A little piece of heaven

Entering the lagoon
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We have been a little busy in the past couple days.  On Saturday we went over to Railey beach and rented kayaks for half of the day. We kayaked around the island and went into and out of caves.   Here they have the Princess island caves which were really cool.  They were made out of this red granite type sand that when the sun hit was stunning.  Kayaking was a lot of fun, to date we said this is the biggest work out we have done since we have been in Thailand.

On Sunday we went on a Koh Phi Phi tour of the island.  We got on a speed boat and that day the weather wasn't too promising in the morning.  The water was really rough and choppy and Koren got really seasick.  Able to hold her own after of course taking a gravol, we first got to Bamboo island, which really nothing much to see.  Just another beach with whote sand and clear water.  After walking around we went to Viking Cave and a lagoon.  The water was way too rough  and windy so we couldn't go in there, so we just slowly entered the lagoon so we could take pictures then we were off.  Next stop was to Maya Bay which is where "The Beach"  with Leonardo Dicaprio was in.  This beach is gorgeous.  Very busy with tourists.  We went through the jungle, very green, then went swimming.  The water was so clear that I was able to take a picture of my feet in the water and I could still  see my nail polish clearly.  After Mayy Bay we went to the mainland koh Phi Phi Don and had a buffet lunch.  We walked around and you could see the developments here since the tsunami.  Off the beach is pretty much rebuilt with resorts and such, but more inland you could still see debris and the construction sites.  Very interesting to see. After that we went to Monkey Island and did snorkeling.  This is by far the best snorkeling we have seen.  There were so many different types of fish and the coral was unbelievable.  Different colors, Erin saw 2 octopuses which were outlined with blue.  She said it was one of the coolest things she has ever seen.  The coolest part is that when we threw pieces of pineapple into the water all of the fish would flock towards it, when you are underwater all of a sudden you are surrounded by all this different kinds of fish trying to eat the pineapple.

Colleen, Luke, Allison, Koren, Krista & Erin at Maya Bay
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After snorkeling we headed back to Ao Nang, now the water was really rough worst than the morning, so you would think that the boat driver would take this into consideration.  Not so much, we were all sitting at the front of the boat and we were getting tossed around so bad with the big waves, to the point it was hurting our backs and heads.  With all the screaming coming from the front, the driver thought that it was pretty funny and thought we were having fun going fast and hitting the big waves.  We had to hold on to dear life cause we were crashing into the big waves to the point where you were bouncing around on the seat and getting air.  I almost lost it, and got really sick so I had to move to the back of the boat or I probably would have been sick, it was a bit calmer in the back but not by much.  The funny thing listening in the back I could hear the faint screams of the girls when we hit a big wave.  So happy to reach land, we were pretty beaten up by the boat ride time for a siesta.  That night we had a little balcony party with our Chang beers from 7-11.  This balcony wasn't only fun, it was the most narrowest balcony I have ever seen.  We all had to sit single file on it.

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So we took a day off on Monday, woke up with very sore bodies.  It felt like I had the biggest work out of my life, but it was from clenching onto the boat with a death grip.  Erin, Colleen, Krista and Allison all went and got Thai massages and said that it was the greatest thing they have done.

Everyone went on a visa run today so I am left alone by myself for the full day.  Don't really know what I am going to do with myself, go for a massage probably.  It's weird not having anyone around when we have all been together for the past week or so, not having someone to talk to going to weird.  It will be a beach day to work on this great tan I have going on.

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We are still here for a couple more days before we go to Koh Lanta for Christmas. We have seen some Christmas trees around, so it is feeling a little bit like Christmas.  We are all doing secret Santa with each other as it is most of our first times away from home.  And for Erin this is her first Christmas. We have been celebrating Hannakah for her and I don't think I have ever seen her so happy than on the first day of Hannukah we found a sushi restaurant.  Best meal she has ever had. In the next couple days   we plan to see Tiger Temple Cave one day and the James Bond Tour.   We miss you all and hope you are all enjoying the holiday season.