Relaxation is the Right Medicine!

Well, today was a big day for Carlos! He bucked up and got a bamboo tattoo at this place... a little ghetto, but seemed to be the best place to get it done according to the locals. It was really cool to watch...

Carlos...

While he got his tattoo, Jess, Gino and I all lounged around the town, eating and hanging out while we waited for him to finish... Our server here was a "lady boy" too! I think I've only eaten twice in Thailand where my server was not one!

This is one of our favorite places to go at night. (Joy Bar) The 1st picture of all of the gang together was taken at this place.

We walked over to West Railay beach and saw about 20 monkeys in the trees. When they saw us, they jumped down onto the fence. It was a little freaky!

Just some random signs that I thought were cool.

On our way to the beach, we stopped at a little hut that sold bathing suits. I bought 2 new ones, and we convinced Gino to buy these really short spanex shorts! haha. He was so embarrassed, but we told him he would get a better tan! Ah, 17 year olds... they're so easy to convince!

West Railay Beach

What beach vacation is complete without writing your names in the sand? I mean really?!!

We hung out here until the sun completely set. It was gorgeous!

An awesome coffee shop on the beach.


After sunset, we headed over to Skunk Bar for dinner and drinks with some new Spanish speaking friends. We spoke only spanish at dinner! It was such great practice!


The bar tender was REALLY busy, so he invited me to make Jess's mohito. I am a horrible bartender, so he told me everything to put in it. It was really fun!

Bob helped me shake it up!

After dinner, we took a long walk up to the coffee shop on the mountain near everyone's hut.

When we got there, the locals all invited us to have dinner with them! It was delicious!

Jess, Me, Kristen, and Maria.

So, as you can see, nothing too eventful happened yesterday, but it was SSSOOO nice to just relax and do nothing! That's my kinda vacation.

Today, we're planning on renting kayaks and possibly riding them out to the islands!

Snorkeling at 4 Different Islands...

YESTERDAY:

For breakfast/lunch, I had my usual, pancakes at Mom's Kitchen with bananas inside! D-licious! This is my usual server... yep she's a "lady boy." While I was eating, San (Bob) came over to say hello and handed me a sticker to put on my dress. He said, we are going snorkeling today. Turns out... he paid for me to take a 4 island cruise... the best in the area for snorkeling! He came along so he could show me all the best spots! It was awesome... Here are some of the pictures from my day. ENJOY!

We jumped on a boat after breakfast, and off we went for a 6 hour adventure! This was our boat driver, who happened to be smoking weed. Only in Thailand can you see people smoking weed while on the job. haha

I tried to upload these pictures in order, but it didn't work... so they're not in sequencial order. Sorry!

A coral I found while snorkeling! Beautiful, huh?!

This was my favorite Island. It was tiny, tiny, tiny. I actually swam all the way around it! Great workout!

San brought some bread along, so I could feed the fish! Very thoughtful... but it was really freaky having so many fish swimming around me. I actually got bit 5 times!

Feeding the fishies.

These geese were at one of the islands we stopped at, just swimming around at the beach...

We stopped here to have lunch! It was a little tree house of sorts with a swing hanging from the tree outside...

... which of course, I swung on!

... and this was my view from the swing! Anyone jealous?

Another island that we stopped at. This might have been my favorite place. I swam really far out (maybe 25-30 feet deep) and I could see the the very bottom! There were beautiful coral reefs and bright colorful fish! It was amazing...

These monkeys were so funny... they were riffling through these bags!

This is the island I swam around... looks tiny from here, but my arms will tell you, it was HUGE!

There are monkeys EVERYWHERE on this island! I snapped a couple pics of them playing in the trees near the beach...

Little baby one... he was the size of a kitten. :)

You can actually hand them food...

Aren't they so cute??

Jess, Carlos, Gino, and I all hung out at Railay Beach until sunset. It was well worth it!

Carlos looked sooo relaxed...

This is one of the views from Railay Beach. Last night, Jess, Gino and I all climbed into the cave.... quite the adventure!

Jess and I were playing with our camera settings, and we did some jumping pictures! This one is my SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE pic! haha

Sunset was spectacular!

After sunset, we all went back to the main strip and had dinner and drinks. :) Here's a funny sign outside the bar we went to that I thought was kinda funny...

Today, I'm planning on renting a kayak with jess. We're gonna play around in the water for a little bit... and I'm going to be getting a Thai massage on the beach! I think this is the first vacation where I've actually vacationed! :) I love it!

