We also attended one of the Coral Pool Party’s which is where Chantal and Scott stayed.

Our hotel , Vimarn Samut, was wonderful.  It was family run, well priced, clean, and comfortable hotel.  Which was especially appreciated because Sebastien had to stay out of the heat during the day.  The room even had a DVD player!  I especially like the little girl, Monk, who was a very smart and sociable 2 year old.  She was the daughter of one of the families who worked there and always wanted me to take her to wash her hands.

Our last night in southeast Asia.

]]> http://www.travelingpuffins.com/2010/05/04/our-last-week-on-ko-phangan/feed/ 0 http://www.travelingpuffins.com/2010/04/30/tiger-temple-in-chang-mai/ http://www.travelingpuffins.com/2010/04/30/tiger-temple-in-chang-mai/#comments Fri, 30 Apr 2010 15:28:00 +0000 Tina http://www.travelingpuffins.com/?p=574 One of the main reasons Sebastien wanted to visit Chiang Mai in northern Thailand was to go to Tiger Temple.  I believe that there are a few places, maybe two, in Thailand called the Tiger Temple.  The one we went to was about a 40 minute cab ride from Chiang Mai.

There is some controversy regarding the well being of these tigers.  They were in small caged-in areas and seemed very aloof.   My experience was that it was amazing to touch such a beautiful being but that they did looked very sad and depressed.  I also had a moment with a younger tiger and his spirit asked me to free him.

When we arrived at Tiger Temple we had lunch in the restaurant which is within arms distance from the tigers.  We eat and watched visitors get their picture taken while they lay on these wild beasts.  When we were done we decided that we would go in the big cat’s cage and the baby tiger’s cage.

We had 15 minutes in each cage and were allowed to touch them behind the head.  I loved being around the babies.  The one we were allowed to pet sat on our laps and cuddled with us for a second.  The paws on this baby tiger were bigger than my face.

Here are some pictures of us with the big boy tigers.

Yes they are real live tigers.

]]> http://www.travelingpuffins.com/2010/04/30/tiger-temple-in-chang-mai/feed/ 0 http://www.travelingpuffins.com/2010/04/29/a-change-in-plan/ http://www.travelingpuffins.com/2010/04/29/a-change-in-plan/#comments Thu, 29 Apr 2010 15:15:06 +0000 Tina http://www.travelingpuffins.com/?p=570 For those of you who don’t know, we have had a small change in plans.  Sebastien’s rash and bumps came back after we left Vietnam.  We had gone back to Thailand and initially things got better.  However, after going from Chiang Mai (north) back to the islands (south) the rash and bumps returned.  Now we decided it was best to change our flights around so that Sebastien could be seen by a doctor.

Within two days of deciding to head home, we were on a plan back to the states.  Sebastien stopped in LA long enough to buy an IPAD and then continued on to France.  I stayed in LA to visit with Alison and Aaron.  Sebastien was seen by a doctor the day he landed and was told the same thing that the doctor in Saigon said.   Which is good news and a relief that it wasn’t something more serious.

It is somewhat surreal to be back.  I feel like our trip ended so abruptly that I didn’t really have time to say “good-bye”.  However, we were both ready to be home.

On May 10th I will be flying to France and then on the 12th heading to Greece to meet my friend Karina.  I will return to France on the 18th and spend the rest of my time meeting Sebastien’s family.  We will then return to the states on June 10th.

Now that I have sometime and consistent internet I will fill you in on the rest of our adventures.  Stay tuned.

Once we settled in to our hotel (different night differnet bed) we got some lunch and hired a taxi for a day to take us to both sites.  It cost us 1,100 baht ($35) for about a 3 hour tour.

Our first stop was to see the Big Buddha.  I am not sure that I have words for our experience there.  The highlight was being blessed by a monk who gave us bracelets to wear.  Being in the presence of this being nearly brought tears and profound joy to both Sebastien and I.

The second stop was to see the mummified monk.  I had read that this monk actually died in meditation and so his body was preserved in the sitting position.  This is not the case.  At the age of 50 the man became a monk and created his own meditative practice.  He did not die in a sitting position but because he dedicated himself fully to a meditative lifestyle (after the age of 50) his fellow monks decided to honor him after death and put him into this position.  Though the tourist pamphlets will tell you that he died in this position.

The monk who blessed us.

Big Buddha

Mummified Monk

Our blessed bracellets.

That evening we scheduled to go out on a dive for the following day so that I may have a chance to see one for myself.  It was also our first certified dive together!  Long story short we did not see  a whale shark but we had two really good dives.

