Heartstrings 39.0: adios land of Thais!

Last post of Thailand... promise! I realize I could blab on and on about this place so I'm just gonna make it short and sweet. 

On my birthday, I decided I wanted to do something I'd never done before: rock climbing. It was a lot of fun... hard, but very rewarding. It's one of those things you need a lot of mental strength over physical strength. I will definitely be trying this again soon. It was a great way to spend the morning. We ended up going to a buffet place for lunch and chatted with the owner before heading back to get cleaned up for dinner. We hung around the hotel for a bit and then decided to go to another buffet that was recommended by tripadvisor and some guy we'd met walking by it the night before. It was decent. Got some free ice cream out of it. We walked around town a bit and then went back to the hotel and taught Alison and Kathy how to play spades. All in all, not a bad way to spend one's 29th birthday.

The next day was our first island adventure. First up Bamboo Island... it was a nice place. Little over crowded for my liking; but the water was stunning. I decided not to snorkel and walked the shoreline... found this little dude before noticing the time and had to sprint back before the boat left me stranded on the island! Oh, a first for me: I used my first "squatty potty" here on this island. Good times... 

Back on the boat, we headed for the Phi Phi islands. First stop was Viking Cave. I have never seen water so blue. It was gorgeous! We did a lot of stops in places like these (won't bore you with more pictures, they're on facebook anyway) 

Next up: Maya Bay... this is the place where The Beach was filmed. Very picturesque. If you walk around, you get the sense that you really are closed in with the cliffs towering above. The jungle is literally right off the beach. Again, way too crowded for my liking. The picture below is about as much space as people have to swim there... the rest of the small beach area is lined with speed boats for the tours.

Next up: Monkey Bay. I was sad to learn that we wouldn't be getting off the boat to play with the monkeys - as was Sonia. We had to see them at a distance. But it was nice to see them walking around and climbing the cliffs. One of the boats even fed the monkeys... a few of them would actually jump on the front of the boat, grab the food, and then jump off. 

The Phi Phi islands are definitely the best place for snorkeling in these parts of Thailand. We saw lots of fish... I even got lost in a school of them because people from the boat were throwing bread around where I was and the fish were swarming to it. My goal in Thailand was to find Nemo, and my mission was a failure. Guess I'll have to try Australia now... bummer ;) I got to see one of the boat guys take a dive down to the coral and pull up a sea urchin. Another first for me today: holding the urchin. This lady got scratched up a few times while handing it over to different people. I almost walked into this one as I got back on the boat... cause really, who expects people to be holding a sea urchin right as people are getting on a boat?!?

Next day: new tour. James Bond Island. This tour was different in that we had to drive in a van for over an hour to get to the boat that would take us to the island. It was a different feel... I liked it. The island is very small. And you can't swim in the water... something about stingy things in the water that aren't jellyfish? I dunno... didn't want to try it myself. 

After leaving James Bond, we went kayaking... it was the laziest way to kayak as we had someone on the boat paddling for us. I had Alison ask if I could paddle and the dude let me. So, score! I got my kayaking in!

We finished up kayaking, and went to this local fishing/floating village. All the restaurants/shops were on pillars. It was very pretty.

We left the village, boated past the mangroves, and loaded up back in the van for our journey to the Monkey Temple. It's a temple in a cave, but the special part is the monkeys that live outside the cave. If they're out, there can be hundreds of them begging for food. When we arrived... no monkeys. Made Sonia sad. We were only there four about 30 - 45 minutes and right as we were leaving, the monkeys made their appearance. We only got to see a few, but I got to hand this monkey his banana he dropped on the ground! :)

The last day of island tours were the Hong Islands. We first went into a beautiful lagoon... blue water, limestone cliffs, and trees sprouting out of the water.  

After the lagoon, we went to my future retirement place (yes, it has taken the place of Big Sur, CA)... Pakibi Island. Although I'm not sure how long I'd be able to stay on this island each day as the beach is very tiny. Pretty sure it's not a beach around 1 - 2 pm anymore. So it'd be my morning retirement place! 

We left Pakibi and headed for this island (can't remember the name!) and had lunch. The island is so small that it uses these metal containers to catch the rain. 

