When the opportunity to revisit Thailand with a friend arose, I was delighted and immediately started planning another adventure trip. Late January is an ideal time, as it is the dry season, with much less rain and more sun after the busy Christmas/New Years period. I flew to Bangkok via Seattle and Dubai to meet my Ukrainian friend, whom I had met a few years ago scuba diving in Cancun and had traveled with since. We started out with 2 days in Bangkok, and since I had visited just 2 years earlier, I was our travel guide. We enjoyed using the water taxis to travel up the Chophraya River in downtown Bangkok to visit the 3 prime sites, the Grand Royal Palace, the Temple of Dawn, and Wat Phra, the reclining Budda complex. Then we had a dinner cruise at night on the river to see the wonderous lights and sights of Bangkok at night, something I had not done on my previous trip.
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| riverside downtown Bangkok skyline from our hotel |
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| within the Thai Royal Palace complex |
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| One of the many stunning, guilded Royal Palace structures |
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| More Stunning Royal Palace structures |
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| Yours truly and "friends" |
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| so many objects and structures of beauty |
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| It has to be seen to believed, with everyone barefoot within the Budist temples |
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| The gigantic reclining golden Budda in the adjacent complex |
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| More amazing structures within the Reclining Budda complex |
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| Enjoying the dinner cruise and Bangkok night lights on the Chophraya River in downtown Bangkok |
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| The Temple of Dawn and grounds at night |
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| The amazing bridge with its spectacular night lighting |
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| downtown Bangkok at night from our hotel |
Our next stop after an hour plus flight was Phuket Island. Then an hour taxi ride to the ferry terminal at the south end of the island was followed by a 2 hour high speed ferry trip out to the Phi Phi Islands. We then took a longtail boat for a 30 minute ride to the far end of the island for our 3 days stay at the Holiday Inn jungle resort. The lst day we took another long tail boat back to Ton Sai for our noon departure on Trip Advisors #1 activity, Capt Bob's 7 hour Booze Cruise out to Phi Phi Le. Before we started the cruise, we wandered the narrow, busy strip of shops, bars, and hotels along the Ton Sai pier and beach area. This day on the boat was a total fun time. At the ticket office two smiling little Thai ladies looked at me and then said "how old are you?" Laughing, I said "I bet older than you think !" Then the one said to the other " I bet he may be a new "record" ! and then she asked to see my passport. Then they started dancing and insisted that another employee take a photo of both of them on either side of me ! That started out the light hearted fun for the whole day. In fact, there was no one of the 14 aboard who was half my age. First I swam ashore with the rest of the 20 and 30's guys and girls to feed the monkeys on Monkey Beach. We then cruised out and then circled Phi Phi Le. I did do more swimming and snorkeling than anyone else on the boat. I admit that I did not drink the most beer ! We had several stops to snorkel and then swam ashore to hike across the narrow neck of the island to enter Maya Beach and Bay from the back side. The extremely low tide meant the beach was not crowded, since most visitors access the beach from boats in the bay and with the low tide that day, access was very limited. Since it was used for filming the movie "The Beach", this beach has become a "must see" and has become flooded with tourists. Still, the now famous beach is stunning to see with its very scenic mountain/jungle background and the soft, white, powder like sand. The next day we enjoyed a wonderful 2 tank scuba dive morning with the Sea Bees Dive shop. The dive center was right in the Holiday Inn Resort, so we did not have to travel in order to dive. They had a fine new boat, and there were only 2 of us with Kirstin and another dive instructor. We had two great dive sites on the lee side of Phi Phi Le. We saw amazing corals, many fish, lobster, sting rays and much more in the clear, warm waters. The day 3 morning was spent enjoying the ocean, pools and jungle/beach beauty of the resort, before another long tail boat ride at noon back to the boat terminal at Ton Sai for the ferry trip back to Phuket.
