Wat Rong Khun

Wat Rong Khun, also called the White Temple, is located in Chiang Rai (about 3 hours north east of Chiang Mai). The day after our arrival in Chiang Mai we headed up north with Fred Sr. and Cherry. 

The temple is quite a beautiful sight, it is totally white with millions of pieces of glass.

This is Chalermchai Kositpipat, the creator of the temple. He is a famous Thai artist who was able to get his temple started by selling his own paintings. The temple is not complete, and won't be for many decades because Mr. Kositpipat refuses to accept outside money for his creation. His goal is to fund the entire project by himself.  http://www.tourismchiangrai.com/e-ctmc/index.php?option=rongkhun

Looks like someone had some nail polish handy. All of these carved hands are at the entrance of the temple, as you walk over the bridge.

The sarong I am wearing was handed to me upon our entrance. At the exit, there was a basket to put it in (so that later some other inappropriately dressed tourist can wear it). :)

This is not a typical temple. It is not a religious site, so there are no monks. There are strange images such as the planters above which are hanging in trees outside; inside there are paintings of superman, batman, and Keanu Reeves in the Matrix (just to name a few).

Nai Yang Beach

Nai Yang was not on the itinerary. Due to the flooding and the fast changing weather I thought it would be better if we stayed close to our departure airport (we flew into Krabi airport but flew out of Phuket). The conditions of the roads can get bad with excess rain and since our flight was in the morning I wanted to play it safe.This was taken from our motorcycle taxi on the way to the resort.

 I found the Nai Yang Beach Resort for a great price online. http://www.naiyangbeachresort.com/  

We were pleasantly surprised with the hotel, the location (5 minutes from the airport) and the great weather.

Fred and I went for a long walk and found ourselves surrounded by only local fisherman.

After our walk Fred and I enjoyed fresh cut fruit and some adult beverages.

If you look in the center of the circle you will see the little crab that made this beautiful artwork. I found it interesting that the designs made by the crabs varied at different beaches.

As soon as we sat on these beach chairs we were given a ticket and told we had to pay to sit. It was only a few dollars but other tourists were surprised by this and refused to pay (and sit). We enjoyed the chairs, the umbrellas, and the waiter.  :) 

What a great day at the beach. Thank God it stopped raining!

Diving Phi Phi islands

This was the first day the dive masters have dove for the past 2 weeks. The monsoon weather finally subsided, and the water started to clear up.

We had to take a small boat out to the larger vessel for the 2 hour trip to Phi Phi islands (sometimes written Pee Pee islands, as it is pronounced).

This is one of our dive spots. We saw a seahorse, a cuttlefish, and a sea turtle during our three dives. I was a happy camper, even though the visibility was poor compared to normal Thai conditions.

We received a waterproof bag as a gift from my sister (thanks Raya and Josh!) which came in handy on the dive boat, and due to all the unexpected rain.

Even though it was colder than it should have been during this time of year, and the visibility wasn't super we were so happy to have dove in Thailand!!  What a beautiful trip.

4x1 tour of Krabi

Fred and I arranged a 'four in one' tour. We visited hot springs, natural pools, a temple, and we rode on a elephant. Lunch and transportation was included.  

The hot springs were small but the water temperature was perfect. It wasn't too hot.

The natural pool above is called Blue pool. It was a bit of a hike to get to but once we got there we had the place to ourselves.

This is Emerald pool. We couldn't swim in Blue pool because it is protected but Emerald pool was a nice escape from the humidity.  

I took this picture after we ate lunch on a deck over a murky but pretty pond filled with fat fish that love leftover rice. 

It is completely representative of views all over the Krabi province.

Monks are so fashionable! Well, I guess matching is easy when all you own is orange.

By the time we arrived at Tiger temple it was POURING! Luckily we were prepared. Other couples on the tour just sat under a covering, waiting for our time here to be done.

In the rain we hiked up and down a hill, past a quickly filling pond, along a small muddy path, past little cubes that monks sleep in, and eventually made it to this really cool place of meditation. I am still uncertain if we were supposed to be there but we didn't linger long, just in case.

Look at the size of this spider!

The last thing on the list was an elephant ride. I planned on doing this on our trip but upon further research have decided that I will not do it again. Each elephant eats over a ton of food a day, and during the slow season elephant owners cannot afford to properly feed their elephants. I hope this is not the case with these particular elephants.

It was a bumpy ride, and a great one time experience.

Ao Nang, Krabi province

Fred and I spent 5 days in the Krabi province on the Andaman Sea. It was a delightful location; looking out into the water and seeing huge limestone cliffs everywhere, including sticking out of the sea.

Many people do not like Ao Nang because it is touristy and lacks Thai culture, but it worked out perfectly for us. We booked tours, spoke with dive shops, and had a great selection of restaurants. Since it was raining for half of our stay we decided being in a city was the only option.

This picture was the first day we arrived in Ao Nang. It was pouring at first but started to taper off by the end of the day. I am just glad that the beach was not affected by all of the flooding in nearby areas.  When we arrived at the airport we couldn't help but be worried when we saw dozens of houses underwater.

This is a favorite picture of mine. I love the vibrant colors.

I did a lone trip to Railay, an island about 30 minutes from Ao Nang (it reminded me of my travels before I met Fred, but I much prefer to travel with my hubby!!). Fred was sick and wanted to stay in bed and I was not about to sit around at the hotel. It was the first day it didn't rain!