Island Bouncing

The morning we went on our first tour started off suspiciously stormy and rainy which is not the type of weather that you are hoping for before hoping on a boat out into the ocean. The minibus that brought us to our departure point could only be described as a land Cessna and the other occupants of the van, mostly German, seemed to share the same apprehension. Once we got to Chalong bay to board our boat, we discovered it was a large tour group - about 57 people. The tour boat itself was a four engine, open bow speedboat which was quite reassuring considering the choppy seas.

Our guide Yousee gave us the option of taking a motion sickness pill before we got on the boat as he explained to us that normally the ride to our first destination, Phi Phi Ley, takes about 45 minutes but due to the rough conditions it was going to take us 1 hour. We arrived at Maya bay on Phi Phi Ley, the location that part of the movie "The Beach" was filmed on, after a bumpy ride that saw a few people using the barf bags that were given to us. Maya bay was gorgeous, but overcrowded. It probably would have felt far less crowded if it had not been high tide.

Next stop was Pileh cove for a little snorkeling. It was incredible and the crystal clear water was teeming with life. The experience was short as we only had 30 minutes before we got back on the boat and headed to our next sightseeing destination, Viking cave. This cave is where they harvest the swallow nests, made from their saliva, that is used in bird's nest soup. This delicacy is popular in Asia for health and vigor. Up next, Monkey beach, but at the time there was a distinct lack of beach due to the high tide. The monkeys were still happy to receive the bananas that were thrown at them while they were in the trees and hanging on the side of the cliff face.

It was a good thing that our next destination was lunch on the island of Phi Phi Don. Honestly I wasn't expecting that much because how good free lunch on a tour possibly be. Surprisingly it was a very tasty Thai lunch that had a hint of western thrown in with a spagetti and meat sauce option. We had a little time to wander the island after lunch and met a cute kitty that was very friendly and used Ryan's shadow for shade.

We then headed off for our last stop of the tour, tiny Khai island. This island was so small that you could have walked around the entire thing in 10 minutes. We sat down in a couple chairs facing the beach and relaxed for a minute before putting on our snorkels and heading into the water. It was shallow and sandy making it difficult to see more than a couple feet in front of us but there were schools of brightly colored fish that swam inches in front of our faces. After our excursion into the water we headed back to our chairs and enjoyed a yummy mai tai served in a pineapple. The weather had cleared up long ago so the boat ride back was much less bumpy. We ended the day tired but thoroughly happy with our first tour experience.

Dinner at the Poo

We have gotten into the tasty, yet cheap, habit of going to the supermarket for breakfast (and sometimes lunch or dinner too). But a couple of days ago we wandered past the Poo restaurant and we knew that we would have to eat there. It turned out to be an excellent choice as the food was great and the staff, a wonderful Thai family, were fun and welcoming hosts. We had the chicken in sweet and sour sauce, deep fried prawns and fried rice. It was so good that we ended up going back the next night for some Thai curry, barbecued prawns and more fried rice.

I have also now experienced the wonder and relaxation that is the oil massage. My lower back was hurting me a little bit from all the walking we have been doing so I figured I would treat myself and I was not disappointed. It was an hour long full body massage, it was very effective and my masseuse had very strong hands. Ryan waited outside while I was relaxing and had a very interesting conversation with an Australian and two Thai masseuses.

On Earth Day one of the local scuba shops organized a beach clean up. It is the time of year when the winds shift here so there was piles of plastic and other junk washed up all over the beach. Unfortunately, other than the scuba staff there was only three other people that showed up to help. We filled many garbage bags with every kind of garbage you could imagine, from toothbrushes and candy wrappers to pieces of rope and condoms (eww!).

On the way back to our hotel we were stopped by a Thai guy named Jarlie (nickname Jar) who had scratch tickets for us which were a promotion from a time share company. Ryan scratched his and got three stars which meant he won the "big prize". Jar was very excited because this meant that he would receive 5000 baht if we went to the presentation. We had nothing better to do for the afternoon so we decided to follow him to his office. It was well worth the trip as some amusing events occurred. We got to teach our new friend Jar the word "cool". We also got our first Tuk Tuk ride (for free) and since the presentation was at a nearby beach called Kata, we got a free tour of the island as we were taken to and from the office. On the way we saw some elephants, including a cute little baby one. The time share presentation was what you would expect, and our sales man claimed to be not only a butler for the Queen but also was previously employed by Aaron Spelling (hahaha). Needless to say we did not buy in, but I now have a new really large shirt to sleep in that has Premier Holiday Club Phuket on it. All and all it was an amusing experience and a great day.

