Stylin' Islands in Thailand

 Thailand has a bunch of beautiful islands and we picked four to visit, three we had never been to and one (Koh Ngai) which was our favorite the last time Matt and I were in Thailand. It's quiet with only resorts on the island, not packed with tourists and has clear water with great snorkeling. Z had his first experience snorkeling with fish and he begged to go again and again for several days until unfortunately the weather brought some jellyfish. Zane loved meeting the other kids at the resort and collecting hermit crabs. They filled in an entire bucket and had hermit crab races daily.

Go Crabs Go

 

We had the best time!

After a wonderful stay (wish we would have stayed longer) we went to Ko Muk. Our hotel room (Muk de Tara, $50/nt) had a private small pool on the balcony. We enjoyed tide pooling during low tide and sucking on passion fruit, pineapple and coconut shakes. One day we invited some local kids to kayak and drink smoothies with us. They didn't speak much English but Google translate worked well and we all had fun in the water. The next morning we hired a private long tail boat to take us around the island to Emerald cave. The cave entrance is at the base of a rock cliff where it meets the water. You swim through the cave system and pop out at a rock formation that has a small private beach. Imagine a volcano with sheer limestone walls on all walls and you're inside with a private beach and jungle. The only way to access this would be a very small helicopter or swimming through the cave during low tide. This can be a tourist trap but we arrived just in time between groups of people had the entire place to ourselves which was amazing!

Relax

Pulling up to Emerald Cave

Looking up from the secret beach

Zane doing math in the sand, cave exit behind him.

Sunset on Charlie Beach, Ko Muk

Zane navigating us back to the hotel, he liked the horn button on the motorcycle.

We then went to Ko Kradan and stayed at the Reef Resort. It was by far the best hotel on the island and was very friendly and wonderful. We met other families, including two Taiwanese families that have been to the same resort every year for 2 weeks for the last 12 years. They helped us with our Taiwan itinerary and we will absolutely meet up with them when we get there in a few months. They also included Matt in their treasure hunt - they needed a rocket scientist to help with the puzzles - and Zane in their Kids' scavenger hunt. Some of the items the kids needed to find were a feather, a hermit crab, a jellyfish, the number on the buoy out in the ocean, etc.. We were able to snorkel daily and Zane got to snorkel with his first shark. We were very sorry to leave as it felt like summer camp. By the time we left we knew almost all of the other guests.

All the kids worked together over many days to build sand castles.

Feeding fish at the pier

Lego break time.

We then traveled to Ko Libong and stayed at Andalay resort. We booked a private Villa with an outdoor shower and the resort was full of teak, it was gorgeous. It remind me of Bali. There's also a little island off the coast that you can kayak to. The island is not inhabited but we named it Hermit Crab Island because they were everywhere! We kayaked all the way around it and back through the crystal clear water. Zane and I were messing with a sea cucumber and it slimed us both, he was still picking stuff of his skin a few days later. Later that night we went into town which is half a block long and got our last mango sticky rice for Matt. Zane met some local boys that gave him a ride on their bicycle, giving high-fives as they zoomed by.

Zane street cruising with with the local boys.

Great spot to relax

Busy days

We then departed for the mainland and spent an afternoon near the city of Trang. We visited a cave that had bats and amazing rock formations.  You hire a boat to take you through the cave.  At some points you get off to walk around and see all of the rock formations and temples. To get out you lay flat on your back in the boat and pass below the rock ceiling an inch from your face as the boat floats through. It's not really a place for tourists, more for locals. The locals asked to take pictures of themselves with Zane. Well they didn't really ask, they just grabbed him and took pictures hugging him but he was happy to oblige.

Ceiling is getting lower

And lower, we were on our backs as low as we could go.

He's so popular

 

Hotel in Trang, Zane was confused why there is no floor 13? Only 12, 12a, then 14.

On the flight back through Bangkok we stopped at an airport lounge that offered complimentary massage and Zane enjoyed his first massage!

While Zane was relaxing Matt noticed there is a golf course in the middle of the airfield. That red AirAsia plane in the background just landed behind the golfers. Later it taxied by on the near side. I don't believe the pilots will hear if any golfer yells "FOUR" when they hit one across the runway.

Off to Cambodia!