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| The big highspeed ferry docking at the Ton Sai pier on Ko Phi Phi Don |
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| Our Holiday Inn open air lobby area on the end of Ko Phi Phi Don |
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| The beautiful scene at dusk for "Happy Hour" our lst night |
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| me relaxing in front of our elevated cabin and walkway in the jungle |
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| Our cabin in the jungle where we stayed 3 nights |
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| A 5 foot long Monitor Lizard near our cabin |
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| The crowded strip along the bay at Ton Sai |
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| another view along the Ton Sai settlement strip |
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| The very beautiful Ton Sai Bay just before we took our 7 hour cruise |
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| Me feeding monkeys fruit at Monkey Beach after swimming ashore |
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| one of the dozens of monkeys eating fruit we fed them |
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| Approaching Ko Phi Phi Le and its spectacular shore |
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| Me enjoying Capt Bob's cruise as we approach Phi Phi Le |
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| our 14 aboard ship, partying during the days cruise |
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| The world famous Maya Beach and Bay at low tide, site of the movie "The Beach" |
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| Me snorkeling off our boat in one of the little bays we stopped to visit |
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| a photo I took snorkeling with the fish eating water melon scraps. |
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| The amazing shore line of Phi Phi Le near the entrance to Maya Bay |
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| Our view at sunset from our last party stop in a small picturesque bay. |
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| Me relaxing in one of the Holiday Inn pools at oceanside our second morning |
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| our beautiful setting at the oceanside bar at the Holiday Inn where we spent 3 days |
We then had a 30 min taxi ride across the island to our hotel near the beach in Patong. We had two days and nights there at the Lantern Hotel and Resort in the heart of Patong, only a couple blocks from the big beach and famous Bangla Road area. The people watching and shopping was amazing, with a sea of humanity and river of motor bikes flowing through the area with its booming background of loud sounds and music coming from nearly every shop, bar or restaurant facing Bangla Road. The second morning, the van from Phuket Trekking Club picked us up at 7:30 am for the nearly 3 hour ride north into the mountains and jungle at Khao Sok National Park and our 3 day adventure.
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| The main harbor for Phuket Island, as we arrive back on the big high speed ferry |
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| The beach end of the famous Patong party street, Bangla Road |
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| Enjoying the huge beach at Patong just off the end of Bangla Road |
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| The incredible Tiger restaurant on Bangla Rd where we had dinner one night in Patong |
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| Me enjoying a big Tiger beer in the namesake restaurant |
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| Some of the countless motorbikes along Bangla Rd in the evening |
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| One of the many shopping malls and centers in the heart of Patong |
We checked in to the picturesque Khao Sok Riverside Lodge. Then after lunch in the open air dining area just above the river, we left for our one hour long elephant trek ride into the dense jungle in the mountains. After our return, we had about an hour long float trip down the river, again thru the jungle. Along the river we saw many monkeys up close and enjoyed the stunning, high limestone karst formations and steep mountains alongside the river. Then we had dinner and enjoyed the open air lobby, before taking the elevated walk way back thru the jungle to our little cabin up on pilings for the night. The next morning after breakfast we took a 5 minute walk up the road to the Khao Sok Nat Park headquarters and on into a 3 hour hike in the dense jungle of the park. We heard gibbons and saw monkeys and other wild life. After lunch, we checked out and took the one hour van ride to the boat landing on the famous Cheow Lan lake. The two of us and our Thai guide then had a scenic 2 hour long longtail boat ride across the lake and finally into a secluded, remote bay where we would then have dinner and stay in floating cabins in the rustic complex. The high karst pinnacles and jungle covered limestone mountains were breath taking to see. The scene was even more remarkable than China's much photographed Guilin area and its Li River. The next morning we swam in the crystal clear, warm lake, had breakfast and then took a boat ride across the bay. There we hiked up over a steep ridge and down to another much smaller lake. We were taken across that lake on a bamboo raft to the Coral Cave, a stunning limestone cave. I have many great photos of the lovely cave formations. Then we had the raft trip back, the return hike over the ridge, and the longtail ride back to the raft cabins for lunch. We then returned the length of the lake to the boat launch area, where our van was waiting to take us back to Phuket. We stayed the last two nights at a lovely resort on Nai Yang Beach, only 5 minutes from the Phuket airport. The last 2 night stay allowed us to relax, enjoy the beach and pools and have 2 more fine Thai dinners before starting the long ride back home after another wonderful adventure trip.
