Days 17-20: Khao Lak, Thailand

Sorry for the delay in posting!  We have successfully (?!) re-joined the rat race, so our blogging time has been cut short!  Without further delay, back to Thailand . . .


This part of the trip is called Paradise.  Getting there, however, was not...

Nothing particularly eventful about the flight, just my usual fear of flying and (no shock to anyone), turns out I don't love prop planes. We flew from Luang Prabang to southern Thailand via Bangkok.  Though we landed in Phuket, a famous tourist spot, we opted to bypass the party scene for the more low key (and less touristy) Khao Lak, about an hour north on the coast.  We stayed at the phenomenal JW Marriott Khao Lak Resort and Spa.  It was amazing--seriously one of the nicest places I've ever stayed.  The room and hotel grounds are gorgeous and the service impeccable.


Our room (this was the cheapest room in the place, so I can't imagine what the fancier ones must have looked like!):

View from the balcony: 

Reception:  

View from Reception down to the beach:  

 The hotel claims to have the largest pool in Southeast Asia, which winds around the hotel grounds like a lazy river.  We tried to swim the whole thing one afternoon and had to water-walk a bit -- it's a long way!

 Beach:  

The beach was gorgeous, clean and calm.  The sand wasn't quite as white, and water not quite as turquoise, as in the Caribbean, but I am NOT complaining.  It was glorious!  And I can't say enough about the Marriott Khao Lak--and reasonably priced to boot! (That said, before Khao Lak was devastated by the 2004 tsunami, I gather the hotel was called the Sofitel Magic Lagoon and rooms went for $800/night!)


Unfortunately, much of the time we were in Khao Lak, this was our view:  

Boo.

Since we've been back, many people have asked what our favorite destination was from the entire trip.  Though the cruise in Halong Bay (you can read about it here) probably wins the prize, Khao Lak and the rest of southern Thailand was a very close second.  If the weather had been a little better in Khao Lak, it might have edged out Vietnam.  We still got in a bit of beach time between the rains, but unfortunately the weather kept us from a snorkeling trip at the Similan Islands, which boasts world renowned diving and snorkeling spots.  After about an hour an half on a speed boat bumping towards the Similans, rough seas and a storm over the islands forced our captain to turn back.  We were leaving for Krabi the next day, so weren't able to reschedule the snorkeling trip.  This was the only excursion we had to cancel during the entire trip, so we can't complain too much.  More importantly, it gives us yet another reason to go back someday!

Days 15-16: Laos, continued

Grab a cup of coffee, 'cause this is a long one!

On our second morning in Luang Prabang, we set out for the Kuang Si Waterfalls, which are located about 20 miles south of town.  Although it's faster by tuk-tuk, we opted for an hour trip by boat down the Mekong and a truck ride from a small village neighboring the falls.

The view from the river bank up to our hotel...

Some views from our journey ... we had the middle boat all to ourselves (plus a driver!)

Luang Prabang from the river...

A family farming in the fertile soil of the riverbank.

Water buffalo!

Fishing! 

Beach where we docked to catch a ride to the falls...

Steep climb up to the village with our driver...

The village...

More water buffalo!

Countryside...

Tomato garden...

Entrance to the park...

The park contains a bear rescue center ... whose residents had cute fluffy cheeks (ears? shoulders?)!

Cool baby swing...

Finally, the falls!  There were many gorgeous pools, and our pictures don't really do them justice.  The water was a beautiful turquoise color, but a bit too cold for us for swimming!

We had some fun experimenting with the shutter speed on the camera--same shot, but two different results!

Some guys on the rope swing...

Again, playing with the shutter speed.  Faster ...

Sloooow ...

 Some more of the park...

The main waterfall is amazing, one of the prettiest I've ever seen!  Unfortunately, it was hard to get a good shot, as trees blocked the best view, which required shooting into direct sunlight with drenching mist all around.  It's tough to see, but the falls started all the way at the very top of this picture, above the main cascade.

We decided to climb to the top -- up a steep path, in flip flops!

View from the top...

Some of my favorite flowers...Angel's trumpets! (I first fell in love with them at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia in Athens.)

 Some other pretty flowers...

We finished the day with dinner at the casual sister of the French restaurant from the first night.  I had my second spaghetti bolognese of the trip--every once in a while, I just craved something I knew my stomach could handle!

Before our mid-day flight to southern Thailand, we were up before sunrise to watch one of Luang Prabang's most famous traditions--the giving of alms to the monks.  This religious ritual takes place at sunrise every morning throughout the city streets.  The monks eat only food that has been given to them, and nothing after noon. Before the sun has risen, worshippers line the streets and wait for the monks' procession.  When each monk passes by, people kneel and give him morsels of sticky rice, fruit, or other foods.  In addition to the locals, the streets were crowded with tourists and local women trying to sell rice to the tourists for alms-giving.  The folks at our hotel discouraged us from purchasing food from the street vendors because of its poor quality--the monks don't eat it.

Staff at our hotel said we were free to participate, but emphasized the importance of doing so respectfully.  We decided to pass--not because we couldn't be respectful, but because it would not be meaningful to us and we didn't want to interfere with the local ritual.  Our hotel owner assured us that we could watch and take pictures from across the street.  She emphasized (as did many posters around town) that we should take our photos from a distance as many tourists disrespectfully crowd the monks and interfere with the alms giving.  

Waiting for the monks...

Even with the hundreds of posters around town asking tourists to give the monks some space, people still crowded around snapping pictures...

I found the tourists frustrating as their disrespectful behavior destroyed the beauty and serenity of the ritual.  It was difficult to get a shot without a tourist, but I managed a few from across the street with a telephoto lens...

There seemed to be some kind of recycling system when a monk's bowl became full.