Last island stop for us: Hong Island. Best beach to swim around in. Minimal people and nice water. The snorkeling is so-so... Kathy and I saw some giant slugs (which she freaked out when seeing them - she was afraid they would swim up and wrap their nasty slug bodies around her... haha!) I swam for a good hour or so before settling in the sand and catching up on some reading. It was a great way to end our island vacation! 

We headed back to Ao Nang and ate our last meal at Luk Yim... in the end, I collected 11 bracelets (one for each island we visited while there.)

The next morning, we loaded up and left Krabi :( Awaiting us was our deluxe suit upgrade at the same hotel we stayed at on our first leg of Bangkok. Didn't spend too much time in our room to enjoy it though. But here are some pics: 

I had a really great time in Thailand and can't wait to go back and see more of this beautiful country. The people were amazing and the island experience really made me feel as though I were back in Texas.

Heartstrings 38.0: Poda & Luk Yim lovin', not-so-much massage

After a nice short flight from Bangkok to Krabi, we hired a taxi to take us to our hotel in Ao Nang. We asked the lady who checked us in for a recommendation to eat around the hotel... her response, "I would not eat near here." So needless to say, we got in a tuk-tuk and headed into town. Unsure of what to eat, we ended up at TJ's Bar for some nachos and a burger for me. Met a nice Swedish bar tender who helped us figure out where to eat from that night on. Talked to a Brazilian couple who were on holiday from their masters studies in Chicago. We enjoyed our first night (some a LOT more then others as an impromptu karaoke moment happened and I was given the task of providing lyrics to Journey's Don't Stop Believing. We left the bar and headed out into the streets of Ao Nang... I chatted up a lovely Aussie couple while Sonia danced the night away in the streets. The husband just so happened to celebrate his birthday a day after mine... and they gave us a suggestion of where to head on our first full day in the island region. We finally got Sonia to stop dancing and eventually made our way back to the hotel.

The next morning, we woke up, ate breakfast, and hopped in a tuk-tuk to head to the pier. We took the Aussie's advice and booked a ticket on a longboat out to Poda Island. It was a 25 minute ride and when we got there the captain told us that we'd leave at 3pm. We had the whole day in paradise! The island was so quite and stunning. We swam with the fish (the girls got nibbled on) and I took a stroll around the island. I learned that I could definitely be classified now as someone who "enjoys long walks on the beach..." While walking along and listening to music, a local boy ran by me... as he passed he yelled out, "I miss you!" I literally laughed out loud... couldn't keep it in. I enjoyed my serene moments on the beach to myself before heading back to eat lunch. We were definitely spoiled with such a lovely place to spend our first island adventure. I would definitely recommend this quiet area to people who are visiting. Take a longboat out... there are tours that stop on and off throughout the day, but this place is definitely a keeper. Not much tourism (only one bathroom on the island) and there's hiking trails along the inside of the island.

When we left the island, we decided we would eat dinner at one of the spots the Swedish lady recommended. We headed to Luk Yim (which we returned to quite frequently because it was that good.) I had my hand at Beef Panang this time, while the others tried the Chicken Panang and Green Curry.

After leaving dinner, we decided to give a massage a go. Keep in mind, I was already horribly sunburned from my day at Poda. When the lady looked at my back, she asked me if I was sure that I wanted the massage. I told her we'd try it... so I did. All in all, I didn't care too much for the whole experience. About the only part I really enjoyed was the oil massage. They did a lot of popping of the back, massaged with a towel over your body, the lady climbed on top of me and did some more weird popping stuff, she continued with a yoga/pilates move holding your arms behind you and pulling your torso up, and what I can only describe as a round-about popping of the back. Every moment of the experience, I was left wondering, "what's she gonna do to me next?" which can make your body tense up a little - not the most relaxing of experiences for me personally. I finally had to ask her to stop the massage when she brought the towel back out and then proceeded to massage my scalp. That hurt like nobody's business... she was understanding and that was the end of my only Thai massage experience. The other girls enjoyed their experience and went back for several more... so maybe it was just me. I prefer Swedish style myself...

Heartstrings 37.0: city exploring

Bangkok, cont... Day Three with the gals...

Sonia and I

 

Kathy and I

On the river, we saw a lot of different types of structures, some grand and some dilapidated shacks. This is China town from the boat and one of the temples we did not get to see.

When we stepped off the boat, we didn't really have a clue where to go. I wasn't up for being the human GPS at the moment so we wondered to the bathroom, which is always a safe stop. Everywhere in Thailand, you have to pay to use the toilet.. and if you can find a toilet that has toilet paper, score! It's a hot commodity in this country!

