Back from the Beach

The delay in posting has been due to a large "vacation" from traveling, where the Internet cost way too much money to actually log on! I have been on Phi Phi Island, and then Railay Beach for the past ten days, enjoying lots of good sun and snorkeling. I haven't seen a car for nine days so the Bangkok traffic last night was quite a shock. We've been using long tail boats as our main form of transportation!
We flew to Phuket from Chiang Mai and one night there, before taking the ferry over to Koh Phi Phi, which was beautiful and amazing, everything you expect in Thai beaches. We took a one day snorkeling trip from there and got to hang out on Maya Beach for the afternoon, which is where they shot the movie "The Beach" with Leonardo DiCaprio - didn't see it though -too scary! The sand there felt like flour on your feet, the water was warm and crystal clear, and the loads of Korean tourists helped you remember you were still in Asia! Three nights at the Koh Phi Phi Hill Resort, which was literally on a hill - like 10 flights of steps to get home every night and then we left for Krabi.
We spent five nights there, with the sweetest guesthouse owner - he kept calling the frogs that croaked every night his "reception". He would mimic their deep-throated "hello" every time he saw us. It took a little while to learn to relax, but after a couple days we got the hang of it.
I celebrated my 28th (oh my gosh!) birthday laying out, and enjoying the sunshine.
We did a sunset snorkeling tour from Railay and it was amazing! We did three "dives" and saw lots of clownfish "Nemo" and a moray eel. Then we had dinner on the beach sea gypsy style, everyone eating out of a big pot of seafood curry, and watched the sun go down from this tiny sand bar in the middle of the Andaman Sea. As soon as the sunset about 10,000 bats flew out of the top of the nearest island, they just kept coming and coming - so that was interesting if not a little scary. On the way back to our beach, we stopped to swim in the phosphorescence. However, it was almost a full moon, so in order to see the lights we had to boat under this overhang from one of the islands, where the waves kept slapping the rocks and the two boats together, so I just watched the scene from inside the boat. Too say the least it was definitely the highlight of this destination. Southern Thailand is incredible, warm and sticky, but breathtaking none the less.
Now I'm in Bangkok, and waiting out the afternoon heat in this wonderfully air conditioned Internet cafe. I've hit the Grand Palace, the Emerald Buddha, and the Reclining Buddha so far today, so I feel entitled to this little bit of downtime!
Just an interesting piece of info - did you know the Emerald Buddha has an outfit for every Thai season - winter, rainy and summer!