The next leg of our trip found us traveling by bus across Southern Thailand from the Gulf of Thailand to the Andaman Sea coastline. As we drove, towering palm tree farms alternated with lush forested areas, each more beautiful than the next. When we neared the coast, huge freestanding stacks of limestone covered with bright green trees began appearing. Their stone countenances jutting upward into the sky looked like they had been carved right out of the ground! A little more research into these fascinating formations showed they were formed through years of erosion. The land now making up Krabi province was totally underwater at one point and while it was, the sea was busy producing the wonderful artwork that she would later reveal to us land. Because these stacks are made out of limestone, which is of medium hardness, they are hard enough to remain freestanding and not collapse while also being soft enough to continue eroding from rainwater - forming caves, interesting discolorations, and massive stalactites. When looking at these seemingly permanent mountains that are also ever-changing, it reminds us of how permanent we see ourselves and our lives, though in actuality they are constantly shifting.
Overlooking Krabi province with its many limestone stacks Having changed locations yet again, we are starting to settle into this rhythm of movement and stillness. Krabi town was a great quick stopover and found us climbing 1257 steps straight up one of these limestone stacks to see Wat Thamsua (the Tiger Temple) and the 360 degree views of the landscape that the temple afforded. We celebrated Chinese New Year in Krabi’s the night market with wonderful fresh squid stir-fried with green beans, seafood suki soup, yakatori balls, and mango sticky rice. In the morning, we got up early for a traditional Thai breakfast in Soutern Thailand’s largest morning market. The bustling market (which runs from 4am-8am) offers fresh fruit and veggies, a range of meats, and a variety of meals for breakfast. We opted for the traditional “jok” – a rice porridge dish with generous amounts of fresh ginger and garlic, minced meat, cilantro, green onion, and overeasy egg on top which is then mixed in with everything. For pics from this leg of the trip, click here - http://flic.kr/s/aHsjydSga2
Spicy chilli peppers at the Krabi morning market We became beach bums again and found an amazing spot – Ton Sai beach next to Railay off of the Ao Nang coast. The stacks here are just gorgeous and we see them every time we walk out of our bungalow. We rock climbed another stack for an amazing 360 view, only to then free climb down several 15 feet drops to discover a hidden lagoon in the middle of the stack. The climb and getting down was quite exhilarating and scary as there were several points when we weren’t sure where to put the next foot! After two days of intense climbing, we settled here for a few more days. With yoga on the beach, massage, and hiking in undisturbed jungle, it was difficult to leave this paradise. However, the stacks teach us that even as things seem permanent, they are also always changing. To us, they remind us to enjoy these wonderful moments while not grasping onto them when our travels take us onward. For the pics from this amazing location (our favorite beach so far!), click here - http://flic.kr/s/aHsjyk7mUT Jungle viewpoint overlooking Railay Beach We made a quick stop at Ko Phi Phi to see what the fuss was all about and found it to be beautiful but awfully crowded. Today, we visited Ko Phi Phi Leh (the hidden island where ‘The Beach’ was filmed) and we found it to be anything but hidden. Tourists teamed over the tiny Maya Bay leaving it difficult to appreciate the natural beauty surrounding us. We quickly departed the crazyness of Phi Phi to find our next and probably final island for now, Ko Lanta. For pics from Phi Phi, click here - http://flic.kr/s/aHsjykq6H2
Ko Phagnan Island. Lying in the Gulf of Thailand, this paradise island offers something for everyone. For example, on Thursday we woke up and did yoga on the beach, ate freshly caught and perfectly prepared chili-garlic squid before cruising into the heart of the island to hike the waterfalls that lie within its national park. The afternoon found us snorkeling off the beaches and topping it off with a Thai massage during sunset. Evening followed with the mixing of some homemade cocktails consisting of pineapple juice and Thai rum before heading to the “Pirate Bar” for an all night electronic dance party right on the beach. Neda nabbed this shot after a massage on the beach. It's Haad Mae Haad coast at sunset Sufficed to say, at a certain point in the day Neda turned to me and said, “I’m really starting to feel like we’re on vacation now.” Though the days of trekking around with our packs trying to find a room or planning what we will do next can involve a bit of stress, Neda and I are savoring our “long-term” vacation. As we find ourselves getting mellower and moving more with the flow, we ask ourselves: “how can we incorporate this loose, fluid mind set into our everyday lives when the structure, hustle, and bustle return?” The question is how to learn lessons from our leisure so that the line between leisure and life isn’t as sharp as we sometimes make it out to be. Our next stop takes us from the Gulf of Thailand to the Andaman Coast Our next stop is Krabi province, where we plan to explore the beaches of Rai Lay, hop over to Ko Phi Phi, and possibly down to some other islands as well. The area will be getting increasingly Islamic as we head south so it should be interesting. From a gustatory perspective, the famous Massaman Curry originates in Southern Thailand so we look forward to sampling it there! See the full pics here: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjyagmTB
Life has been a whirlwind since arriving in Bangkok over a week ago, but Neda and I are having a wonderful time. Bangkok is a bustling city full of sensory stimuli. The streets are lined with food cart stalls selling everything from cut up fresh fruit to a variety of noodle soups, crispy pork, curry, and a bunch of foods we can't even identify. The wats (Thai temples) are extravagant affairs covered in gold, jade, and garlands. Thai's gather at Wats and shrines set up on the street to offer incense, lotus flowers, and food to both the Buddha and other spirits remaining from Thailand's animist past. The cultural and spiritual ideas that merge here in Thailand are fascinating. While a Buddhist country, Thais are still deeply superstitious and believe in appeasing spirits to prevent bad luck from falling on the themselves and their families. Every home has a tiny model temple in the northeast side of its property called a "spirit house" which is a place where offerings can be made to appease the local spirits of the house. It is not uncommon to see a spirit house with incense offerings, drinks, and food in front (though some locals have told us that after 10 minutes some of that food might be eaten...guess its not like the spirits are actually eating, so why not? For full pics of Bangkok click here: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjxTr864 Posing with the reclining Buddha at Wat Pho - Bangkok From Bangkok we headed slightly off the beaten path to a town called Mueang Ratchaburi in the Ratchaburi province. With no English speakers at all, we pointed and gestured our way to a local Thai hotel and managed to communicate with a driver to take us out to the ruins at Khao Ngu (snake mountain) where some of the oldest images of the Buddha were carved into the walls in bas-relief, remnants of the Dvaravati civilization of 6th-13th century. We also experienced our first Thai style BBQ where you get an unlimited amount of veggies, fresh seafood, and marinated meats to either cook over charcoal or in the surrounding boiling broth of the contraption they use. Think of it as a combo of Korean BBQ and shabu-shabu, or as I like to put it: an all-you-can eat, do-it-yourself buffet for about $3. Nice. Other highlights included the Angkor styled Wat Mahatat, complete with a two sided Buddha said to protect the city in all directions. Full pics of Ratchaburi click here: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjy7kaNx Feeding the monkeys by Khao Ngu Mountain  Phra Nakhon Khiri Next we headed to Phetchaburi, where we hiked up to the summer palace Phra Nakhon Khiri, built by Rama IV in 1860. It is a fascinating mix of Thai and European architecture, including an astronomy observatory (Rama IV was an avid amateur astronomer) and a beautiful Wat (temple). Towering above the town were the prangs (spires) of another Wat Mahatat with many locals giving offerings to the 3 Buddha's in the main hall (Wihan). We also got a taste of our first truly terrible guesthouse, complete with swarming mosquitoes and a room connected to the communal bathroom where the noises of the drunk guy across the hall were the soundtrack for the evening. Just breath, just breath, just breath...ouch did I just get bit again? :) Full pics of Phetchaburi are here: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjy7A8QR Our route so far...from A. Bangkok B. Ratchaburi C. Petchaburi D. Baan Krut E. Chumphon to F. Ko Phangan tomorrow!  Neda slacklining After just one night in that guesthouse we called it quits in Phetchaburi and headed down the cost on a 4 hour train trip to a little town called Baan Krut. We had connected with a guy named Chris through couchsurfing.org and he was generous enough to host us for 3 days in the wonderful village on the sea. Chris is a peace corp volunteer who speaks fluent Thai and he gave us some great information on Thai culture, language, and food. The first night we went to "kids night" at the Wat where kids performed a variety of dances while the community cooked up tons of delicious food for all to eat. Think handpressed coconut milk ice cream, minced duck with basil and chili peppers, roast pork on jasmine rice with hoi sin sauce...I am diggin' Wat culture for sure :) Baan Krut also had a beautiful Wat on the mountainside and nice beaches where we practiced "slacklining" with Chris for the first time. Great fun to practice walking on a tightrope between coconut trees in paradise! We also rented a motorbike (the roads were straight and basically no traffic in case you were worried parents) and headed out the beautiful hidden cove where I recovered from a stomach bug drinking coconut water and enjoying the view. Full pics of Baan Krut here: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjy7EE3V The beautiful hidden cove Our next stop was going to be Ko Phangan island off the coast with a stopover in Chumphon, but my stomach flu necessitated us staying here an extra night to recover ($10 hotel rooms make that easy :). But as with many unexpected things, when you stay open to the possibilities, Chumphon ended up being lots of fun. We met a couple in our lobby, Brett & Christie, who are also traveling around Southeast Asia for an extended time. They just came from the islands and gave us great tips. Together we strolled through the night market of Chumphon sampling grilled banana kebabs with coconut sauce, the infamous durian fruit, and yes roasted bugs. We limited it just to grasshoppers for our first time, but ya know, they really weren't that bad - and high in protein! Check out Brett and Christie's blog Culture Cats here. And see our full pics of Chumphon here: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjy7HPSn Yeah...she ate that. So did I! So tomorrow morning we're up early and headed to the islands! Sorry for the post being so long, but internet has been intermittent (try saying that 5x straight). We'll post more as we can and love to hear from you all on facebook and on the blog comments!
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