Thailand...the land of smiles...Part 2

And so, the trip continues...

Day Three: The Great Adventure!

This was the day of crazy random adventure in Phuket!

After skyping with family in the morning, we were picked up for our elephant trek.  First we got to meet the baby elephant.

Andy and the baby elephant - very cute, but also very hairy and smelly.

At the place, there was a sign saying that the mahout (elephant guide) was not allowed to get off the elephant for our safety but once we were out of sight and in the forest, our mahout climbed off the elephant and told me to give him my camera so he could take pics of us.  He also told us not to tell the boss that he was doing this and suggested we could give him a tip afterwards.  It would be our little secret.  We were a little nervous, but it sure did make the trek more exciting.  Then a few more minutes (and many pictures) later, he told me to untie the seatbelt and go ahead and climb onto the elephant's neck.  Well, I thought, why not? It's not like this little seatbelt is doing much...

So, I got to ride around on the elephants neck while the mahout played photographer.  Andy got his turn as well, and when we got close to the end of the trail, the mahout climbed back on and and we all pretended like this was the way it had always been.  Quite exciting to ride on an elephant without any kind of harness!

Then it was back to the hotel, where we did a little research and decided to catch a local bus to Phuket Town for lunch.

The Local Bus

First of all, I thought the bus would take half an hour....but it ended up taking 1.5 hours!  By then we were starving and we quickly found a place and sat down to eat....and were served lunch by a lady boy.  By now, my mind has been trained to question whether every woman I see is actually a woman or a lady boy.

 Steamed crab with curry in an interesting clay plate...little pods of goodness.

Steamed crab, squid, and more pad thai - oh and can't forget the awesome pineapple juice!

After a little shopping (and bargaining), we decided to catch another bus to Chalong Bay where we heard there was good, cheap seafood.  Keep in mind that we have no idea where the restaurant is or what stop we had to get off at.   The way the local bus works, you ring the driver when you want to get off, he'll stop anywhere on the route.  This time, the local bus was basically a pick up with a roof and the bus driver was nice enough to told us where to get off.  After walking along the beach, we found the restaurant we were looking for at the end of the beach....but we couldn't get there because there was a river in front of us...  We were standing there, puzzled when a group of locals partying in their little shack/hut motioned for us to cut through their shack to get to the road that would take us to the restaurant.  I hesitatingly walked through with Andy behind me...(looking back, it was probably not the best thing to do).  Luckily we got through without any harm...although Andy's price of passage was a love tap on the bum by some random lady (Andy later said he was too scared to acknowledge it).  Before we could safely get to the restaurant, we had one more obstacle

I call this the Indiana Jones bridge since we've been playing alot of Lego Indian Jones on the Wii lately.  I swear I thought one of these planks was going to fall out once we stepped on it (like in the game).  But, we made it across safely. Note, I took the pic after I had made it across so you can see the locals' hut in the background.  Definitely a bit shady...

So we get to the restaurant, but it's only 5 pm and we just had lunch at 2.  We asked a waitress for a massage parlor recommendation nearby, but she says there aren't any good ones close by.  So she calls her friend who is a taxi driver and arranges for him to take us to the massage place and back for dinner, then take us home to our hotel.  So we basically agreed to and climb into a taxi with a stranger.  We end up having great massages for $15 per person - we got a private room with wonderful scents, soft music, and these Thai massueses stretching and pulling us this way and that.  It was awesome.  Afterwards, it was back to Kan Eang for dinner where we had crab and steamed fish.  So delicious!

More Tom Yam soup....with fried shrimp and seaweed in the background.  Sorry, I ate half the soup before I remembered to take a picture...

Steamed fish in coconut milk.

My personal favorite - Black pepper crab - I love black pepper!

Finally, after a big meal, we headed home and zonked out...amazingly safe after a day of crazy adventure.

Day Four

Once again we got up early (sleeping in was not an option on this vacation) and set out for a trip to Phi Phi Island.  Once again, we got on a speedboat with our Thai tour guide, Bob.  First we went to Monkey Beach, did a little snorkeling and then went to shore to check out the monkeys.

 Monkey trying to drink some pepsi.

Then, we headed to Maya Bay, where the movie The Beach with Leo Dicaprio was shot.  Very beautiful, but too many people for me.

Some rocks on our way out - look how clear the water is!

After lunch, we head out to Khai island where we did more snorkeling.  This was our first time snorkeling (technically my second, but my first time all I saw was sand).  It's amazing!  Even half blind (since I don't have contacts)  it was amazing to be swimming amongst the tropical fish.  We even got nibbled on by a few daring fish.  I think we're hooked on snorkeling now....It's just a truly magical feeling to be underwater staring at brightly colored fish within your hand's grasp.  I was reminded of the wonder and beauty of God's creation.  

After a fun day, we headed home, and ate one more dinner on the beach before hitting the sack and catching a flight back home the next morning.

So many times in Thailand, while gazing at the beautiful beaches, sunset, lifeforms, I was filled with a sense of awe and wonder.   It's just so beautiful out here, and even more so, I can't believe I am out here!  I never imagined I would be living in Southeast Asia and exploring all these places.  God has definitely blessed us alot!