Our week at the beach.

Sarah had a hankering to experience one of the world famous Thai island beach resorts so we booked a 4 night stay at a beach town named Aonang in the south of Thailand. The most famous of the Thai islands is Phuket but we deliberately avoided it for the very reason of its immense popularity. We took a road slightly less travelled.

We were fortunate enough to have a direct flight of less than two hours from Chiang Mai to Krabi, a town 30 minutes from Aonang. As we were getting off the plane we noticed a bus waiting to take us to the terminal even though it was only a short distance away. I assumed that there must be further terminal to which we would be transported but no; three buses were standing by to drive the passengers 40 yards to the terminal. The bus drove for about 15 seconds and stopped to let us out. I thought it was hilarious.

We found a significant temperature change between Chiang Mai and Aonang. CM had already cooled down quite a bit but while we were away the temperature there plunged to a frigid 12 degrees at night. (stop laughing Canadians). In Aonang the temperatures were in the 30s most of the time and really didn’t become much cooler at night.

Even though the beach at Aonang is not as spectacular as some of the others, it is considered one of the great areas to stay because of the incredible surroundings of spectacular scenery. The mountainous terrain along with the colours of the water confirmed what we had read about the region’s beauty. As well, the beach faced the west so we witnessed a beautiful sunset at 6:10 every night, with cocktail in hand.

One of the highlights of Aonang Beach was the presence of a large group of monkeys at one end. They interacted easily with the humans, feeling comfortable enough to jump on your shoulders if they thought food was available. They frolicked in nearby trees and jumped and swam in a small pool of water. Amazing little creatures. My favourite was the one who, after being handed a piece of watermelon by a beachwalker, went to the stream to wash it off before eating.

Along with the beach area, our resort (Krabi Resort) had a beautiful pool which we also used on several occasions but an unfortunate incident detracted from our enjoyment. A young, willowy, attractive blonde woman (European, no doubt) decided to flaunt custom by sunbathing topless not far from where we were sitting. After asking Sarah to take a picture (for evidence), I complained vociferously to the manager and when nothing was done, I left the pool area in a huff. (there were no other vehicles available) I did return later but only to keep abreast of the poolside activities.

On our third day at Aonang we went on a group tour of several islands and beaches in the area. Approximately 50 of us crowded onto a speedboat and set sail (on a power boat?) for the neighbouring islands. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I won’t bother to describe them but will let Sarah’s photos speak for themselves. One of the smaller beaches is Maya Beach on the island of Koh Phi Phi (pronounced “pee pee”, insert your own joke here) where Leonardo Dicaprio’s movie The Beach was filmed. It certainly was an amazing area but packed full of boats and people. Sarah and I did our first ever snorkelling on this tour and got to see some beautiful coral and species of fish.

During the week we met people from Holland, Sweden, Russia, India, South Korea, Malaysia, and Brunei. All of them spoke very good English which certainly reinforces the fact that English is the closest thing we have to an international language. I feel a little embarrassed that I can only offer a few memorized phrases in a couple of other languages but I guess that’s what happens when you spend most of your life in southern Ontario. The gentleman from Brunei was extremely outgoing and very funny, advising the young newlyweds from India how to make their marriage succeed. He himself complained that he hadn’t realized his marriage certificate came without an expiry date and he’d been attached for 36 years. He was the life of the party and I dubbed hi m the Sultan of Brunei which seemed to delight him. He gave us his business card and, to no one’s surprise, he is employed in sales.

All in all, we had a great trip and would highly recommend it to anyone. The Thai islands certainly lived up to their reputation.

And now for some links. Click here to see more photos.
This is a video of the monkey on Mike's shoulder. 
This is a video of the monkeys playing. One little guy washes his watermelon before eating it.

Until next time……….. 

Skating in Chiang Mai

Even though ice hockey is played year round in parts of Canada, skating in 28 degree weather still seems abnormal to me. However, when our friend Shelley arranged a skating date at the Central Festival Mall which just opened three weeks ago here in Chiang Mai, we dutifully signed up. So six of us headed off to the Mall for our experience.

Naturally we had not brought skates with us to Thailand but we were able to rent them at the facility. They really weren’t bad either. The same can’t be said of the ice. The surface had many cracks and even though it had just been flooded, there was not a hint of smooth ice. That, as it turns out, was only a minor hazard to our health. The major danger came from the many first-time skaters, mainly, but not exclusively, Thais, whose enthusiasm outweighed their common sense. Balancing oneself on two narrow blades is not as easy as Canadians make it appear. People were dropping all over the ice surface and, had they done it gracefully, they might have been forgiven. However, such was not the case. In falling, the arms and the legs flew through the air, endangering all who happened to be in the vicinity. At first my instinct was to reach out and try to prevent the fall but I quickly realized the foolhardiness of those actions. So I let them fall. Discretion is the better part of valour.

In truth, it was a lot of fun and the ice surface was actually better than the last one I skated on, the Rideau Canal about four years ago. I loved watching the faces of the Thais who fearlessly attempted to skate and after every spill got up and tried again. If I had fallen just once I’d probably have been taking a trip to the nearest hospital. Ah, the glory of youth. But once again it struck me that the strict safety rules that we take for granted in North America are pretty much ignored in other parts of the world. There were far too many people on the ice for its size, and we only saw one person wearing a protective helmet.

The best line came from one of our friends from Egypt who commented on Facebook: “You Canadians. Finding ice wherever you go in the world.”

Until next time …..

Loy Krathong / Yee Peng Lantern Festival

Here is a link to see all the photos taken this weekend: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10201035818280932.1073741841.1331881912&type=1&l=95f6b0b504

Here is a link to see a video of the dancing animal from the parade - the video was taken in Pai:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_jZasA9Otc&feature=em-upload_owner#action=share

Here is a link to see the video of the "war zone" sounds from the river Krathong launch:  http://youtu.be/TbfopInpKK4

This is a link to a video from someone who went to the massive lantern launch in Mae Jo - I did not take it, but it's pretty cool. Check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weA6qiotpWs

Until next time ....