Hello there,
Today was one of those above average days, the type of day I think I can come to expect from Thailand.
We embarked early this morning when we were picked up by our tour company at 6:30am. It took us all the way up to the farthest north east point of Phuket where we met up with Sam, our tour guide, and the 6 other tourists who would be joining us on our boat tour to Phang Nga Bay.
The tour started with a 20 minutes boat ride to this lovely little secluded cove where we gently took the boat around but didn't get out.
There are many, many, many caves throughout this region, so many in fact that people actually live nomadic lives in them (like the one pictured above).
Our tour brought us to this secluded beach where we were able to snorkel and swim and tan and soak in the magnificent beauty around us. The snorkelling consisted of looking at one school of fish (this area in Thailand is not known for its vibrant marine life) but the scenery was so breathtaking you look little note of the lack of aquatic life.
Even at this little beach you could see where the Thai people have inhabited the caves and land of the islands.
The next stop on the tour was with out a doubt the most spectacular stop of the day. We were treated to a personal canoe tour through the mangrove trees and around the fish farms of Phang Nga Bay by a Thai man who we call "Bob Marley" (because everyone seemed to call him that). Bob Marley was quite the character. His knowledge of the English language consisted of major cities in western United States and "Jack Sparrow". He is single. The options of eligible bachelors for Alicia have been promising on this trip.
For an hour we were paddles around the bay, floating over the clear turquoise water beneath the hot January sun. The views cannot be done justice by photo and my words cannot express them.
There are fish farms here where they catch an assortment of sea creatures from catfish to crab to prawns and even small sharks (unfortunately photos of the shark are on my other memory card). But the most notable of all the aquatic life was a type of fish they do not eat or catch. The fish they call the "Walking Fish". It's basically exactly what it sounds like. A fish that walks. It climbs tree branches and walks on water. I think the best way to understand would be to google it and watch a video because they're hilarious and amazing.
At one point Bob Marley paddled us over to the canoe of local fishermen who presented me with this dead fish. Not the most conventional gift I have ever been given but it's the thought that counts right? I held on to if for a while and then flick it back into the ocean.
Unfortunately you can't really see the catfish in this photo but let me inform you that they were quite huge. Much larger than the shark we were shown. Each catfish goes for about 500 Boht at the market.
After the luxurious and perfect paddle around Phang Nga Bay we headed to lunch. At some point along the way we stopped beside James Bond Island (not pictured; again, other memory card) which was used as the setting for the films "The Man with the Golden Gun" and "Die Another Day".
Lunch was included in our tour so when we arrived to Panyee Island we were treated to the most fantastic display of various Thai cuisine. Everything from cashew chicken to butter chicken to tempura to steam veggies to rice to
French fries to crab to deep fried prawns. Needless to say, our bellies were satisfied.
After lunch we took a walk around the village on Panyee Island (again, not pictured, I did a terrible job today organizing my memory cards). What's important to know about Panyee is that the entire village is built over the water, being held up by stilts. 1,300 people live in the village and 200 students attend the primary school. There's a floating soccer field to accommodate the complete lack of flat land. There's many restaurants and tourist shops along the village walkways, all suspended over the water.
After lunch and the walk around Panyee we hopped back on our boat and headed to another island to explore a massive cave.
We all had a bit of a brief nap on the beach before heading back to Phuket. Unfortunately I don't currently has access to the photos that would provide a much better illustration of the things we saw today, so for now you'll have to take my word for it when I say it was utterly spectacular and a must see for any avid traveller.
Back in Karon Beach we freshened up with a shower, I made a quick FaceTime home, and we headed out to dinner where we enjoyed authentic Thai curry and I treated myself to a mojito once again (not bucket sized this time).
If the day hadn't already been enough of a treat in itself, we decided to treat ourselves a little further and we went to a spa and got a head/neck and foot/leg massage for one hour. I was half asleep for the walk home. This massage was much more relaxing and enjoyable than the ever so unique Thai Massage I had yesterday. I can assure you we'll be flick back every day. The accommodations at this spa were arguably the best in Karon Beach.
I apologize that this blog is a hasty list of the day's events but finishing your long day in the sun with an hour massage leaves you with little energy or desire to do anything other than go to bed.
As always, thanks for following along and prayers for safety and health are always appreciated.
-mo
