I'd like to be....under the sea....

We are happy to say Southern Thailand has lived up to its reputation.  It is simply paradise.  We took a boat from Ao Nang to Koh Phi Phi, and discovered the amazing, psychedelic, stunning world beneath the waves.  The town of Koh Phi Phi itself is a bit ridiculous, but we quickly discovered the real reason to be there.  We took a full day snorkeling trip around the island, and to a few smaller, neighbouring ones, and were totally blown away.  How to describe the colour of the water...?  It went from the clearest, brightest blue to an amazing emerald green.  The water was so warm you didn't worry about ever being uncomfortable.  Once you dipped your face below the surface, you were in another world, and it was hard to leave. 

The islands around Kho Phi Phi are home to the worlds most abundant coral reefs. There are multicolored fish, and beautifully colored coral just meters under the surface of the water. As you snorkel through the schools of florescent fish you feel almost as if you have joined their gang. You are able to hear the clicking of their mouths as they pick food off the coral. The fish swim right up to you with their wobbly eyes and their slowly moving jaws. Like our guide says in broken English, "they don't bite, they just come to kiss you." We're not too sure about that, because we both thought we felt a nip or two.  It was especially exciting when the guides would throw bits of bread into the water and a feeding frenzy would occur, sometimes completely enveloping an unwary snorkeler.  At this time hundreds of fish would come out of nowhere, and it was a bit insane being amongst them.  At one point a huge jellyfish came along to investigate, and I (John) ended up in a strange dance with it, each of us negotiating the others' space.  They are lumps of mush when beached, but in the water they are the most graceful animals imaginable.  Their bodies ripple and flow like gauze in a breeze, or billow like pale pink ghosts.  In addition to the incredible swimming, we met a fantastic group of people from all around the world: Australia, France, and Argentina.  We also stopped at the famous Koh Phi Phi Lay, which was the location of the movie "The Beach." Both of us were prepared to be underwhelmed by it, thinking "okay, here's another tourist trap," but it was nothing of the sort.  It was the most idyllic place we'd ever seen.  Our time there was brief (and was a bit harrowing to get to - those of you on our boat know what we mean!), but well worth it.

Needless to say, one day was not enough.  We returned to Ao Nang and went to Four Islands to spend more time with our heads under the water, breathing out of a plastic tubes. Our time spent snorkeling and playing in the ocean has been some of the best times on this trip. The beauty is an actual physical ache; it is unbelievable that nature can contrive to create places like this.  We don't want this time to end.....but it must because we have already planned out our next adventure.  We are catching a bus on the 19th to Bangkok to prepare.  Our time overseas is winding down, but there's still a bit more to come.  We have decided to take a leap, and explore what must surely be one of the most exotic places on our planet.  Next stop: Egypt! oh boy oh boy

Riding the boat to Koh Phi Phi

Our new friend Carmen being silly...John being cool

Fools

OMG

OMG!

Aptly named Chicken Island

Feeding frenzy!