Ko Phi Phi Lei

Maya Bay (where the movie "The Beach" was filmed).

Maya Bay



Well, today is our final day on Ko Phi Phi. Tomorrow we are off to Bangkok for a day and a half before flying back to Alaska. Today we hired a long boat to take us around Ko Phi Phi Lei and to Maya Bay which is the bay where they filmed "The Beach". It sure was a beautiful place and the water was so clear you could see down at least 20 feet. The fish were beautiful and very colorful. Jim, Emma and Ben went snorkeling and had a wonderful time. There are a massive number of people who visit these areas so if that bothers you, don't go to Ko Phi Phi. I was so in awe over the beautiful water and scenery that I just ignored the massive number of people. I was very glad that we hired our own long boat and did not have to join the masses.

Tomorrow morning we take a ferry to Krabi then a plane to Bangkok where we will do a little bit of final shopping. I hope everyone has enjoyed the photos.....

Ko Phi Phi Don

Thai Chicken Fajitas...
Chicken Panang Curry.
View leaving Ao Nang.

Ko Phi Phi Don.









Well, our final three days in Thailand have been on Ko Phi Phi Don Island. What a place!! It sure is beautiful, but it sure is crowded. This is a big party town with all the 20 year olds. One of our favorite restaurants on the whole trip was at Ko Phi Phi Don called the Cosmic Restaurant which is local right in the center of town. It is mostly a favorite of the tourists. The food was varied, cheap and wonderful. We ended up eating there every meal when we were on Ko Phi Phi. We sure have enjoyed our trip. Look forward to coming home though.....

James Bond Island and Panyee Village

Reclining Buddah at Monkey Temple
Panyee Village (Floating village of 1500 people - 200 years old)
View from James Bond Island
Shops on Panyee Village
Reclining Buddah at Monkey Temple
Panyee Village
Monkey outside the Monkey Temple

James Bond Island
Emma bartering....(She is awesome at this. She gets better deals than me. She says "you can't worry about insulting them and stick to your price."
Calamari

Well, we did the touristy thing and went to James Bond Island. It was a good trip. We enjoyed the Panyee Village which is a village all on stilts. They call it the "floating village." The village is wall to wall houses with a population 1,500 people. They say that the village started 200 years ago. The community started with a group of people from Indonesia. Anyway, I can't imagine living that way. I guess some people would say that of life in Fairbanks.....:)

Ao Nang and Phranang Cave Beach

Phranang Cave Beach
Phranang Cave Beach
Restaurant on the beach
Railey West Beach
View from the Phranang Cave Beach
Phranang Cave Beach
Jim on the beach before sunburn....

Hotel in Ao Nang (Somkiet Buri Resort) - very nice.....

Ao Nang Beach
Ao Nang Beach

Is there anything more to say.....it's beautiful here. In fact, it is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. The temperature of the water is perfect and very inviting after sitting in the sun which can get quite hot. We spent the day on Phranang Cave Beach which is a short longtail boat trip from Ao Nang beach and what a beautiful beach it was. We all got a little sunburned except for Ben.

Last night Jim and I got traditional Thai massages and that could be habit forming. If my feet aren't too sunburned tonight, we hope to go get foot massages. You can't beat the price, we paid $7 for each of us for an hour plus tip.

Tomorrow we are off to James Bond Island. I know it is the touristy thing to do but what can I say I want to see the beautiful islands. However, if I had known how beautiful it was at the beaches around here I would have skipped James Bond Island and stuck around here. Two more nights here then we are off to Ko Phi Phi for 3 nights before heading back to Bangkok for 2 nights and then to Fairbanks.

Phuket and Sea Kayaking

Sea kayaking in the Mangroves outside of Phuket
Sea kayaking - Emma
Sea kayaking - making the offering
Sea kayaking under the caves to get back to the mangroves

Big jellyfish
Lunch on the John Gray's Sea Kayaking tour.


View from Mak's Views Guest House in Phuket.

Mak's Views Guest House - Phuket

We arrived in Phuket on the 4th of January. The town is quite developed as many people had told us, but we lucked into staying at a guest house that is located right on a beach that has very few people. How beautiful it is here. Yesterday we went on the John Gray's Sea Kayaking tour to the caves and mangroves. What a great tour. In addition to the fun we had with them, they also fed us quite well. Some of the best Thai food we have had so far. I must admit I will probably not have much Thai food for awhile once we get back to Fairbanks.

We were concerned about the monkeys, but the only monkeys that we have seen so far have been at the zoo. I am glad about that. Tomorrow we will be taking the ferry to Krabi. Our trip is coming to an end soon. This last week we hope to be doing a lot of relaxing and soaking up the sun and warmth to get us through the Fairbanks winter.