Chiang Mai, Phuket & Koh Phi Phi

Sawadee Family and Friends!

Eating freshly cut pineapple on Sairee Beach, Koh Tao. The most delicious ever!

Our last night in Koh Tao

I apologize for the gap in blogs, but ever since we left Koh Tao, we have been go-go-go! After I completed my Open Water Diver, Mike and I decided that we needed a break from the "island-life." We heard from other travellers that there is no unrest in Chiang Mai, so we splurged on a flight up north. If you recall from the first blog post, we were really interested in going to Chiang Mai and dissappointed when the Canadian Government issued a travel advisory for there.

Chiang Mai

We found a room at the Na Inn for cheap within the ancient city walls of Chiang Mai, which are surrounded by a moat. Our room overlooks the Wat Chedi Luang Temple and we arrive just in time to catch the sun setting behind the mountains in the distance. We spent four nights in Chiang Mai, visiting many temples, going to the night markets, riding in TukTuks, getting Mike two custom suits made, attending a Thai cooking class, riding elephants, visiting the hilltribe villages, hiking to a waterfall, floating down the river on bamboo rafts and mingling with the friendly locals. Overall, flying up to Chiang Mai was well worth it. We had a great time experiencing the true Thai culture, compared to the over-touristy resorts of the South. The people there were amazing and we definitely look at Thailand in another light after visiting.

View of the Temple from the Na Inn

Hanging on for our lives in a Tuk-Tuk

The temple that we can see from our room

Walking up the stairs to the Doi Suthep Temple on the Mountain to look out over Chiang Mai and watch the sunset

Inside one of the many temples we visited.

$2.00 Dinner Date at the Night Market

Eating the Thai food that we made in our cooking class! Yum!

Elephant getting a shower on 43 degree day. Wow it's hot here!

Phuket 

We got a great deal on accomodation and transportation by pre-booking the next 5 days. From Chiang Mai, we flew down to Phuket, moving closer to our next destination, Malaysia. We spent only one night in Phuket, enjoying our first experience of surf in Thailand. Other than that, this island is very similar to Mexican resort destinations, including large hotels, factory outlets, nice roads and pretty much anything else that isn't traditionally Thai. The next morning we took an early ferry to Koh Phi Phi, where they filmed the movie "The Beach."

Karon Beach, Phuket

Koh Phi Phi

Our first impression of Koh Phi Phi is that it is naturally beautiful, although for slow season, this place is riddled with tourists, and even more unfortunate...garbage! It seems as if they are still trying to rebuild after the 2004 Tsunami. We spend our time here lazing on the beach, catching a longtail boat to Phi Phi Ley, snorkeling in the bays, swimming with thousands of fish and seeing some of the most beautifully vibrant coral. Tonight we are going to check out a Muay Thai (Thai kickboxing) match and then we are off to Krabi tomorrow.

Longtail Boat in Loh Dalum Bay, Koh Phi Phi Don

Mike feeding a monkey, seconds before it lunged at him on Monkey Beach, Koh Phi Phi Don

The happy travellers on Monkey Beach, Koh Phi Phi Don

Shear Limestone cliffs on Koh Phi Phi Ley

And by the way...Thailand is completely safe, except for a small section of Bangkok. If anything, they are suffering from the hardship these protests have caused for the tourist industry.

Sending our love to you all back home,
Mike and Kim