Our Last Day in Paradise

We decided to take it easy on our last day in paradise. We woke up without the alarm, had a wonderful fruit filled breakfast and updated our blog. It was only 9 am but it was already hot as hell so we decided to rent a kayak and head out towards Ao Nang. Usually one has to take a long tail boat to get to that beach so we did not expect to actually make it that far but we hoped to find something interesting along the way and we were not disappointed.
The sea in this area is filled with spectacular rock formations and it was so much fun to paddle around or jump in for a quick dip in the crystal clear water. Before we knew it we found ourselves on a beach. One corner of the beach was especially busy so we went to see what it was all about. Oh my...... the trees around the walkway in the back of the beach were filled with monkeys!!! There were so many of them!!! and we had no food.... luckily there was a nice lady selling bananas. We got a back and went to try our luck. They were so so cute and very polite. They would wait their turn and very nicely take the fruit from your hand.
Of course... it is not smart to mess with them as monkeys are very short tempered. And guess what I did... hmm... for the sake of a picture I teased the monkey by moving the banana just out of its reach, and it got closer and closer.... until it lost it patience and hissed at me & scratched me. Ouch... I will not tease a monkey ever again!!!
We swam for a bit in the crystal clear waters and eventually around 1 pm we found our way back to our beach.
We took a shower, had a cocktail in the cool of our room followed by a wonderful nap. One more thing we thought we shouldn't miss out on - the massage. We found a cute lil massage establishment and had our last $7 Thai massage.... ahhhh.
In the evening we met our Norwegian couple for a wonderful Thai dinner and drinks on the beach. It was wonderful meeting them here and it was a great finish to our vacation.

Day 12 - The Elephant Adventure & Best Food in Thailand

Today we finally got to ride an elephant!!! We wanted to go elephant riding in Cambodia and in Bangkok area but both of those fell through. Today we finally succeeded! We signed up for a tour through our hotel. The tour included an hour of elephant riding, cave sightseeing, swimming in natural pools and Thai lunch.
We got picked up early in the morning by a longtail boat and taken over to the main land where a pickup truck was waiting for us and another nice young couple from Ireland. As soon as we got to our destination the handlers took us to say Hi to the elephants and up on them we went. It was little rocky at first until we got balanced. It was fun, Chris & I both set in the seat on top of the elephant's back and the handler was on its neck.
Few minutes into it the guy asked me if I wanted to sit where he was sitting? I was little hesitant at first but I was not going to pass the opportunity, so I slid down from the seat on its neck.
It was strange, prickly and I had no idea what to do with my feet. I felt bad having it behind the elephant ears as he liked to pull them back so eventually I found a sort of a squat/straddle position on its neck that was agreeable to both of us. It was fantastic - we trekked through the jungle for a bit with frequent stops for palm tree and other snacks for the elephant. I offered for Chris to sit where I was but he said it was safer for all of us if he stays where he was at.
After our wonderful ride was over we bought some bananas and fed them to the elephant. It was fascinating to see them sniff around with the trunk, grab them with it and just throw them in their mouth.
Once our elephant encounter was over the guide took us to explore caves on the property followed by a wonderful swim in cool and shady pools fed by natural springs. It was just what we needed!
The amazing experience was topped of by a surprisingly delicious homemade Thai lunch. We both agreed that it was the best food we have had in Thailand so far!!!

Day 11 - 2/1/10 - Island Snorkeling

Today was a day of Island hopping! We signed up for a Phi Phi Islands tour. This tour was going to go to Maya Bay (known from the movie Beach), Hing Klarng open sea snorkeling, Phi Phi Don Island for lunch, Monkey Bay - to see some monkeys, Lohsamah Bay for snorkeling & finally Bamboo Island for a wonderful swim. The tour was a full day event from 9 am until 5 pm.
We got picked by a speed boat at our hotel and after 45 minutes of a bumpy ride of a lifetime (we sat in the front, somewhat more bumpy there), we end up at our first destination - Maya Bay.
Luckily, were one of the first boats to get there but what was at first a serene bay have turned very shortly into a nightmare. Well, actually we decided to view it as very interesting and entertaining instead. It was comical how many boats and how many people could fit on this tiny beach! It was almost like being on a New York sidewalk during busy time of the day. We were little worried as we thought that all of our stops would be like this one, but luckily that was not the case!
Our next destination was Pileh Bay - wonderful secluded lagoon & the Viking Cave - both of these we just looked at from the boat.
The next stop was Monkey Bay to see... you guessed it.. monkeys and then finally - snorkeling. It was open water snorkel near Phi Phi Don island and it was great. Not the best that we have seen but still very beautiful.
We had lunch at Phi Phi Don with some island exploration and after another snorkeling stop we arrived on Bamboo Island. It was so beautiful there and the beach so white and the water azure blue - just like paradise!
Eventually, this wonderful island experience had to end and we found ourselves back in our hotel room with a delicious cocktail in our hand. Ahhhh...
We freshened up and went on to explore the East Railay Beach area by our hotel. We got there during its low tide time and it was something. For whatever reason the tides here are very extreme and the water line moves by about 300 feet. This change makes East Railay into a stinky, muddy mess of mangrove trees. The very busy restaurants on Railay West are replaced here with an empty seats all around and restaurant staff begging for any business at all. After reviewing this area we decided that it may be best if we have our dinner on the West side.
We went to the Sand Sea Resort Restaurant. We knew from before that this restaurant is was Muslim owned so we came armed with shot bottles of vodka in our pockets as they don't serve alcohol. This restaurant is one of the most exciting restaurants we have ever been to. Ordering is the easy part but what comes to you thereafter is always a surprise. Our first round of mocktails never showed up but Chris' meal came instead. So we ordered another round of drinks and half an hour later I got my meal followed finally, by our drinks! Our friends told us that we were actually lucky because one of their meals never showed up. Although we almost got somebody else's order three other times. Oh, did I mention that this restaurant has about 15 tables and about 20 waiters, including couple of ladyboys. It was very entertaining.