Why did the monkey cross the road?

Ahh, the beach. After our brief stay in Bangkok we've come out to Patong, our island paradise. We were picked up at the airport by the hotel and I felt like a celebrity, it's the first time I've ever seen my name on a little sign when we walked out of the terminal. The drive to the hotel took about an hour and we were initially struck by the lushness of the countryside.

Once we arrived we settled in and then decided to head down to the beach. It is about a 10 minute walk down to Patong beach, so our gorgeous little hotel is nicely away from the hustle and bustle. After eating dinner we strolled down the beach in our bare feet and watched the sunset.

The next day we were up very early and had breakfast down by the beach. We grabbed some beach chairs and chilled out for the rest of the morning under our umbrella. Ryan made fast friends with the cutest little puppy that sat on his lap for a little bit while his owner watched and giggled. Unfortunately, we were not that careful with our sun exposure and ended up very burnt after day one on the beach. Due to our burnt state we decided to splurge on a yummy dinner and headed out for Indian food which was excellent. On the way back to the hotel a cute little monkey darted across the road which caused onlookers to gasp and scream. Luckily, the monkey picked a great time to cross and launched into his owners arms on the other side of the road.

Project burn recuperation day started off with a walk into town where we found the mall (air conditioned and wonderful for staying out of the sun). We got lunch at the supermarket and did a little light shopping. Day 2 of burn recovery was similar to day 1 due to our injuries. We tried some interesting new food (squid with tentacles) and headed back to the room before the rain started. There was a small posse of kids playing in the pool at the hotel when we arrived back. They greeted us with huge hellos and didn't mind staying in the pool as the rain poured down.

Epic Water Fight!

Although there has been political unrest throughout Bangkok for the last few days, the only fights that we've been involved with are the Songkran Festival water fights. You have to stay on guard while walking around the neighborhood that our hotel is in because you are likely to get a bucket of water dumped on you very quickly. After you are sufficiently drenched, the bottles of baby powder and talcum powder come out and your face is coated in white powder. On a hot day such as it's been the last few days, the water is a welcome sight. They sure know how to cool off during the hottest month of the year. Everyone is in on the action, from the little shy Thai kids to the older folk that love to soak a foreigner.

On day 2 of the festival we decided to head out to the Grand Palace. Calling it grand is a distinct understatement. We were left completely speechless as we entered the grounds and took in the sights around us. Our first stop was the Wat that contains the Emerald Buddha. We took our shoes off and entered and we were instantly overwhelmed by the beauty and significance. Afterwards we checked out the Museum which houses the 2 changes of clothes that the Emerald Buddha has for the other seasons as well as coins, swords and jewellery that have been used by the royal family. The intricacy and splendor of the designs were unlike anything that we have every seen before.

After a quick bite to eat we took a walk and ended up at the Wat containing the Reclining Buddha. The best word to describe this Buddha is huge! It is impossible to get the entire statue in a photo as it is just too big. The feet are inlaid with a beautiful mother of pearl pattern.

Getting a taxi to get back to the hotel proved more difficult than catching a ride on the way there. Many of the cabbies refused to turn on the meter citing the festival as a reason to try to get more money out of us. We decided to walk a little ways away from the main palace grounds and eventually found a older Thai cabbie that actually agreed to turn the meter on, so off we went back to the hotel and blessed air conditioning.

Soi Cowboy!

After an uneventful and long flight from Vancouver, we arrived in Thailand early on Saturday morning. Our room here at the hotel did not disappoint us when we finally got here at about 2 am. We crashed pretty hard and when we woke up we enjoyed our free breakfast buffet before heading up to the roof to check out the roof top current pools and fitness room. We knew it was time to head back down to our room when we heard the thunder crack overhead. The rain started soon afterwards and it was intense. We waited until it had started to diminish and then headed out to check out the neighborhood that we are in. A snack of sticky rice and black bean cooked in a banana leaf refueled us a little, but we still ended up napping when we got back to our room. It seems that the 13 hour time difference is a little tricky to get used to.