Sonia and Alison had an unspoken vow of having a coconut a day while in Thailand. This lady took that knife to the coconut and it didn't stand a chance. It was a fast opening...

Lost in a market that smelled heavily of fish and fruit, I found this... now, you may laugh because you think it's quite funny looking; but I can speak from experience... this is an accurate interpretation of a Thai massage (more on that in the island posts!)

Whilst on the streets trying to figure out which way to go, a local Thai man started up a conversation with me. I greeted him with the standard Thai, "saw-wah-de-kah," which basically means hello. He worked across the street at the temple we were looking at and he told us about the upcoming festival around the country and helped us figure out where to site see for the day. During the conversation, he told me to find a tuk-tuk driver and tell him where we wanted to go, for 40 baht, in Thai. He then asked me if I spoke Thai (in which I politely laughed and said no, cause really?) He hailed down a driver and off we went!

Our first stop was the Smiling Buddha. Our driver was well excited about teaching us about his culture. He couldn't stop smiling as he talked about the city and especially when we came to the temple.

While there, he was teaching me about the different Buddha's... did you know there was one for every day? Yeah, shouldn't be hard to believe. He shared with us a local custom when you come to the Smiling Buddha. Basically, you pay 10 baht for a small jar of oil. You pour the oil into the Buddah that the day of your birthday falls upon that year (lucky for me, mine was the next week... otherwise, I would not have know my birthday fell on a Thursday!)

After you pour the oil, you walk over to the bell, and with your right hand, you gong the bell three times... once on the right, once on the left, and again on the right. Then you walk over to the other bell to the right and do the same thing, in reverse order.

After we all finished our birthday Buddah custom, we took our shoes off and headed inside the temple to see the Smiling Buddah. Inside, we met another friendly Thai man. We spoke to him for a good 20 minutes (poor tuk-tuk driver waiting outside in the blistering 38 degree weather - about 100 degrees F!) He owned a rubber tree farm and a friend told him to come to this Buddha for a successful business year. His son was also getting married in a few weeks (hope it went well!) After talking some more, he wanted to teach us how to ask Buddha for something. Of course, I felt a little conflicted with the whole not worshiping other idols thing and then not wanting to disrespect the Buddhist culture by praying to God in a temple. So I just said a few words wishing the man a successful business year and for his son to have a lovely wedding. We said our goodbyes after finishing up and were off again...

Wat Pho... beautiful. It was the only other temple Kathy and I went inside. Although, I've heard that if you've been in one, you've seen 'em all. And I believe that!

We walked in the entrance and paid a 100 baht (about $3) to see the temple of the reclining Buddha...

When you get your ticket scanned, the first place you see to the left has this inside. If you actually hit it (we did it once and very soft,) you will hear the low gong sound. It's pretty cool. 

The first temple we visited inside Wat Pho was the Reclining Buddha. Inside there were quite a few people, so getting pictures was a bit tricky. Lucky for me, everyone was snapping away at the gigantic Buddha and marveling at it's size and didn't see the 4 monks meditating.

Was a little grossed out when I saw this... biggest feet ever! Yuck!

When we left the Reclining Buddha, it was hotter than Hades outside. Pretty sure it was pushing 105 or so... but that's what ya get when you travel in the hottest month of the year in Thailand.

It was after one by now and I was hungry, but we pressed on through the grounds to see the other temples in hopes that we would finish in time to head across the street to see The Grand Palace. 

Beautiful landscaping and architecture

Walking around Wat Pho was quite relaxing... although I will say that it's all the same going in and out of each temple. They all had different Buddha's in them though. Kathy and I started playing around while waiting for Sonia, and I made a new friend. He's quite small, but very happy! I even attempted to be like Buddha... I wouldn't recommend doing that on the smallest step know to man. Kathy was "yelling" at me to fix my feet and snapped a picture of my scared Buddha. It was quite funny in the moment.

In the end, we didn't get to see all of Wat Pho as it was nearing 3:00 and I hadn't eaten lunch yet. Kathy was very understanding (Sonia got lost in the midst of all the Buddhas and we ended up leaving without her). We headed back to the hotel after waiting for a good 45 minutes for the ferry - which was extremely packed! We ate dinner and said goodbye to Bangkok for the time being.