Again we went out with the Sairee Cottage Dive “team”.  Our first dive was at Mango Bay in which we saw some trigger fish, yellow tail barracuda, and french angel fish.  On the second dive we were dropped off at Green rocks and dove to Twin peaks.  Very cool dive and unique (that’s what our dive masters told us).  We saw a HUGE puffer fish, schools of barracuda, banner fish, blue rig, angel fish, and needle fish.

A beautiful view near our hotel.

Loving Ko Tao!!!

The following day we decided to go to  Ko Tao.  Which is known as a great place to get your scuba diver certification.  We took a fast pontoon boat (dad you would have loved it!) about 2 hours to beautiful Ko Tao.  Which means Turtle Island.

After finding a hotel on Sairee beach we searched for a discovery scuba dive.  Which is easy enough because every 10 steps is another scuba resort or school.  All of the hotels/resorts offer scuba and if you are after your scuba certification they provide you with a free bungalow or a discount on the nicer rooms.  Good Deal!  We decided to go Sairee Cottage Diving School because they offered flexibility with the discovery scuba dive.  Which is for people who do not have a certification but want to try scuba diving.

Our diver’s name was Neil and Sebastien and I were the only ones who went out with him on the dive.  We went out about 8 meters deep, practiced some skills, and meet a few fish.  Sebastien was very friendly with a few Nemo’s they even let him pet them.  It was really cool!  I felt really comfortable underwater and enjoyed exploring more than I thought I would.

After resurfacing I decided I wanted to go through the certification course.  Sebastien just thought that I wanted to do it because it was cheap so he opted not to go through the course.  Plus, I think we really needed some time apart.

Since we had already done a dive I was put on a fast track.   That evening I started watching the SSI videos and had homework.  The following day I watched so more videos and practiced some skills in the water.  The only skill that was challenging was when I had to take off my mask and put it back on but Neil said I did fine.  That evening I had another video and more homework.

The following day Neil said we would be going out on 3 dives and after passing a 50 question test I would be certified!  SWEET!  The dives were incredible!  We saw lots of fish, some sting rays, beautiful coral, and I had no difficulties with the skills or with being underwater.  We went to two different dive sites and then dove in closer to shore for the last dive.  We even did some break dancing under water.  After passing my exam I was certified.  EASY!

As I am posting this, Sebastien is out on the boat diving to 18 meters and practicing his skills.  I think he was a little jealous and now wants his certification.

There are two different sunset snorkeling trips you can take from Phi Phi.  We took the one that started 3:00 pm till 8 or so.  Ours provided a buffet dinner on the boat during the sunset.  Beautiful experience.  You could also kayak if you preferred as well as jump off the top of the boat into the ocean.  Which I choose to do a few times.

Yesterday, Valentines Day, I treated myself to a yoga class.  It was held on top of a building with an amazing view during the sunset.  The instructor does a class a day in two different locations.  I went to the one at Carlitos.

Today, Sebastien and I did a fun rock climbing adventure.  We meet at the shop and then walked with a few other people to the climbing spot.  I managed to complete 4 climbs.  It was challenging but the views were spectacular.  There is only one company that does climbing on the island.  Spider Monkey is the name.  Our guide Judy was supportive and a great coach!

We also met another couple and hung out with them a few nights which was a nice change.  There is a bar on the beach called Stones which we found ourselves at several nights.  Ha ha.  We also saw some WWF Thai boxing.  This was quite entertaining.

Tomorrow we head to another island about an hour boat ride from Phi Phi called Koh Lanta.

Feels like paradise…

We took a long tail boat from Ao Nang to Rei Lei for $6.  The long tail boats are long wooden canoe boats with have a long motor on the end.

We are staying a couple of nights on Ao Nang Beach and then thought we would stay a few nights on Ton Sai.  We had heard Ton Sai was a cheaper beach area and very chill.  However, we had seen a place on Phi Phi which was ideal.  The places we found on Ton Sai and Rai Lei were a let down for the price.  About 70$ a night for a new bungalow a few meters from the beach that did not have Internet or electricity for a few hours a day.

Krabi beaches are full of laid back locals and rock solid bodies.  It is a place to get lost in and relax for days.  Sebastien has said that it is the most beautiful place he has ever been to.  When you look out towards the ocean you see scattered islands and the water is a beautiful light turquoise.

After deciding that we would just go back to Phi Phi island the next day we hung out and watched the climbers scale up cliffs.  I went snorkeling but was quickly stung by several jelly fish.

When we retruned to Ao Nang beach we got our usual massages and had dinner.  Tomorrow we will head back to Phi Phi island.