To island hop or not.... that is the question....

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I do love Thailand. Loved it so much, went a 2nd time earlier this year. The difference btw the 1st trip that took place in Jan 2010 vs. the recent trip was how much of Thailand I saw vs. staying on 1 island.

1st trip consisted of island hopping btw Phuket, Phi Phi island, Krabi, Koh Sumui and of course visited capital city, Bangkok. There was a lot of movement on boats and airplane flights. On this trip, the most memorable was Koh Sumui for me, so memorable that the 2nd trip to thailand was only about Koh Sumui. Most of the pics on this blog are a combo from 1st and 2nd trip.

Though I still loved Koh Sumui with its calm beautiful waters, gorgeous and breathtaking scenery, I was a little bored on the 2nd exclusive trip to only Koh Sumui. Stayed on Chaweng island at the same boutique hotel that I stayed on from the 1st time to re-create the magic but failed! =). Perhaps, in hindsight, should have picked a different hotel to jazz up the experience. I do remember that the food was pretty spectacular the 1st time around but was pretty disappointed in the food the 2nd time around at this establishment. I think the cook changed. Tho, Poppies - the next hotel on the beach strip (whole strip of hotels) of Chaweng was AWESOME.

On the other hand, while observing and accepting the Thai culture, it humbles me to think that if I was born in a different country, to a different set of opportunities, I wonder how differently I would view life.

Definately loved the tours to Ang Thong National Marine Park, snorkeled a bit but the speed boat ride in of itself on the beautiful waters of Thailand was probably my favorite !! Can't beat the sunset, views of the gorgeous rock formations; it reminds me of ancient times or intrigues my mind on how they came to be ....

I remember being most inquisitive on 1 tour where there was a cave high up on a rock formation and I saw a person tied to a rope. The tour guide explained that he was harvesting a delicacy known as "birds nest". This nest is made from the birds saliva, which I did not try but was fascinated to the lengths to obtain this highly sought after ingredient for soup.

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Photos

baby monkey on island
baby monkey was in a box on an island being taken care of by the tour company group who prepared lunch