Exploring Railay

Yesterday we spent the day exploring more in depth the caves and mountains of Railay. We climbed up the mountain of cave beach to some of the amazing viewpoints. It was really breathtaking, which made all the intense and scary climbing so worth it. We definitely got a good workout. After the caves and climbing we were kind of gross so we swam out to one of the little islands just off the beach where we ran into John and Shirley again. They had kayaked out to the little island.

After lunch we did a sunset snorkeling excursion. The neatest part of this trip was when they took us to an area after dark where we swam in the ocean with the bioluminescent algae. Whenever you move the water lit up. It was one of the neatest things I have ever seen. We all swam and splashed around for a while and Stephen did a cannonball of the boat to spread out the glow : )

This morning we have just finished breakfast and lounging by the water. The guys are trying to figure out where we are going to stay tonight on Khao Sok. We might do a little rock climbing (since Railay is so famous for it and it is pretty affordable) before we head out.

We are actually all getting adjusted to the culture here pretty quickly. We have learned quite a few Thai sentences. We are also getting better at remembering to take our shoes off before we go in shops. Something I think is really interesting has been learning about the religion here. For example, in the Jim Thompson house there was a miniature house on the lot (the size of a large dollhouse) which is kept in the northeast corner so the sun cant set on it. It is supposed to drive away evil spirits and they put offerings of food and flowers in it every morning. We have seen these little statues and structures a lot with the offerings in them, even at the shops.

view from the caves

Tour to Phi Phi

Today we did an all day speed boat tour to Phi Phi and several other small islands. The first was Bamboo island and it was a beautiful beach. We actually saw some small sharks swimming around but they swam off as soon as you went near them. The water was a bright turquoise color and you could see all the way to the bottom for as far as you could swim out. Another place we went was Maya Bay where the film The Beach was filmed.

We have met a lot of interesting people on this trip. Today we met John and Shirley from Austrailia. They had both been married over 40 years and lost thier significant others. They met while traveling solo and fell in love. They are now in Thailand for their honeymoon : )

Probably the best part of the day was the snorkeling. We went at two different islands. The first was Lohsamah and they had some really big and beautiful fish. They also had some very bright sea creatures that were attached to the rocks but would close up when you swam by. It was really neat. The second spot was Hin Klarng. The fish were not as big but they were just as beautiful. The guide gave us some bread and the fish swarmed us and eventually came up and ate it out of our hands.

After the tour we got some banana drinks and banana pancakes (not actually pancakes, it was a very different kind of dough). Then we did some shopping. I made my first purchase: a very cute little dress for 9 dollars. For dinner, we ate at a restaurant on the beach that is famous for its sunsets. Stephen decided to rub one of those little evil peppers I mentioned earlier on his lips. He really loves to torture himself with spicy food. It really looked like he was wearing lipstick.

We really like it on this island so we are going to stay a few days and take day trips to the surrounding areas.

to the very left you can see the triangle pillow we saw everywhere

on the boat

if there is a cliff, Stephen will jump from it

Bamboo Island

Maya Beach

snorkel time

can't get enough of that iced coffee

Krabi to Railay

I have decided to blog about our travels instead of keeping a travel journal (I really don't enjoy journaling) so these posts will be a little more detailed. Feel free to skip the long ones, lol. I am just using the internet while the guys research where we might stay next. Also, we are taking amazing pictues but I can't get them up until we get back.

After the train we arrived in Krabi. We were all kind of tired from travling so we had a pretty laid back day. We got a massage (we went for the more relaxing swedish massage) and got some lunch. It was the most amazing pad thai and it was only 2 dollars. After lunch we went to the beach and hung out there most of the day. We had some dinner and then Stephen and I set up the hammock on the beach. We actually fell asleep for about an hour which kind of freaked me out a little, lol. After we woke up, we took a boat over to another island called Railay (which is where we are right now).

I loved the picture of the monkey on this sign!

Awesome view from the hike

Ben and Stephen playing on the bouncy rafts

We were so tired at dinner

Enjoying more iced coffees

Mmmm cappucino

Today was definitely an amazing day!!! After we arrived, we checked into our resort and then headed to the beach. It is definitely the most beautiful beach I have ever seen. The sand is so soft and the water is really clear. Next to the beach are the beautiful tree covered mountains jutting out of the water.

