Krabi

Starting the day off at Maritime Park and Spa ResortHere is Dylan with his plastic Mickey waiting for breakfastA view of the pool from the evening before.The morning of day two we headed out to Koh Poda island and Pranang Cave Beach.

Above you see our longtail boat captain leading the way.

On the choppy ride out to the island Dylan decided he wasn't a big fan of all the waves soaking him. Rory and I on the other hand were laughing as we enjoyed the sun, wind and salt water. Sweet relief from cold Japan that we had left behind.

Once again we loved the beautiful scenery

Our first stop was Thale Waek.

During low tide three islands are attached by beaches. The clear turquoise water, warm sun and white sand made this a little piece of paradise only accessible by boat.When we arrived it would have been possible to walk between the islands but not on dry beach as you can tell. Rory with our sleeping boy on the watery path between two of the three islands.

Can you see the turtle? We were also taken to see the chicken rock as well Arriving at the idyllic island of Koh Poda and Pranang Cave Beach
Dylan and I before our swim at Pranang Cave Beach.

Do you see the dark area to the left of Dylan and I? The three of us went in through that opening to find a fascinating water cave area.

My mind went off into the golden age of pirates:) It seemed to be a wonderful area to climb farther back and bury my treasure.

Dylan enjoyed swimming around in the warm tropical water around the island

On to Wat Tham Suea, a cliff monastery in a jungle valley surrounded by limestone rocks

This is a statue of an entertaining monk. Can't you see him dancing a jig with feathers?Two (non-entertaining) monks

Suphot, our guide, Rory and Dylan before we headed up and over into the jungle. check out the massive tree trunk! A monks cliff home.

More monk living quarters

In this area you could hear chants being continuously repeated over a speaker.

This is a monk waiting for the monk only bathrooms. The two doors on the right say for monks and the two on the left say for people - Interesting

You can buy a care package for a monk. If you look closely you can see lays version of pringles, coffeemate creamer, ivory dish soap and other items we see at the grocery store in America.

Day One of our Tour

Our Southern Highlights Tour begins:)

A pleasant surprise awaited us when we were picked up by Asian Trails for the 4 day 3 night tour we had booked. When we scheduled our trip we had to decide between paying for a private tour or join in. Obviously it was less expensive to join in with a group so that was our choice. I guess the Lord has different plans for His children. We were the only people on the tour. Meaning we had a private tour guide, driver, and were told we could make timing changes depending on what suited our needs. Suphot, our tour guide, did an amazing job fielding all of our questions. Being on a private tour was great!

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Our first stop was Suwan Ku Ha Cave

Here is the entrance to the Cave.

See the monkeys "guarding" the gateway. They were scampering around everywhere.

The Suwan Ku Ha Cave once housed monks.

Currently it is full of standing, sleeping and sitting buddha statues. Oh yeah and bats! Let me tell you the section they lived in smelled pretty nasty!

The family inside Suwan Ku Ha Cave.
You will notice we have tons of family pictures which is another benefit of having a private tour guide!

No he isn't real.
As we were walking up the steps to this part of the cave you really had to do a double take. This statue of who knows who really looked human

This is a temple across from the cave. The intricate detail in the decoration was exquisite!

Our next stop was a boat ride out to Phang Nga Bay

A picture of the long tail boats along the pier. The engines are massive diesel engines taken out of trucks!

Dylan and Daddy getting ready for the ride in our very own Long tail Thai boat. Our tour guide Suphot is in the background.
The limestone formations jutting out of the bay were magnificent. As you can imagine we took numerous pictures but have decided to keep it to a minimum here on the blog.

Slicing through the bay in and around the strange yet fantastic limestone formations

Ah ha time to get up close and personal with one of the limestone formations.

Oh yes folks we are heading in are you ready?

Going in ...

Inside the cave:)

Turning around and heading back through.

No we didn't get a chance to stand on top of our boat as we went through the cave like the folks in front of us. James Bond island is behind us. This is the island area where Man with a Golden Gun was filmed. Of course this past weekend Rory and I decided to rent the 007 film to see the island but they didn't have it. Being that we only have the small video store here on base, I guess when we get back to the states we can rent it. Does any one remember the island in the movie?

Standing together on James Bond Island:) Loving how many family pictures we have from our Thailand trip. Suphot was so generous and kind. He would offer to take pictures before we would even ask!

Day One of our Tour

After visiting James Bond Island we had worked up an appetite. Off to the Muslim Village of Koh Panyi which is built on stilts in the open sea.Only 10% of the village is on solid ground, the sea being filled up to make ground that is.

This 10% is the cemetery This is where our long tail boat Captian pulled us in. The buildings you see to the right of the pier are seafood restaurants that cater to the numerous tourists who stop in.

Wow, we did not have this much of an appetite!
This was the lunch the two of us were served at the Muslim village. Originally the village was started by a couple of families not of Thai descent. There are now 800 people in the fishing village which is also a tourist attraction. Hence the huge meal we were served at the relatively new restaurant. You will be much relieved to find out that the water used for cooking is piped in from the main land. That did cause me to stop and think - who paid for that? I know there is no way that was an inexpensive endeavor

In the foreground are all the tourists I was just talking about.

In the background you can see the mosque with the green minarets. Only Muslims are allowed to live in the village. If you aren't Muslim out you go or don't even think about living here. In all honestly I am not sure why anyone would want to live there.

For your education I am going to be completely honest about the village. It was complete third world poverty and filth. Above is an alley way. You can't really see him maybe only his arms but there is a man leaning out the window at the end of the alley. He is peeling an apple letting the peel fall into the water. This is someones living room. The homes were open right onto the alley way. Some with doors some without. As you walked by you couldn't help but see people in their homes. Most of the people we saw were either laying around or sitting next to a table of souvenirs to sell.
In this picture you can see the homes on stilts and the singing birds. All throughout Southern Thailand we saw these bird cages, in front of stores, on porches, on motorcycles and with specially made covers. Suphot told us that they are singing birds. The Thai people love the sound of the birds song and most are treated as a child. Don't laugh, you know how many people in America act like their dog or cat is a child. These birds are also entered into singing competitions - uhmm that would have been a cultural experience.

Another home with a singing bird
A view of the village as we pulled away.

I must say it was a cultural experience but a sad one. I found the village to be dirty and depressing.

Our Last stop before calling it a day was Tharn Bokkorani National Park in Krabi

The National Park was a lush, green jungle with waterfalls and pools of turquoise water around every bend.

Here are some local boys taking a break from swimming.

We ended the day at the Maritime Park and Spa Resort

This was the view from our balcony!

A shot looking off to the side from our balcony. The resort grounds were gorgeous as you can attest to looking at these photos.