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After another great breakfast sitting amongst plants we headed out.

We had a half day tour booked for today. It was going to 6 different places. One of the tour operators picked us up, by foot, at the tourist place where we booked the excursion. Good thing it was just across the path from our hotel. We stopped by a couple of other locations and gathered more people. Then he lead us down the back alleys and over to the beach area to catch the boat to begin our tour.

We had quite the assortment of tourists on this tour. The poor lady on the left in the dress was apparently quite seasick at one point. I missed it as I was in the water at the time, but Doug got to watch. She was puking into the black garbage. The same garbage that the guy with the black swimsuit on sitting across from her was later picking watermelon rinds out of for the fish at Sharks Bay.

It was a high speed boat and we took two seats at the back. Great views but not really the best plan as our stuff got soaked from all of us climbing in and out of the boat.

First stop was a place they call monkey beach. We all climbed out of the boat. Not a single monkey on the beach. But there was a lot of garbage. People just throw their garbage anywhere. Lots of broken glass too. Only stayed on the beach to grab a couple of pictures and that was it for the beach area.

However there were monkeys on the cliffs just outside the beach. Some people off our boat that were in the water were throwing bread to the monkeys. Not a good idea as you are in for a lot of rabies shots if you get bitten by one if these guys. The monkeys can swim.

From here we headed over to Maya Bay. This is the beach where the movie The Beach starring Leonardo DiCaprio was filmed. It would be a beautiful area if there weren’t 10,000 tourists. It has finally recovered from a tsunami that hit it in 2004.

The sand was icing sugar fine.

From here we cruised by Viking Cave. You are not allowed in it and apparently it really stinks and has lots of bats. Even though there are people who live in it.

We stopped at a snorkeling spot but I have no idea what the name was. It was either Pi Leh Bay or Loh Samah Bay. We only did one snorkeling spot as we didn’t do the last one at Shark Bay. We had already turned our equipment in and didn’t want to get someone else’s. No sanitizing going on here. As far as the two Bays go I have no idea which was which from my photos. Most of the snorkeling is on video but here are a couple pictures. Not easy trying to take a selfie with a Go Pro!

There were definitely lots of fish around. Kind of freaky swimming with so many. Some would come right up to you.

Not sure what was next but at some point we went to a spot called Sharks Bay, there are actually sharks here. Nope! Don’t know what kind. We were getting tired by this point. So sticky from the salt water and HOT. Thought I took pictures but if I did, I can’t find them.

We were both ready to get back to our hotel, clean up and get in the pool to the swim up bar. I already knew what I wanted for dinner as I had seen this sign yesterday.

I ordered a margarita and it was pretty good. Could definitely tell there was alcohol in it. Doug had a fruit smoothie……what can I say?

We ordered a pepperoni pizza. It wasn’t the best but it was definitely pretty good. Not like pizza at home. I really miss our pizza place with it’s thick crust pizza. Doug on the other hand loves this thin crust stuff.

I was still hungry after the pizza so decided to try hummus and pita again. It was definitely better than the other place but not as good as my own recipe. Only managed to eat half of it.

Along with the hummus I ordered another margarita and Doug did too. These two were so strong that there was no way I could ever have a third and make it back to Resort.

It was time for bed after our excursion day and these margaritas.

Today we thought we would walk around the island. I really wanted to go to the other side to see the beaches over there and it is possible to walk around the whole island. We headed down for breakfast which is included and I have to say I love that. No searching for food. Breakfast was pretty good but the eggs had a funny taste IMHO. I think it was the margarine or whatever they put in the frypans.

After breakfast we headed to the front desk to see if they had a map. Map in hand we decided to head up to the lookout as it was just around the corner from our hotel. This is also the evacuation area in case of earthquakes and tsunamis.

Little did we know! We got to the bottom of the steps and looked up. There must have been a hundred steps. Turned out that was just the beginning of a VERY STEEP climb up.

Hundreds of stairs, steep paths and many breaks later we made it to Lookout #1. The view from here was spectacular as were the gardens.

There was a sign pointing to Lookout #2 and another stating that you would have to pay 30 baht ($0.80 Cdn) each before getting to Lookout #2. No big deal.

This turned out to be a continuous steep uphill climb. I have to say I am happy that I did it as it is the most breathtaking view I have ever seen. The pictures do not do it justice. I could have sat up there all day. I even got to see a monkey.

The trek down was slow and steep but much easier than going up. There were very few hand rails along this path. Could have used a few more.

By now it was afternoon and we were pretty exhausted so decided to hit the pool. So much for our hike around the island. Found out afterwards by looking at Maps.me that to get to the other beach we needed to hike up this hill again, but even further before descending on the other side of the island. Needless to say that most likely won’t happen. We enjoyed a great afternoon in the pool and the swim up bar. Meet a great couple from Burlington, ON who have been traveling since November and will return to Canada in time for Easter.

Our resort during the day and at night. I have never seen so many beautiful flowers and bonsai trees.

This evening we decided we would eat at a place called Garlic 1992. We had looked at the menu yesterday and it seemed reasonable and good choices. Place is really busy. This island had a fire 6 February 2018 (the day we left Canada) and a few restaurants, hostels and businesses burnt to the ground. This was one of the restaurants that had burned. We knew about the fire before we got here as we had met two guys earlier in our travels who had been staying at the hostel that burned. They were left with only their clothes they were wearing that day. So sad. After seeing the area we are amazed that they were able to contain it in such a small area. Can’t imagine the devastation that could have been. Anyways our meal was pretty good. I had chicken pad Thai and Doug had Green Curry Seafood. It had shrimp, fish, octopus and even eel in it. GROSS! He really enjoyed it.