On the way to the beach we bought a couple of bananas. The lady that sold them had a sling shot and she said "monkey like banana." We thought yes, true statement, no need to point out the obvious. However as we walked down to the beach, the monkeys came and took our banans! Bad monkeys!! Sure they were only a few cents but I was hungry. Then, the little bugger went just out of reach and ate them in front of us. It was actually pretty funny.

Once we got to the beach we swam a little and the guys jumped off some cliffs. There was actually a small boat in the water selling lunch so we got some noodles and veggies. It was actually really good. We kept going back for banana shakes (stephen comment:  and they were awesome!).

We decided to walk all the way down the beach just for the heck of it and I am so glad we did. We eventually came to a bunch of trees. There wasn't anyone around but there looked like a little trail, so we took it. It led to a ladder going up some rocks, so we climbed it. This led to a little cliff area, so we scaled it. We eventually made it to some caves up in one of those mountains. It was a little scary getting up but it was so worth it. It was absolutely the prettiest view I have ever seen. I hope the pictures can capture at least some of it. We also went down another way and found a little secluded beach area and swam some more.

On the walk back we passed that food stand. It was closed now but the woman had left one of the cabinets open and the little bad monkeys were helping themselves to pringles, pretzels, oreos and other yummy snacks. We locked up her cabinet for her and the guys took turn "shooing" away the monkeys with her sling shot. Normally I am against sling shotting rocks (and pretzels) at animals but these were naughty monkeys!!

After we got back to the resort we swam some at the pool then walked to the other side of the island and watched the amazing sunset. Sitting there seeing something so beautiful just got me thinking. If this feels like a paradise, imagine what awaits us in Heaven  :)

This boat was one of my fav lunch places

pretty sunset

a view looking out of the caves

outside our hotel

this is the monkey, right before he took Stephen's bananas

First day in Thailand

Well we made it to Thailand. We got in about 5:30am (only 6 hours late) which worked out fine. We met up with ben and christy at their b&b and took showers and had some breakfast. I am ashamed to say my first meal in Thailand was "the American breakfast": two eggs, four toast, fresh fruit, bacon, and coffee. Haha, it was delicious though.

After breakfast we headed to the spa where we all got a 1 hour traditional thai message. It is a little painful but still great at the same time. It is kind if a mix between yoga and accupressure. Since the whole hour only costs $7 we decided this should be a daily event.

The rest of our day was spent exploring bangkok. We checked out some shops and had a wonderful Thai lunch. I can't explain exactly what we ate but it included rice, chicken, veggies, wonderful sauces, and tiny little peppers about a fourth the size of a pea. I only ate one and thought that my mouth was going to melt off. Poor Stephen ate 4 at once and then downed the rest of his rice and water. Everything was really good though. The coffee here is great.

Something else we did was tour the Jim Thompson house. It is pretty famous. He was an American architect that fell in love with the Thai people and helped rebuild the silk industry here. His house was beautiful. He was an art collector so we saw gorgeous furniture, sculptures, and other pieces.

After our day exploring we took an overnight train down to Krabi in southern Thailand. The train was actually not too bad. We had a bed and it was the first bed Stephen and I had slept in three days. Well, we headed out but I will write more a little later.

Eating at Eddie's Zone where we discovered the wonderful iced coffee of Thailand

Mini replica of the Jim Thompson House which is used for offerings and kept at the north east corner of the property so the sun never sets on it

In the garden on the Jim Thompson House

Looking into the house from the front

Japan

Well, due to some bad weather in Dallas, our flight was delayed and we missed our connecting flight to Thailand. No worries though because now we get to hang out in Japan for a while! We flew into Tokyo and we are flying out of another airport after a while. Everyone here is really nice. For some reason, they think Stephen is hilarious, haha. It really is so different here. For one thing the toilets have remotes. I still haven't figured that out yet. Also, I thought most people spoke English over here but they don't. Getting around is kind of confusing. It has been really fun though trying to communicate and figure out what kind of food we are ordering. I'm still not sure what we had for dinner :)

Pictures to come...

Mr. and Mrs. Jones

Craig and Becca's wedding was this Saturday. They had a beautiful ceremony with not a dry eye in the place! The reception was at a plantation on Edisto and it was beautiful! We are so happy for you guys and we love you and wish you the best!!

Graduation Party

Friday Night we had a graduation party for Stephen at the Retreat Clubhouse. It was so much fun to celebrate his accomplishment with family, friends, yummy food, and of course cornhole. It was the perfect ending to a wonderful graduation week.