Takolaburi cultural and Spa Resort Phangnga

... in the storm. Doug takes over to get this one guy warm-he looks like he will puke any second and is beginning to show signs of hyperthermia. Doug takes off the plastic that was covering the bags and covers the guy with them. He must have an iron stomach since he still has a smile on his face and I and the rest of the passengers are a putrid shade of green. One of the dive masters yells out that we only have another hour to go-are you F-ing ...

... lesson here - do not pre-pay accommodation in Thailand, she charged me more than if I had just shown up. Anyway, it is really nice here - a very old tropical rainforest and limestone (karst) mountains (the tallest 961 metres - ok, not that tall but it is limestone). I did a full day Jungle lake tour yesterday and it was bloody good. In 1982 they built a hydro power dam in ...

... the Rock and then picking up the bikes to ride them home.)



9:30 am: come back by boat from the beach if on the early turtle track shift, or get dropped off at Koh Ra to look for turtle tracks every 3rd day.



12:30 pm: Lunch



2:00 pm: get picked up from GBB if did the early morning "Obs from the Rock"



3:00 - 7:00 pm: Help out with some stuff around our "headquarters" - Ban Tao (Turtle House) and Mangrove House; ecology ...

... which was a first for both of us, and helps keep them fed as they are no longer needed in Thailand- they used to be employed by the logging industry, but modern life does not use them for that anymore, so camps keep them fed and cared for by selling the rides, though one has to make sure it a legit camp and the elephants are not being abused. Unfortunately in Samui, our second brand new Canon digital camera ...

... my favorite people get off and more and more and more people climb in...I'm now next to this guy with shoulders far too wide for the space....the aisles are more than full...the smoke is thick...I'm feeling totally hot and claustrophobic...every time we hit a larger town, I'm hoping it's Medan...but I find out from other passengers that it's still hours away. Ok, no need to belabor the point here...the ride was challenging me. But finally we ...

... save their money and we'll be back in about 10 years maybe. Somehow that doesn't help. Time to go. Lots of long faces. At the Reception Desk we discover that Dad settled our room bill this morning before he left! How naughty! How tremendously generous! In the Lobby Henry breaks an ashtray and we are (rightly so) required to pay for it so add it onto the now miniscule Room Bill (thanks to Dad). We have our final meal at the Resort at where ...

... s shuttle bus to Central Festival where she plans to watch a movie and kill some time before catching a 3pm flight back to Bangkok. Unfortunately it's not beach weather in Patong today. 90 minutes later we are at the Lobby of the glorious Khao Lak Merlin Resort. Photos and my ravings cannot do this property justice. It's so beautiful, built on a hill cascading down towards Khao Lak Beach. The grounds are ...

... from a beach bar with drift wood tables and chairs. The ambiance was tranquil and soothing. Our first mission was to hit Ton Sai village see what kind of activities we could book for the next day. The vendor stales of this surprisingly large town were a maze to get through selling anything from knock-off MONTBLANC watches to handmade jewelry and textiles. We decided to hire a speedboat for the next day to jet around island hot spots and ...

... enough and a full melt down was avoided. Ninny promptly went to sleep and I sat and contemplated how best to diffuse her. I won't bore you too much with the ride over to phuket but let me just say that when we arrived I was a bit overwhelmed by the sheer size of the place. Marriott wasn't ****ing around when they built this bad boy. Of course it was far removed from the rest of phuket....about 40 kilometers from what is considered the epicenter of shopping and ...

After a relaxing time on the beach we had a kayaking trip in Krabi booked. We spent 3 days checking out the lovely limestone karst scenery of Ao Phang Nga bay from our kayaks. We stayed in a quiet and rustic lodge on Yai Noi island. We did a couple of paddles through the mangroves which was quite weird, but peaceful and still. The best trips ...