After the nap we decided to go for another little walk around and discovered a mini red light district a couple blocks away from the hotel called Soi Cowboy. Neon signs and bars cover the whole strip, with bars offering services that require signs such as "We have 20 gorgeous girls, some ugly ones and some fat ones too" and "We have more ladies that you can handle".

On the way back up to our room we talked with our amazingly friendly concierge and he arranged for us to get a ride out to the floating market the next day. We tried to get some sleep to prepare for our early morning trip but we (especially Ryan) were unsuccessful and didn't get as much shut eye as we would have liked.

We were both awake before our wake up call came and got ready to leave early as it is a 1.5 hour car ride out to the floating market. Once we arrived we hopped onto a long tail boat and headed out to see what the market had to offer. Since this is generally a tourist market it was mostly souvenirs, spices, Buddha statues and other little trinkets. The salespeople were a little pushy but friendly and I love the way they would grab the boat with a long hook on a pole and drag you over to their stall. We ended up getting a couple little items and learned to barter in the process. It was scorching hot so we bought our boat driver a pop while we chugged our water.

About half way into the ride we pulled over to a beautiful little wat and got out to take a look around. It was stunning! It was surrounded by bells that you bang with little wooden sticks that they leave in buckets for that purpose. I couldn't resist and had to make some noise myself.

On the way up to the wat we noticed the water thrashing around. We realized then that the water was teeming with large silver fish. Our driver grabbed us a bag of fish food and we fed the fish from the boat and then from the dock at the wat. Quite an experience. Then it was back to the hotel to grab some rays at the roof top pool and find ourselves some dinner. Tomorrow the new year's (Songkran) festivities start, although it seems like the water fight had already started by the time we returned to Bangkok. Time to get prepared with our water guns.

Gravel bars are sexy places!

Hello from Vancouver!

We have had a wonderful couple days here so far. It started with a smooth flight from Edmonton and then we headed to the hotel. Our hotel is lovely and the staff have been excellent.

After we were settled in on Monday we headed out for a bite to eat and ended up at a nice little cafe with a view of the mountains. Since flights always tire me out no matter how short they are, we came back to the room for a little nap. Once we woke up we called my brother Graham and went out for dinner at a little Japanese restaurant. The meal started off with a deep fried pumpkin ball containing a cooked egg which was delicious. Next up was an oyster dish that was to die for, I could have eaten 4 of them. Afterwards the three of us split 2 sashimi tuna steaks and washed it all down with the best green tea I have ever had.

With our bellies full we started walking down to Stanley park and wandered around the park for a couple hours. At one point we heard a strange humming noise coming from behind us. We turned around and saw an electric skateboard coming down the path towards us towing another boarder behind them. Then at the end of our walk, Ryan saw a waddling movement in the grass that turned out to be a cute little skunk. No worries, we still smell lovely.

On Tuesday we started our day with a icky tasting dose of Ducoral, our anti-diarrhea vaccine. Once we had washed the taste of that out of our mouths we decided to head down to the Vancouver aquarium. Our favorite parts were the belugas, the otters, the sloth and the techno jellyfish which looked like they had little multi-coloured lights shooting up and down the sides. After the aquarium we were getting a little hungry so we grabbed a slice of pizza and people watched while snacking. Then it was off to check out Graham's boat!

We headed to the seabus station and set off on our first boat ride of the trip. The seabus is an excellent way to travel and has never missed a crossing. Graham met us on the other side and we headed towards the marina. We hung out on his boat for a little while chatting and having a little snack of pita chips and dip. Then we wandered off to check out the rest of the marina. Among the boats there are also some really cool floating houses. One of them was very reminiscent of a little hobbit home, all it was missing was the round door. On the way down the dock the first time we heard an interesting noise that sounded like a drowning banshee. We tried to figure out what it was but couldn't so we just kept walking. On the way back we saw one of the residents standing out on the dock outside his house. He then informed us what the crazy noise from earlier was. Apparently, otters were having some sexy time under his house...