Heading out for some Snorkeling...

Everyone went snorkeling on the boat yesterday, but since I didn't get to go with them, I'm going today! I'm taking a longtail boat (the wooden ones) to 4 islands across from Panong Beach. Apparently the water is crystal clear and there are millions of fish! Be back in about 6 hours!

A Day in the Life With a Local

After eating my Thai Pancakes, I saw Bob Marley. He said, "Swimming?" I replied, "Yep." He said, "Wait 2 minutes. I go" ... and the rest is history!

It was so much fun hanging out with him because he knew EVERYONE (including all the tourists!) He kept wanting to take care of me and bought me this cocount, so I could try the juice, and wouldn't let me carry anything. He is quite the gentleman. I met an older canadian couple at this beach, who has come back every year for the past 20 years and knows Bob really well. They said I was very lucky to have him show me around for the day! :)

One of the many fruit/food stands on the sand

In order to get to the beach, you walk along a long path that runs alongside a cliff of caves. It's soooo beautiful.

Me at Panong Beach (Krabi area) - still very white... since it was technically my 1st time at the beach since I've been here! I'm working on that though...

Bob at Panong Beach


Young guys come by every couple minutes to sell food and drinks for VERY CHEAP!

Yes this is where I swam yesterday!

This little guy was probably 8 or 9 years old, selling coke and beers. I felt really bad for him, but theny realized he actually seemed to be enjoying himself.

Bob got me some grilled corn from this guy! It was the best corn I've ever tasted, hands down... and it was grilled on the beach! Can't get better than that.

After the beach, Bob took me to see the monkeys! Since he's a local, he knows where the monkeys live! We didn't end up spotting any, because they were all sleeping, but this morning we are going to see some at the beach. Apparently, they all hang out there in the mornings!


One of the beautiful pathways in the area... Everytime we would walk by a bush of flowers, he would pick one and put it in my hair and then smile and say, "beautiful." It was very sweet!

Some of the huts where the locals live in Railay.


This is a real Diamond Cave that Bob showed me. Behind me are real diamonds! If you click on this picture, you can see them sparkling!

This is kind of random, but I found this cigarette box and had to take a picture. How disgusting is that?!

After the monkeys, bob took me to his friend No-n's house (tree house where he lives). He was teaching Kim (a girl I met earlier in the morning) how to make a hemp anklet. She is from Chicago but has been traveling all over for the past year. She just spent 3 months volunteering in India.

I found this leaf in the jungle around No-n's place. I thought it was painted... but nope, this is it's natural form. Beautiful, huh?!

Bob and No-n made me a black coral bracelet by hand! It took them 45 minutes and it involved a flame, a wrench, and a huge blade to cut it. The people here are so darn resourceful... If they want a bracelet, they don't buy it, they make it!

This is No-n's cat, which is really more like a dog! Her name is "People." haha

We hung out at No-n for a couple hours and all started getting hungry, so the guys cooked dinner... It was such an unreal experience! Talk about living a day in the life of the locals! Here it is folks! Dinner, cooked on a fire in the jungle.

Mmm... mmm... Home cooked Thai food!

San (Bob). No-n, and Kim on the deck of No-n's tree house...

A real life banana tree!

I found this little guy hanging out near the beach...

I finally found everyone! I just happened to be walking by Jess and Carlos's hut, and Carlos was hanging out on the deck! It was awesome... This is a VERY small town, so it's easy to find people. :)

After dinner, I met up with everyone near the water where there is a strip of local bars and restaurants. We went to an Open Mic Night at one of them...

The night life here is awesome, because everyone just chills out on mats and talks about their travel adventures! I've been able to meet so many awesome people! The 2 guys on the right are guys who everyone met on their boat excursion yesterday. Morgan, on the far right lives in San Fran and is a hip hop artist. We went to watch and support him do his set!

Morgan...

There were a couple Thai locals spinning fire at a local bar on the water... It was really cool.

The gang... finally together again! Maria (Kristen's friend from Florida) and Gino (Jess's little brother) have been awesome additions to have around!) I still can't believe I actually found them, just by e-mails... To the right is the water, and above us were millions of stars... This place is unbelievable!

I've been learning some Thai from Bob:

Hello, how are you? - Sawadeeka

Cat - Maow

1 - nong

2 - so

3 - sam

4 - si

5 - ha

6 - hok

7 - jet

8 - bet

9 - okt

10 - sip

That's what you get for hanging with the locals all day! What an incredible experience I'm having!