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| Khao Sok River Lodge where we stayed |
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| our cabin in the jungle on pilings |
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| The Lodge dining room at rivers edge |
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| our corner table with Bogdan, my travel companion |
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| Bogdan and I starting out on our hour long ride into the jungle |
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| headed up further into the dense jungle |
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| We are returning near the base camp |
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| our elephant after our trek |
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| Bogdan having some Thai potato chip fun with me. |
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| Floating down the river thru the jungle |
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| one of the many monkeys along the river |
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| Our Thai guide, Nakorn, showing us how rubber sap is collected in the rubber plantation |
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| The entrance to Khao Sok National Park |
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| one of the many well over 100 ft tall hardwoods in the Thai jungle |
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| our Thai guide, Nakorn, resting in a bamboo grove along the trail |
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| The dense, beautiful Thai jungle |
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| There were wild elephant footprints not far from this point. Both elephants and tigers roam this vast park |
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| headed down to a stream and small waterfall |
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| a 3 inch long spider along the jungle trail |
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| looking out from the jungle to the endless range of limestone or karst peaks in the distance |
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| The vast and spectacular Cheow Lan Lake. We started with a boat tour from the extreme lower right corner along the lower shore to Klong Pey, then headed north past Klong Long to our floating cabins at Prai Wan. |
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| The boat harbor at the big dam at the end of the lake where we boarded our longtail boat |
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| an early view of the unique looking mountains along the shores of the lake |
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| a towering pinnacle along the lake |
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| examples of the many amazing pinnacles around the lake |
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| another scene of the almost surreal landscape surrounding the vast lake |
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| and more or the amazing shore line scenes |
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| I have never seen scenery anything like here |
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| our lst sighting of our floating cabin complex where we would overnight and spend most of tomorrow |
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| the floating cabin complex just after arriving |
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| stretching and viewing the beauty of the scenery just after leaving our longtail boat |
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| our open air dining area at the floating cabin complex |
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| small kayaks for us to paddle around the bay |
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| Bogdan, diving into the crystal clear, warm lake for a before dinner swim |
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| Bogdan, returning to the dock and saying "come on in" |
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| Me diving in to join him |
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| me swimming back to the dock |
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| We then enjoyed dockside "Happy Hour" before dinner |
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| the lake and longtail boats as sunset nears |
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| The stunning beauty of the setting near sunset ! |
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| sunset beauty that is hard to describe |
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| leaving the complex the next morning to look for monkeys along the shore |
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| looking back at the cabin complex with its incredible setting |
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| Yet another incredible view of the lake in early morning |
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| Starting up the trail into the jungle and over a ridge, and then down to another smaller lake |
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| Descending to the tiny Thai settlement on the next lake, which we would then cross to tour the Coral Cave |
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| The settlement with its bamboo rafts used to ferry visitors across to the Coral Cave |
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| another view of the tiny settlement and the spectacular peaks behind |
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| The still beauty of the smaller lake as we crossed it on a bamboo raft |
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| Yours truly taking in the great beauty of the Coral Cave |
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| The Coral Cave's well known Crystal Elephant formation |
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| one of the many stunning formations in the cave |
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| Bogdan, Nakorn, and our boat driver examining one of the many amazing cave structures |
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| another very colorful structure within the Coral Cave |
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| yet another incredible structure hanging from the cave ceiling |
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| more varied beauty within the lovely Coral Cave |
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| A particularly colorful and spectacular area |
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| unique, surreal and beautiful |
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| view of the smaller lake from the dock at the cave entrance |
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| heading back to the tiny lake settlement and the trail back |
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| photos of the gibbons in the trees above the trail back |
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| Me at the end of the smaller lake before our hike up over the ridge and back to Cheow Lan Lake |
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| on the jungle trail on the hike back |
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| later on the long longtail boat ride back across the lake to board our little van back to Phuket |
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| Often photographed, and the only other area in the world with similar scenery, Guilin and the Li River in China |
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| Still amazing scenery at a rest stop on the highway back to the south and Phuket Island |
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| amazing fan palm at poolside in our resort at Nai Yang where we stayed our last 2 nights near the Phuket airport |
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| one of the 3 lovely pools at the resort our last 2 days in Thailand |
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| The Bird of Paradise "tunnel" at the resort in Nai Yang |
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| relaxing at poolside across from the huge fan palm our last full day |
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| checking out the big Nai Yang beach on our last full day |
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| another view of Nai Yang beach, looking to the south |
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| A big sting ray in an aquarium in our hotel, with lights giving it an amazing appearance |
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| lovely Plumeria flowers, so often seen across Thailand |
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| an artistic, beautifully made "folded towel elephant" , a Thai signature ! |
