Angthong National Marine Park

We arrived on Koh Samui on Songkran day and were greeted as we drove to our beach bungalow by people lined on the streets throwing water. It was a great sight. Some would let us pass unscathed because we were in a car but others would stop us and dump buckets of water on the car.

The day after we arrived on Samui, we were booked on a tour of Anthong National Marine Park. We booked through 100 Degrees East Dive Team because Z had read great reviews and because they limit the number of guests to maximum 12. The other boats we saw along the way were crowded with people and I nicknamed them people ferries.

Our day started with a pick up at our bungalow. We arrived at the dive shop and met the other guests before heading to the beach where we climbed aboard the speed boat which would take us around for the day. The Marine Park is about a 60 minute boat ride away.

Our first stop was at the north part of the park for snorkeling. The water was quite calm and very warm. It was the best snorkeling I've experienced so far. We got to see all sorts of colorful fish. If I were better at identifying the fish I'd mention a few types. I'm sure that I saw some needle nosed fish. There were even a couple schools of different fish swimming around and Z had fun swimming through them. Our snorkeling guide was good; he'd point out several interesting fish and he even took us through a cave which was a really cool experience. The sun was shining into the cave which made visibility great. Have I mentioned the water was crystal clear? I got to see a blue spotted stingray. We snorkeled for about an hour before heading off to the main part of the park. The scenery of the various rock islands is absolutely stunning (I'll post some pictures later).

We made our way to Emerald Lake where we climbed up some very steep stairs to reach the view point. The view from here was incredible. From here we moved on to one of the beaches in the park where we had a short rest while the guides prepared a fabulous lunch. We were treated to fried rice, a vegetable curry dish, chicken curry and fried chicken. The whole day the guides were very gracious hosts making sure we had plenty of fluids and even brought fresh fruit around.

Shortly after we finished lunch light rain drops started to fall. At first it was no big deal and we thought it refreshing on such a hot day. But not too long after the drops started, the light drops turned into a tropical downpour. There was a hut where we waited this out and it only lasted about 15 minutes before the sun was out shining again.

Next up was kayaking to a cove near the beach where we had lunch. Z and I shared a kayak and actually paddled very well together. We got some good speed going. At the cove, we were given the option to swim for awhile, but as I was walking into the water I stepped on a rock and mildly cut my big toe. I didn't feel like going back into the water after that and so the guides suggested that Z and I take the kayak out and go around to the next cove. This was a lot of fun. Because we paddled well together it didn't take us long to get there and so we decided to go a little further. We got to see some really cool rock formations and it was a pity we left the camera on the boat.

After kayaking it was back to the boat for a short trip to another beach to try and see some wild monkeys. Because of the downpour there was a good chance that we would be out of luck, but fortunately there were a couple monkeys that had come out of hiding. The monkeys were hard to see though as they much preferred to jump in the trees than stay still for pictures. This was our last stop of the day.

All in all the day was fabulous. I'd have to say this has been my second favorite highlight of the trip so far.

More of Chiang Mai

We were in Chiang Mai at the beginning of the Songkran festival. Songkran is Thai New Year and this year the festival ran from April 12 to 15. Songkran day was April 13 and had we known about Songkran when we booked our trip we would have scheduled it differently and not made New Year's day a travel day.

The place to be during Songkran is Chiang Mai. As we learned more about what happens we would have enjoyed staying another day. April is the hottest month in Chiang Mai (temperature was 40+C with no humidity) and so part of the fun that takes place with Songkran is that people throw water at each other and the afternoon/early evening turns into one big water fight. It's a big deal there and you can see super soaker water guns like you've never seen being sold everywhere. People also drive around the city with large buckets of water in their pick ups and throw water at unsuspecting pedestrians (happened a couple times). It's all in good fun and you dry off eventually in the sun. Word of caution- don't wear light colors. The general water fight started on the 12th. That evening the street beside our hotel turned into a market. There was even a stage that was built up for entertainment and then taken down during the day and then built again the next evening. It was really neat participating in the events.

We stayed at the Parasol Inn, a small hotel centrally situated in the city centre. It was a great place to stay, the staff were all so friendly. There's were two Wats beside our hotel. Wat Chedi Luang is pictured above (it was founded in 1401). The other was Wat Pan Tao and it appeared to be undergoing restoration or a renovation. We could see this one from our bathroom windows. I read that Chiang Mai has over 300 Buddhist temples. I can attest that we saw a lot of Wats so I don't doubt that number.

We spent an afternoon just walking around the city centre to get a taste of what Chiang Mai is like. It was a very hot afternoon so we were thankful the water throwing had begun. There is a cultural centre where we spent some time learning more about the city. Before our walking tour though we took advantage of one of the many massage places and paid 300 Baht each for a 1.5 hour foot, back, shoulder, neck and head massage. It felt really good especially since the day before we were taking care of our elephants. The city centre is very quaint with lots of old buildings. The centre has a good vibe to it and we felt very safe wherever we went.

We toured through Wat Phra Sing just to see what a Wat is. The grounds for this one are quite large and there are multiple buildings that have various functions. The temple building was quite spectacular and there were many people coming in to give their offerings to the Buddha for Songkran. We did not linger long so to be respectful of the people and the monks. One thing that I enjoyed seeing on the grounds were numerous signs that had very insightful and philosophical sayings on them.

Right next to our hotel was a juice bar called Juice Box and it's here that I fell in love with mango juice. Mango juice here, I've discovered, is made from freshly squeezed mangos...it's like drinking a mango. It's absolutely to die for....mango juice or mango shake, either works and it's all I've been drinking. The food has been extremely good regardless of which restaurant we've gone to and the meals are very affordable. We are not going hungry here.

Next up we are heading to Koh Samui for some beach time.