The cove around our hotel was lovely, but we did not get lucky enough to stay in those charming little villas over the water. Our hotel was nice, clean, and very well located, but it was a little more reminiscent of a summer camp than beach resort. It didn't matter to us because we spent little time there anyway and didn't want to waste money on a fancy room...we saved that for the spa!
Our first lunch at the beachside cafe.
Ah...bliss...
Had to get one of my patented long-arm photos.
We were adventurous enough to try the cable cars which go literally straight up the limestone cliffs. I don't have problems with heights normally but I was a bit freaked out when I saw the 75 degree angle towards the top. Sometimes it's not good to be married to an engineer because I look around and start to question things like stability and reliability where I never would have even considered it before we met.
We saw the 7 wells waterfall in the dense vegetation on the way up.
And once we made it to the top the spectacular view was more than rewarding enough for the scary ride.
At the very top there is a great suspension bridge between two peaks but I couldn't even begin to think of how they assembled the thing at 1,500 feet!
A great view of the island and the southern tip of Thailand in the background.
Afterward we hiked up to the waterfall for a closer look.
On the way back we popped into the fish spa for another fish pedicure, only these fish were all at least twice as big as the ones in Singapore so it was my second scary experience for the day! It took me a minute to work up the nerve to let these hungry guys chew on my feet but most of them were still very gentle and ticklish.
We were accompanied home by a huge family of monkeys. I loved all the wildlife!
Sunset on our first evening.
Our second morning we were greeted by a different type of monkey begging for handouts at the buffet.
We knew we'd booked our trip during the summer monsoon but it poured all night and we were very fortunate to have two beautiful days to enjoy the scenery. We spent most of our second day on a boat tour of the islands, mangroves, caves, and wildlife.
One of the many limestone islands around the main island.
Feeding the fish, a fun alternative to snorkeling since we didn't have another day to take a boat out to the good reefs.
Stacey got personal with one of the hungry little guys.
We saw enormous flying foxes in the trees off on one island, but thank goodness they're fruit eaters.
We also had the pleasure of watching the graceful sea eagles hunting for their breakfast.
There are at least 4 eagles in this picture. It was really exciting watching them drag fish out of the water.
I don't know how someone was able to spot this in the mangrove - can you find the viper in the middle of the picture? (click to enlarge) A very good reason to be on a boat!
Our next stop was a floating fish farm and restaurant for a tour and fresh seafood lunch. We saw all kinds of interesting fish like barracuda, shark, sea bass, and even moray eels and stingray.
Some of the native fish will spit to knock down insects or food (bread, in this case) and while the guide was showing us this fish demonstrated his personal method to get the snack.
After lunch we walked through some bat caves but thankfully they were not long so we still had some sunlight and the bats were sleeping. I'm not sure I would have made it in the dark with those guys flying around, especially since the tide was up and we had to wade through seawater in some places.
Such a beautiful part of the world.
After a little shopping, we headed back to our home sweet home which was a little bungalow steps away from the beach. And right under the trees, making it a perfect landing place for the monkeys jumping down from the treetops.
The second night's sunset...pretty spectacular after some afternoon showers.
Our second breakfast was a little more entertaining because of the ladies sitting in front of us. Apparently there is now a non-stop flight from Jakarta, Indonesia which is highly muslim and we saw lots of women in burkas all over the place, even at the beach. It seemed like a pretty cruel vacation to them since it couldn't possibly be enjoyable under all those clothes. We kept wondering how they ate and the question was answered last thing before we left.
We flew Air Asia which is a safe budget airline on this side of the world, but I was still a little surprised that we were free to roam around the tarmac and take pictures before we boarded. And the plane was covered in ads from sponsors, like a nascar car. Somehow that doesn't make me completely confident in them! But regardless, we had a wonderful trip and safe travels back home to two little boys who were excited to have us home.
Matt is still in Perth working but will return this weekend to have the titanium plate surgically removed from his wrist. Then he's back off to Perth (but without setting off the metal detector) to work until we pack up and move sometime in August. Now that Hotel Kirkham has closed, it's time to get busy thinking about our big move.
Looks like alot of fun... you guys look identical...
ReplyDeleteIt is a gorgeous part of the world. Glad you had such a good time!
ReplyDeleteso, how did they chicks in the burkas eat? please share.
ReplyDelete:) Stephanie