A Frightful Encounter With Intimidating Island Monkeys While Sea Canoing In Phi Phi National Marine Park

Alissa convinced Matthew to take his camera on our two man sea canoe to snap some pictures before climbing carefully onto its plastic body. We proceeded to paddle in tandem around high jutting limestone mountains, under rocky ledges, and between tight passes. It was awesome.

We came across some monkeys that were eerily staring at us as they reclined out on the rocks. We paddled in slowly to take a closer look and snap some shots. Our canoe got pretty close. As Matthew became more preoccupied with taking pictures, we soon found our canoe partially pinned up against the jagged rocky shore. The laid back monkeys slowly approached us, resenting the fact that we were photographing them. Now they were closer. They continued to encroach on our canoe that was helplessly beached up on the rocky shore. We frantically tried to dislodge the hull of the canoe from the spattering of jagged rocks. As the monkeys got closer we could see their dark eyes beam with territorial disdain.

Closer and closer they came, posturing with clenched little-monkey fists as if to defend their homeland. Just as one monkey touched the canoe we managed to free it from the greedy shore, distancing ourselves from them. Panicked, we peddled out from the shore, but the waves seemed to be attempting to beach us once again. A few monkeys started to wade knee deep in the water. In a furry of strategic paddling we broke away from the monkey island.

As we paddled into the scenic horizon, we breathed a big sigh of relief. We were safe once again.

Phi-Phi Island and National Marine Park

Some of the most breathtaking scenery was found here. Beautiful limestone structures make the turquoise water that surrounds them jealous. If you go, you have to take a canoe around some of them. The pictures really speak for themselves, this place is almost heavenly in its beauty. The snorkeling was also stellar, the scenery underwater would challenge that above it.

The real shitty downside to this island, something that you can't see in any of the pictures, is that there was so so so so so so so many damn people crammed on these islands and in the picture-snapping boats that circled them. So although this island had the most amazing scenery, we could hardly force ourselves to stay more than one full day.

Peace

Koh Lanta, Thailand

When we arrived on Koh Lanta we breathed a sigh of relief. Koh Lanta felt like it was abandoned compared to Koh Tao. The atmosphere was very environmentally conscious and had a local chill friendliness about it.

We waisted no time in finding a place to sleep along Hat Phra Ae Beach. This time we landed nice wooden and bamboo bungalows that had high roofs and attached open roof bathrooms. There was something intimately natural and refreshing to be able to have a cold shower under big fluffy clouds and bright blue ocean skies. How much more intimate it was to drop a deuce!

It seemed like a chore to get Alissa out from the hammock on the porch of the bungalow even though the beach was just a few meters away.

It's hard to believe but the beaches are even more chill than the accommodations. We'll always remember a beach peddler walking, arms full of hand made merchandise, down an almost deserted beach. Finally when she got to us she gave us a look then walked into the distance. We kinda get the feeling that business is a little slow. Ha ha.

We had a good few days on this island ,then before becoming too lazy, we were off again.

Our Sleeper Boat Trip Scam From Koh Tao To Koh Lanta

Here’s another one to add to the books…

They crammed about 100 of us into a shity little wooden Thai boat like a canner cans sardines. Some of us had old, thin mattresses that would better be described as sleeping pads. The real lucky ones even had small pillows that were barely big enough to support a head (small lucky heads like our were fine).

The sleep on this baby was surprisingly good. A swaying drunk circle of bongo playing hippies lullabied us to sleep as diesel fumes from the motor beside us nuddged us deeper into sleep. One of our most peaceful moments in Thailand was waking in the middle of the night to the light covered squid-catching boats bobbing radiantly in the steep dark of night.

As it turned out we waited an hour or so (enough time for the tour companies restaurant to profit from our hungry breakfast bellies) after making landfall. Then we boarded a bus that took us to the Karabi port where we were supposed to board a high speed ferry to the island of Koh Lanta.

We (and all the others who had bought tickets in Koh Tao) were had. They filed us into a minivan then into a shittier mini van, then into a public island ferry, the some more driving, then another ferry. Finally, a little cheesed off, we arrived in beautiful Koh Lanta.

Sunset Shots From Sairee Beach

Koh Tao (Turtle Island), Thailand

Koh Tao is a relaxing, youth filled island that is mainly obsessed with open water diving. The beaches are all a beautiful powdery pure white with about the consistency of the flour used for baking.

On Sairee Beach where we stayed, this powdery sand stretched into the ocean at such shallow of angles that the aqua water radiated heavenly crystal clear blue-green, especially in the mornings when the tide was just right.

We ended up staying in Coral Grand Resort that offered up free accommodation in this top end resort with purchase of a PADI open water diving certification course. The course cost about $300.00 USD for the four days of training. The resort had nice little bungalows secluded by the jungle-like atmosphere of the surrounding gardens. Unfortunately, we free loaders were only offered basic hotel-room-like accommodation at the back of the property but we both agreed we were getting a hell of a deal.

The diving was good with Moray Eels, Large Groupers, schools of Barracuda, and even territorial Trigger Fish frequently spotted by our group out in the water. We even saw a Sea Turtle in the distance, the amphibians for which this island was named. Okay, actually Matthew was the only one in the group that didn't see it.

If you don't want to dive, don't get turned off this cool island. We both agree that the beach would be perfect for a young family because the beach is so shallow allowing for great visibility. We saw a few families with there toddlers enjoying the rockless beach along with some friendly beach dogs. There is also an awesome yoga studio, borrowing elements of Thai traditional houses, it is a shimmering beacon of peace on this beach during the day. Perhaps the nicest part of being a non-diver on Koh Tao is that you get large swaths of the beach to yourself throughout the day. This is especially true during the mid-morning and afternoons when most divers are out in the water. Alissa enjoyed her time here cat-posing the beautiful days away on this beach.

At night the vibe is ratcheted up a notch as hypnotic beach tunes spill out along with BBQs, firedancers, and laid back crowds (but not so many backpacker losers) lounging about with the moon reflecting off the waters.

Our Bangkok City Bus Goes Up In Smoke

We were told that the city buses in Bangkok were great for getting around. After our experience, we wouldn't really recommend it...

On our hour long city bus journey to a Bangkok water park, we could smell something not right, something burning. At first we disregarded it, and figured that the buses in Bangkok must be very old and a bit undermaintained. Aways, the locals seemed to be able to ignore it, so we also tried. About 40 minutes into our trip things started to get worse. The bus ticket taker gave us the heads up and told us to go near the rear exit where the fumes weren't as strong. God bless her.

So we got up and stood by the exit, by this time the other passengers started to share uneasy glances and some used their scarfs or jackets to cover their mouths. When we got to the exit a well-to-do, nicely dressed business man told us very bluntly, “This bus is NOT SAFE. Get off now!”

Just as the last word left that man's lips, the whole front of the bus was engulfed in an unhealthy looking black smoke. We got the hell out of there in a hurry. Looking back we can't help but laugh.

Scenes From Bangkok