Thailands Islands and Beaches and more.

Posted at 10:18 AM, Tuesday 15 January 2008

From the hundreds of photos I took while in Phuket, I have now reduced them to a very small quantity. These photos show you the nicer side of holidaying in Thailand, especially if you can escape the crowds.

Our first excursion was to to explore some of the islands and caves in the Phang Nga Marine park by sea canoe. This is the wharf we departed from.Ao Phang Nga National Marine Park is noted for it's scenery. Massive limestone blocks have been pushed up out of the sea by fault movements on the mainland. They form over 40 islands with huge vertical cliffs.…The biggest attraction in the park is James Bond Island, known to the Thais as Ko Phing Kan. It was used as a location setting for The Man with the Golden Gun. The island is now full of vendors hawking coral and shells that should have been left in the sea.

On this excursion at every stop we were taken in sea canoes to explore. One of our adventures was to paddle through caves that are fully submerged at high tide and only accessible during low tide. I had no idea what to expect and had my camera bundled into a plastic bag. Once we got to the cave I realized I needed to get a photo. This photo was taken very quickly with the plastic bag showing at the front of my lens. You can see my feet in the red canoe as we begin entering. The torch that you can see is a canoe coming from the cave, with it's passengers lying dead flat, so as to clear the rocky ceiling of the cave.In each canoe, is the paddler at the back being a Thai and his two passengers. In our canoe, I was up front and Tony was in the middle. Going through the cave was a little tight but I soon learnt that it was not possible to take photos and lay low..........very low. Once through the cave, you find yourself in a lagoon open to the elements.………High tide markings on the limestone walls.After a good 15 minutes in the lagoon, it was time to head back through the cave, before the tide was too high to get through. First canoe in and everything seems to be okay.I grab for my camera as we start to make our entrance. Notice in the next photo how low the paddler is laying in his canoe.The next photo is about the moment when I realize it's time to get my camera into the palstic bag and lay very low. That was the last photo I could take for a while, as we discovered the tide was coming in faster than planned. The ceiling of the cave was fast approaching my face and I was laying flat inbetween my husbands legs. My camera was now in it's plastic bag, laying on the floor of the canoe which was full of water. As my legs start to rub against the ceiling of the cave, I yell "STOP, my legs". There is torches being flashed everywhere but I can only see this enormous rock both on me and surrounding me. Tony would say I panicked but I did not. I just needed the paddler who was also laying flat, to realize that we were stuck and we needed to go another way or get out and swim. At this point the paddler tells me we are going to have to let some air out of the canoe and all I can think of is my camera. With the canoe deflated somewhat, we manouvre back about a metre and then I am able to raise my head and only my head, to see another person in the water, directing us through the cave. He patted my leg and assured me we were going to get through after all. And that we did. Only a minute later, after thinking I was going to run out of oxygen, I was back taking photos. You have to understand, what photos I did take, were taken from a laying down position, in pitch black conditions. I was just hoping that what I did capture would show some of what we went through.I can now see some daylight in the distance.And what a wonderful sight this next photo was.Our next stop was Koh Hong Island…………Another day was had sorkelling in the Phi Phi Island group.……This is Viking Cave. It is here, that locals climb up the bamboo scaffolding that reaches all the way to the roof of the cave. Here they gather the edible nests of the Swift bird to make Birds nest soup.…In times of monsoon winds and storms, fisherman are protected in this beautiful inlet.And next we have the beautiful Maya Bay which was made famous in the movie The Beach, starring Leonardo di Caprio.……………Khai Nok Island for a touch of snorkelling. When we first arrived on this island, I felt like crying. There was just one enormous ring of speed boats surrounding the beach.By the time we left, most of the other tourists had departed, so I was able to get a few shots without hordes of people in the photos.………Another private excursion we went on, was to a Muslim fishing village by the name of Ko Panyi, it is only accessible by boat.  This extraordinary fishing village is built entirely on stilts in a nook of limestone cliffs. This first picture is a post card so you can see what it is like from above.And now for my photos. ……………………………On our last day, we hired a tuk tuk and went to see the most beautiful of the temples on Phuket, Wat Chalang.……………………………Most Thais make an offering when they visit a wat (temple) in order to gain merit, which can act as credit towards being born in a superior situation in the next life. The standard offering consists of an unopened lotus flower, a bundle of incense sticks and a piece of gold leaf. The gold leaf is rubbed onto one of the Buddha statues. Over the centuries, some of Thailand's more auspicious statues have gained several centimeters of solid gold, applied as thousands of sheets of gold leaf.……To end my journey to Phuket there is a couple of Cobra shots taken at a show.…And a couple of close ups of Shane and Pete, the ellies I was able to get so close too.……Don't you love the hair on top of their heads, so different from the African Elephant.