Our intention for the April Break was to travel somewhere epic and different.  We had considered a trekking adventure in the Himalayas, but quickly realised that the kids would probably revolt and complain that vacations are not meant to be torturous.   We have always wanted to see Asia, and so we started looking at areas in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Indonesia.  After weighing all of the options, Thailand seemed to have everything we were looking for.

We decided on a smallish resort located in the south, in Krabi Province.  The village and beach was called Klong Muang, and it promised beautiful views of the Andamann Sea with spectacular sunsets.

Our journey began with a 6 1/2 hour flight to Doha, Qatar.  The airport in Qatar is absolutely beautiful (so modern!) and we were able to enjoy about 4 hours of shopping and relaxing before jumping on our next flight to Krabi.  It took another 7 hours to reach Thailand from Qatar, so when we arrived we were extremely tired, but excited to have reached our destination.

Upon arriving we jumped into our shuttle (large air-conditioned shuttle just for us) and were immediately aware of the humidity and a host of different sights and sounds.  To say that our senses became acutely ‘alive’ would be an understatement.  On route to our hotel we saw incredible scenery and a business that we were not used to seeing.  Tuk Tuks, mopeds, bicycles, motorcycles all darted amongst one another in a chaotic manner, hustling people in different directions.

We spent the first couple of days settling into our new surroundings and explored the beaches at Klong Muang and Ao Nang.  Ao Nang was about a 15 minute taxi ride (or 30 minute tuk tuk) from our resort and we soon realized that it was a commercialized hub of activity along the beach strip.  We shopped and had dinner there one night, but the touristy vibe and waves of ‘lady boys’ was more than we could handle for too long. Back in Klong Muang, for the rest of our evenings, we found a couple of restaurants right by the sea that served incredible Thai and Western food, so everyone was very happen.  There was also a cool Jamaican vibe, outdoor ‘dance bar’ on the beach with a pool table that we spent a couple of nights at (live music!).  Chang beer quickly became a favourite, and I honestly think that it will be difficult for us to ever find spring rolls that match the ones we ate during our vacation.

We were all itching to explore the islands in Krabi Province, so for our first excursion we rented a ‘long tail’ boat  and spent an entire day touring 4 beautiful islands.  We went snorkelling in crystal clear water and were introduced to beaches that rivalled anything we had ever seen before.  It was a chore to stay lathered with enough sunscreen to prevent a burn while we were in and out of the ocean or pool throughout the day.  Brianna quickly found our long tails shaded hammock, and spent some time snoozing in the shade.  By the time we returned to our hotel we had seen Poda and Chicken Island, and spent some time at Railay Beach.

Our next excursion was a speedboat ride to Koh Phi Phi Don (big island) and Koh Phi Phi Ley (small island).  All of us preferred the small island, and the highlight of the day was exploring Maya Beach (where Leo DiCaprio’s The Beach was filmed).  This trip included lots of snorkelling and an afternoon swim in a beautiful bay.  Greg entertained the other members of our tour by doing backflips off of the bow of our speedboat.  At one point he had about 100 people from other boats giving him a standing ovation in their boats! For some reason, this is not seem as ‘normal’ to them as it is to us. lol

On another day we got up very early and went to a spot called Hong Island.  It was a cool experience because we were the first ones to reach the island, and we had a beautiful secluded beach all to ourselves.  Hong Island is home to the second largest lizard on the planet (the Water Monitor).  We honestly didn’t think we would spot one, but happily, we were we wrong.  During a quick hike through the island footpaths, Greg heard a sound on the jungle floor. He spotted a large Water Monitor strolling through the underbrush about 10 feet away.  He moved slowly into the underbrush while Mo followed him with the camera trying to get a photo before he disappeared.  No fear Mo. We also saw the remains of longtail boats that were destroyed when forced into the jungle by the tsunami in 2004. They have left them there with a plaque to commemorate the 200,000 lives lost in the tsunami. This island was hit hard and there are still signs of it and escape routes to high ground are labeled in case of another one.

While we were at Hong Island we also went to an area called the Blue Lagoon that was surrounded by a mangrove forest. We got to it through a narrow cut in the rocks and once inside, the water was crystal clear and we got out of our longtail boat and walked all around in water up to our thighs (the whole lagoon was this depth). In this lagoon, Greg was asked to have his picture taken with a few people because he is tall and blonde (strange for them). Brianna had the same thing happen when we were in Ao Nang and two boys and a girl wanted their photo with her (“pretty white girl”). They found it ‘odd’ but played along.

Hong Island and Lagoon was the last of our 3 boat tours and then on the 2nd last day of our trip we booked a ride into the interior (about 20 minutes away) to bath an elephant in the river with an elephant sanctuary.  It was only Mo, Greg and Bri that could go in the end because I had picked up a stomach bug. It was only us with the elephant (and it’s ‘leader’), so it was a fairly ‘private’ encounter because it is the end of the tourist season. The kids and Mo got in the river (steep bank to descend) with the elephant and enjoyed about 45 minutes scrubbing him and washing him.  It was a memorable experience.

The day our flight left, we were up at 5am and off to the airport (30 minute drive). Unfortunately when we arrived we found out it would be delayed 3 hours, so we slept in the airport chairs for a few hours before finally leaving at 11:30am. Because of this delay, we had to run for our connecting flight in Qatar but they held the plane for the 40 of us or so that were connecting to Paris. In total we flew about 13.5 hours each way and that day travelling home was a LONG one since there was no break in Qatar. We are now over the jet lag and so happy we chose to see Thailand before returning to Canada in June.