Thailand

Thailand was an adventure!  A few highlights:

All of us except Katie got trapped in the elevator in our apartment building in Phuket.  It was pretty much straight out of The Hangover Part 2, except nobody got a tattoo or lost a finger.  Eventually, we were able to pry the door open and scramble out.

As Alex and I walked home from climbing in Railay one evening, we heard a monkey screeching (it sounded more like laughing) on the cliffs above us.  We looked up to see a real-life sock monkey.  We didn't get a picture, but you can see one here:  Dusky Leaf Monkey  As soon as we looked up, it threw a giant tree branch down and nearly hit us, which it found very amusing.

We knew there would be an abundance of outstanding food in Thailand.  The fruit shakes were a pleasant surprise - and we had lots of them!  An unpleasant surprise was durian fruit.  Known as the "king fruit,"  it looks cool, and smells horrendous.  Anthony Bourdain says "Your breath will smell as if you’d been French-kissing your dead grandmother," which pretty says all you need to know.  We tried it, but won't try it again.

Phuket

Smiling Gold Buddha at the Big Buddha temple above Phuket

Guatama Bhuddha, the enlightened teacher, is 150 feet tall

Sunset in the gardens of the Big Buddha

Thai dragon clouds

Wat Suwan Khirikhet  temple in Karon

This rather bizarre altar is also part of the Karon temple

Alex making a friend at the Phuket Elephant Sanctuary

The Phuket Elephant Sanctuary buys elephants that are injured or too old to work in logging or tourist camps, allowing them to retire in peace.  A noble mission, although we struggled with whether that helps perpetuate businesses that are based on elephant labor

Thai chefs in training

The ingredients we prepared for tom kha gai soup

Top Chef Thailand

Railay

Railay is a ferry ride across Phang Nga Bay from Phuket.  It is particularly known for the climbing on the limestone cliffs that rise straight up from the beaches.

Katie and I climbed the highest wall in the area, and into a deep, steep, dirty, and hot cave.  The coolest part was that it was full of bats.  We were there at dark, and the bats flew around us (and into us), with their echolocation clicks echoing off the cave walls.

Railay and Tonsai beaches

Katie exploring the crazy tufa limestone caverns around Railay

The Thaiwind Wall rising above Railay...Katie and I climbed on this wall, and into a cave that traverses through the center from left to right.

Wild tufas above Ao Phra Nang beach

The overtly explicit Princess Cave shrine

Alex disappearing into the start of the Groove Tube climb

Katie making sure to use both sides of the Groove Tube

Longboats lined up along Railay Beach

Alex hoping the massive overhanging tufas above him stay put for a bit longer

Katie in the pitch-black, hot, bat-filled, very dirty and slippery cave on the Thaiwind Wall

The Thaiwind wall cave was hotter and dirtier than it looks

Tufa-filled cliffs above Tonsai Beach

Koh Lanta

Koh Ha lagoon was a fantastic spot.  We went with a dive boat, and were the only ones who snorkeled (Alex and Katie aren't certified).  We saw two black-tipped reef sharks, but weren't able to get pictures.  We were able to get pictures of turtles, fish, coral, and a sea snake.

Turquoise waters of Koh Ha lagoon

Posing for the reef sharks

The rare blue-gilled green turtle

Koh Ha coral

Girls in paradise

Swarming butterfly fish

We don't need scuba gear!

Keri guarding the convict tangs

Nice hair!

Mermaids are real!

There were a lot of fish!

Hawksbill turtle cruising by

This sea snake appeared out of nowhere right next to Alex!

Sirinat National Park

We spent the final days in Thailand learning to kitesurf at Sirinat National Park.

Just another day in Thailand

Alex aced the trainer kite stunt flying

Keri building up a dive on the trainer kite

Intense concentration

Katie and Alex getting the most out of the day's lesson

It's easier to get moving in the water

Body surfing in opposite directions

Lessons are starting to pay off a bit

Heading out to sea...where I lost my board upwind

Kitesurfer boy

Next stop...

We planned to finish our trip with a visit to the Galapagos Islands.  However, we found that most of the flights from Thailand to Ecuador actually head west (through Europe), not east.  So, we're going to stop over for two weeks in Barcelona, then finish with the Galapagos.