would have loved it!!

We drove up to Tauranga/Bay of Plenty for lunch (NZ pies) and then continued along the Coromandel peninsula for a scenic afternoon drive before stopping at the Hot Water Beach for the night.

Kevin+Kristen

Taupo, New Zealand.

Woke up in our little campervan listening to the ice river flowing by our park spot. We drove to a nice lookout and ate breakfast looking over lake Taupo and the mountains (Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe, and Tongariro). Then we were off to the Taupo townsite where we stared our 5.5 hour kayak trip. We kayaked our way around the first couple of bays before the wind picked up and we were soon kayaking over 1.5meter waves!!!!! We paddled ashore and continued the tour an foot along the coast of the lake until we got to the caves and the Maori carvings. Then we returned to the kayaks and paddled back. We hopped back in our van and were back on the road.

We drove to Rotorua where we went to the Polynesian Spa geothermal hot springs before a grilled cheese sandwich dinner and sleep in Rotorua.
Kevin+Kristen

New Plymouth & Mount Taranaki, New Zealand.

We spent the morning walking around New Plymouth and visited the black sand beaches, the Puke Ariki museum, and the main town. In the afternoon we hiked two trails on Mount Taranaki, one of which led to the beautiful Dawson Falls and the other led to a look out of low sat clouds and fog.

Kevin cooked a yummy chicken stir-fry dinner on the campervan stove and then we relaxed for the evening in Tuapo.
Kevin+Kristen

Waitomo Caves, New Zealand.

We woke up and picked up our campervan. Then we went back to Kevin's place and got all loaded up. Then we were on our way and drove along the coast to Mission Bay. Then we hiked to the top of One Tree Hill for the view of the area around Auckland. We then left Auckland and drove to Waitomo, where we spent the night. Today we woke up in a chilly campervan and went to visit the Waitomo caves. We begun by rappelling 100 meters into the caves and then hiked through the dark caves with our headlamps and spelunking suits. The caves were huge and so neat!

We also visited a cave formation called the Natural Bridge and some waterfalls on the west coast of the North Island.

Lastly, we drove to New Plymouth for the evening and plan to visit the city in the morning and hike Mount Taranaki.

Kevin+Kristen