The Land of Smiles: 2011

Merry Christmas everyone!! I am going to cut right to the chase on this one...so many pictures to share.

Andy and I on our way to one of our most favourite places on earth,
Phi Phi island in southern Thailand (pronounced "pee pee").

The captain who got us there safely.

Arriving at Phi Phi.

Our resort's private beach. Amazing.

Our awesome room.

Our even more awesome private balcony. This is only a portion of it. It was huge!

Our bungalow.

We had a visitor.

Orchids all over.

Ao Po, mine and Andy's favourite snorkel spot.
We fell in love with this place 3 years ago (spent about 3 weeks here). So happy we got to go back!

Jesse and Barb walking Long Beach.

For Leta.

Barb and Andy waiting for lunch at our resort. The balloons are part of the Christmas decorations they put up.

Christmas Eve! It was a great day. I woke up and got to Skype with my entire family while they were celebrating!

Then we all had massages in this hut. Felt so good after a great kayak session we did the day before.

Tropical turkey.
I wasn't able to have the 12 traditional Polish dishes we usually have on Christmas Eve, but I did stick to a meatless meal! We had a feast of clams, barracuda, and king fish. I loved every bite of it!

Santa?

Our Christmas table. Barb brought a suitcase of decorations and treats so we didn't miss out!

Andy opening presents after our fish feast.

Relaxing and doing more Skyping on Christmas morning.

Artist.

Christmas Day.

Coconut pancakes.

Dean and Jesse watched some Thai boxing.

Christmas Day pizza. Yummy, but does not come close to my baba's cooking.

Barb on the tricky path to our bungalow.

Jesse and I lounging.

On Boxing Day we went out to Phi Phi Leh (a tiny island off the main Phi Phi island) for a few hours.

Beautiful and INSANELY crowded during high season (our winter). Such a difference from when Andy and I were here during low season (our summer).

Jesse.

Our drivers for the day. So relaxed...gotta love Thais.

Our longtail boat.

Back on the main island.
We hiked up to a viewpoint to watch the sunset (also on Boxing Day).

The group.

Our last feast on Phi Phi.

After Phi Phi, we went back to Krabi and flew to Bangkok. We had just enough time back at our apartment to eat, do laundry, catch a few hours of sleep before we headed off to Cambodia...which is where we are now. We will be spending New Years here. I was supposed to start work again on January 3rd, but just got an email today saying we are now starting on the 4th. Lucky for me, I get to spend an extra day here!
This is a picture of Andy washing his hands in a high class outdoor sink at a pitstop somewhere between Bangkok and the Cambodia boarder.

Allo from Krabi! After a long day of traveling by ferry and bus from Koh Tao, we made it here to Krabi three days ago. The ferry ride was longer, but much smoother than last time! Saw no one getting sick. Wahoo. We are leaving to Phi Phi Island tomorrow morning. (Another ferry ride). Andy and I spent almost 3 weeks there when we were in Thailand a few years ago. It is one of our most favourite places on earth. Looking forward to going back there.

Lunch after spending the morning shopping on Ao Nang Beach

The bungalow Andy, Jesse and I are staying in.

The place we are staying at has a Dr. Doolittle/Jurassic Park feeling to it.
There are random, exotic animals everywhere.

My most favourite bird.

Brothers.

Taking a longboat to Railay Beach (where I spent my "flood vacation" with some teacher friends).
Railay is about a ten minute boat ride from the beach we are staying by.

A friendly/wild monkey searching for Bugles on Barb in Railay.

These guys are known to snatch sunglasses and other random things from people when you walk by..

Andy forming a peace treaty with the monkey-race.

Young coconut celebration on the beach.

Viewpoint hike victory photo at Railay.

Jesse the size of an ant.
After we went to the viewpoint, we hiked down to a lagoon. An intense hike, but a bit easier than I remembered from 3 years ago.