Islands

After waterfalls, hot springs, beaches....it's time to hit the islands off the coast in the Andaman Sea.  These mass tours, on speedboats, last about 6 hours and make a number of "stops"at different places.

Snorkeling!

I don't have an underwater camera, but the fish started amassing around the boat and so I could see them at the surface.

The secret to getting the fish to come?  POTATO CHIPS!

Chickenhead Island!

Phra Nga "Princess" cave.  And yes, those are exactly what you think they are!

So on our last day, Onions wanted to head to Phi Phi Island.  We went snorkeling again and used the potato chip trick!  We were the most popular people at the beach.

Maya Bay, Phi Phi Island.  Although the islands here are beautiful....Halong Bay in Vietnam is infinitely more spectacular.

Upon return to the beach, I passed the guy who was selling pictures (in a frame with glued on seashells) of us that he took when we were boarding...I thought, "WHO BUYS THIS STUFF?"  Turns out...my boyfriend!  :)

Beaches

Beaches!  You come to Thailand to sit on the beach.  Well, turns out Onions and I both can sit at the beach for about an hour before it's time to move on.  So, unlike many who camp out at the beach, we beach-hopped.  One of the most famous beaches near Krabi is Ao Nang beach!

Ao Nang, with its trademark headland at its southern flank, is busy with lots of tourists and longboats buzzing around.

Another beach time activity?  Massage!

Massage is a cheap, relaxing option.  Two out of every three days, we got some kind of massage.

What makes these amazingly beautiful patterns in the sand?

Next stop, a beach north of Ao Nang!

This tree in the middle of the water....and yes I did feel the compulsion to swim to it and climb it.  And yes, I gave into the compulsion.

So turns out Onions is like Mom and Dad....always in pursuit of Chinese food.  We had gone shopping at a Tesco complex and he saw a hot pot restaurant.  So one evening we went to eat hot pot and on the ground floor, there was a food court, so he wanted to eat there.  We both got a dish, it sucked.  We each went back two more times hoping to find something decent and tasty.....the table covered with empty plates is evidence we never did.  Never trust the Tesco food court!

Sunset over Khakkhak beach in Khao Lak!

Our favorite beach?  Bangtao on Phuket.

The waves were big enough to get some fantastic body surfing in and we just had a fabulous time jumping around in the water.

And, on schedule, once we were in the car, a torrential rain storm!

Waterfalls, Emerald Pools, Kayaking and Swimming Pools

Students traveling and so I had the week off!  Where to?  A return trip to Thailand with Onions to have the trip we DIDN'T have last time due to the moto accident.  Here's where we stayed for the first few days, the Lelawadee Garden Resort where everyone has there own little cottage!

No moto meant renting a car, which turned out to be a blessing!  We got to drive all over the place, such as Huay To waterfall.

It was just our luck, that throughout the trip, after visiting a place we would get in the car and it would rain, as in torrential rain while driving to the next place.

Next stop, the Emerald Pool.

At this point, I would put in a picture of the hot water stream we visited, but due to the huge rainstorm, I didn't have the opportunity to pull out my camera to document sitting in a river of warm water while being pelted by rain.  The same with the walk back to the car. Straight out of the movies, the water dumping down on us, laughing and having the time of our lives.

And a crazy fact about cars in Thailand...at least our rental car, no heat, only cold air or air-conditioning.  This became an issue when we were driving back covered in our towels shivering because our car didn't have heat!

The next day we drove up about 30km north of Krabi to go kayaking and visit some caves and see prehistoric cave drawings.

The swimming pool at the resort!