Krabi - Day Four - Climb, Baby, Climb!

Our last day here was also Beth's birthday. She wanted to rock climb on Railay Beach, and I wanted to take pictures. It worked out!

First, she met her guide and was fitted for gear

A short walk toward the beach

I think someone's getting excited

"I go up first. If I yell 'Stop!', you have to really stop - I'm trusting you."

"Good job, now it's your turn to trust me!"

Plus, it was about 95 degrees

A much deserved 'nam-yen' for that climb!

Climb #2 - A different part of the same wall of stone

I knew Beth was never in any real danger, but she was *really* high up!

I'm so proud of Beth for doing this - Happy Birthday, mi amor!

Nobody I knew, but it happened right after I snapped the one above - timing is king!

Krabi - Day Three - Kayaking

Our third day in Krabi was all about sea kayaking around and through two islands. It was hot and steamy, but the views were terrific, and the water was gentle, inviting and refreshing.

This was the outfit that took us out - you aren't really allowed to explore alone here

Our guide was great

Without him, we would have never found our way back

Terrific limestone formations

After some hard, hot paddling, we got a break at this beach

A water monitor lizard - there are many in Thailand, including the city canals

Round two was through this mangrove swamp - perhaps my favorite scene of the day

Shouldn't there be music to go with this?

Krabi - Day Two - SCUBA!!

Beth and I had only gone under with tanks once before - Roatán Island, Honduras - but there is no evidence of the event, other than our memory, for there were no pictures. It was, after all, a three-day PADI course, and we needed to be focused on things like *staying alive*, so yeah, they don't really want students with cameras for that.

It would have the same story this time as well, except that our awesome dive guide, Bjørn, snapping photos down there with his made-for-diving camera setup, was willing to send his pics to me (and also allowed me to post some of them here). 

We took a big boat from Ao Nang to Koh Phi Phi (Pee-Pee Island) and dived at three sites in the reefs off the island: Maya Corner, Bida Nok, and Maya Nui.


Our second day in Krabi was just terrific - thank you, Bjørn!


Photos by Bjørn Jensen, March 2012:

The bluespotted stingray - beautiful, venomous

A pipefish of some kind, related to the sea horse

I'm in blue fins, Beth's in yellow mask - And doing so much better than 'ok'

Our three dives took us between 50-60 feet down, each for just under an hour

School of barracuda

Bjørn was really adept at finding these hiding creatures and pointing them out to us

I would love to know what kind of fish this is

I wish that everyone I know could try this at least once in their lives, just to see how quiet, peaceful, and beautiful it is here

They move as one unit - incredible to watch up close

"Get up here, Glenn, you're sinking!"

Birthday in Krabi - Day One (Island-Hopping & Snorkeling)

Bangkok is great, but we saw the need to get *out* of the big city for a bit - four great days, to be exact. We spent Beth's birthday in a resort town called Ao Nang, just outside of Krabi, which is about 500 miles S of Bangkok.

On this first day, we checked into our hotel and hired a long-tail boat to motor us around a couple of nearby islands. We also got to snorkel in the clear 85 degree ocean:

The view from our room:  Cliffs + Andaman Sea = Wow

This was the boat that took us around for the afternoon

These treed rocks that jut out of the water were everywhere

These damsel fish are known as "Sergeant-Majors"

They took great interest in us and swarmed very close - looking for food?

I felt myself wanting to buy this boat from the driver...