Monkey Beach, Thailand

The next island we pulled up to was called Monkey Island.
And for good reason too.

The moment you see the island in the distance you can make out shapes of little creatures jumping and running around.
When you get closer you realize they're monkeys.
Unfortunately they've gotten quite aggressive and lazy over the years.
People used to dock here, come on shore and feed bananas and other fruit to the monkeys.
Then a few years ago a woman was attacked by these monkeys.
And now tours only really get just close enough to the shore to throw food to them and take photos...

Or so we thought!

Just because we didn't go on shore, that doesn't mean they were going to stay away from us.
They jumped onto the front of our boat like they owned the place, climbed right in and started roaming around.

I wasn't sure if I should push it off, pet it or feed it.
I decided a photo would be sufficient.

Looking back on that photo, I don't particularly like how this monkey is looking at me so I'm glad I didn't stand there any longer than I did.

There was a little boy on board who decided it was a good idea to pet the wild monkeys.
While teasing them with a banana just far enough where the monkey wouldn't be able to reach it.
The monkey finally swiped its claws at him and he jumped back.
All this happening while the crew and everyone on the boat yelling at him to stop.
And his parents reaction was to take photos of him...

Lunch on a new island was the next point of port!

Has anyone else been to an island of hungry, wild monkeys?

Pileh Lagoon, Thailand

Next up on the adventure was Pileh Lagoon.
A beautiful little turquoise water swimming spot surround by limestone cliffs.
And yet another filming location of The Beach.

Not to toot my own horn too much here, but I think I definitely picked the perfect birthday present for my perfect guy this year.
And the days adventures weren't even half-way done!

Paradise, isn't it?

#60: Learn to Snorkel

The boat sped off, but before we even got comfortable it slowed down, and a few moments later we dropped anchor in another little harbor.
This one had no beach in sight, only 2 other boats in view, and nobody really knew what was going on.

(Well you know because of the blog post title...

but let's assume you didn't know what was happening either...)

The scenery was beautiful, but everyone on the boat was a little confused what we were doing there.

Then the crew pulled out a box of masks and snorkels and told us we reached our first snorkeling spot.

Snorkeling???
I've never snorkeled before!!!
I didn't know we were going to get to snorkel!!!
That's on my bucketlist!!!

Chris was one of the first people in the water.

It took me a little more time to get comfortable...

First off, if you've never snorkeled it feels quite claustrophobic trying to breathe through a tube under water.
Secondly, breathing is key. Slow breaths, in and out. Only your mask has to be underwater, not even your ears need to be covered.

Thirdly, it helps if on your first time you can be in water shallow enough where you can touch the bottom with your feet.
My first experience was in 10m deep choppy ocean water.
Not ideal to say the least, I was a little freaked out for the first 15 minutes while I learned to breathe, float, breathe, spit water out, and swim all at the same time.

Once breathing is mastered you can explore anywhere you want... like one of our crew who can dive 10m with a snorkel!!!!

I got a lot more comfortable in the water and started attempting to dive.
And Chris and I thought why not take one of both of us diving together?!!

We'll pretend that was a successfully carried out idea...

So after about 30 to 40 minutes of snorkeling (and ticking an awesome bucketlist box!) we got back on the boat and were off to yet another mystery paradise destination!!

Maya Beach, Thailand

You know when you watch certain movies and the scenery looks so beautiful you convince yourself that it's being filmed in a Hollywood studio because nothing in nature really looks that perfect and beautiful?

You're wrong.

Very, very wrong.

This is real life Paradise, otherwise known as the Phi Phi Islands of Thailand.

And if you happen to find yourself in Thailand and want to go see them yourself, I highly, highly recommend booking a trip with Phuket Sail Tours.

They are a little more expensive (a lot more private) and worth every penny.
Bigger, cheaper tours will make you feel like cattle being herded from one place to the next compared to this tour.

We were picked up bright and early, taken to the docks, loaded up, and shipped out.

First stop:

Maya Beach (also known as the filming location for Leonardo DiCaprio's 'The Beach'.

Anchored safely in the harbor we jumped into the clearest water I've ever seen and made out way for the beach.
Stopping only to pinch ourselves to make sure we weren't dreaming, or to take a photo.

Safely on shore we went exploring.
We actually landed on the back of the island.

The Beach was mostly filmed on the opposite side.
However the queue to see it was MASSIVE and we much rather play than queue.
So back to the water it was!!!

A little word of advice:
A waterproof camera will make sure you capture all those wonderful memories on a beach vacation.
BUT, make sure the lens doesn't have any water or sand droplets on it before shooting or you'll end up with random blurry spots on your photos like I did!

I use an Olympus Tough TG-2 in case you're curious.

After about 45 minutes or so we were waved back to the boat; it was time to make our way to the next destination.
And at a good time too!
(All the packed ships started to arrive just as we were leaving so I know what I say when I tell you to stay away from them!)

We swam back to the boat and waited to see what beautiful place we would be taken to next.

We were not disappointed...