Later on we headed back out to look around the market. This is down near the pier. On the left it is a restaurant that overlooks the water.

A cool restaurant that is also up a couple of flights of stairs. Everything here is built up. They have these buckets of drinks you can purchase and then you mix your own in it. Everything needed comes in the bucket.

Grabbed a coconut ice cream on the way back to our hotel. Expensive but tasty.

Woke up this morning to a cloudy sky. They have been calling for rain for the last few days but none has appeared. Since we did so well on the buses yesterday we were going to head to Paden’s favourite beach in the area, Nai Harm beach. It is on the southern west coast of Phuket Island. It was 21 km away and according to maps.me should take 17 minutes by car, but we were taking the bus. Two buses to get there. Your guess is as good as ours as to how long it would really take. We did find a pink bus stop a lot closer to our hotel than the one we went to yesterday. Always helps to ask at your hotels front desk. Bus came along in about 5 minutes. We were on a roll. That is until we had to get off. Apparently not all buses automatically stop at the transfer point to the beach buses. We were let off a few blocks past but it was no big deal to walk back. Now we were in search of the correct bus to get to Nai Harm beach. First guy directed us further up the street. Next guy sent us up to the first bus. Meanwhile a taxi driver is offering to drive us there for 600 baht (approximately $25 Cdn) compared to the bus fare of 80 baht ($3.50 Cdn). Do we still have ‘SUCKERS’ written on our foreheads? We get to the first bus stop area and there was no bus going to Nai Harm beach. We decided to walk back to the end and watch as the buses were pulling in. Turns out the bus we wanted had been sitting there just about in front of where the taxi driver was trying to con us. Once it was full (only holds 12 people and that is really cramming them in), we left. Took us about 25 minutes from that point to reach our beach. Dropped off a few people at other places and other beaches on the way.

Oh the sights you see

I have to say that I agree with Paden, Nai Harm beach really is beautiful. The sand was like icing sugar. So fine and soft.

The water was very clear, not quite crystal clear but you could still see your feet when the water was armpit high.

Talk about warm water. This water was warmer than our heated pool which we keep around 84F. Saw a beautiful fish swimming around me. It looked like a zebra. Even though there were quite a few people it was so quiet and peaceful. We rented a couple of lounge chairs, cushions and an umbrella for $8.00 Cdn. Have I mentioned it was hot? It was so hot in the shade that we only stayed for 1 1/2 hours and then went in search of an adult beverage and food. No food or alcohol was served on the beach that we could see. You could purchase water and ice cream. Across the street were plenty of restaurants with a great view of the beach.

We ordered a couple of Chang beers and lunch. I had fried shrimp and cashews and Doug ordered salmon steak with fries and salad. It was good but, not cheap.

We wouldn’t need any dinner after this though. Since we had eaten there, the restaurant gave us a ticket to use the ‘toilet’ for free. Otherwise it was 10 baht (approximately $0.45 Cdn). No toilet paper here even though you pay! Thank goodness I travel with my own.

We decided to get the 3:00 pm bus back to Phuket as it was just too hot to do anything else.

Last bus was at 4:00 pm. We departed around 2:50 pm. Guess this guy had his own schedule. Talk about a slow milk run. He was honking his horn every few minutes and stopping to pick people up. He stopped for a coffee, then more people, then gas. The bus was jammed packed full as he continued along at a snails pace. Sometimes not even on the road. The white line is the edge of the road technically.

Meanwhile I’m sitting at the back of the open bus with the 1000 degree heat of the sun beating down on me. Doug turns to me and says ‘now I know what a slow roasting chicken feels like’. Took us 1 hour 20 minutes to get back to the beach buses stop in Phuket town. Found the pink bus stop, not like yesterday and headed back to our hotel for the night. But not before grabbing our ham and cheese crescents for tomorrow’s breakfast.

Today we had plans to go to Patong Beach. It wasn’t really that far away, about 12 kms, but it always seem to take a long time to get anywhere over here. We were going to figure out these buses.

Last night we picked up some Greek yogurt at 7 Eleven and some fresh fruit, (pineapple, watermelon and cantaloupe) from a street vendor. I was still hungry after my fruit and yogurt so when we went downstairs to leave, Doug grabbed a coffee and I decided to try a slice of bread toasted. I must have been really hungry as it was delicious. So delicious that I had a second slice. We also booked our ferry for the 25th to take us to Koh Phi Phi.

Back on the street in search of that pink bus. Yup the same bus we never found yesterday. We paid more attention as we headed into the old town in search of the bus stop and finally found one a good km from the hotel. Thought we would wait a bit and see if the bus showed up. To our surprise it arrived in a couple of minutes. We climbed aboard, paid our 15 baht each and were on our way to the beaches bus transfer point. We did know where this was as we had found it yesterday.

It’s a local bus so takes you all through the back streets. We arrived at the beaches bus stop in about 10 minutes, hopped off the pink bus and went in search of the blue bus to take us to Patong Beach. A couple of men gave us directions to the bus and it was easy to find. We climbed aboard the blue bus. Had to pay again as there are no such things as transfers here. You pay every time you get on a new bus. Well actually some you pay when you get off. Think it depends on the distance you go, but not sure. The road to Patong is very hilly and curvy. The bus really struggled on some of the hills to get up, but we made it. This is not our bus. A very scenic drive though.

We arrived in the Patong Beach area. It really reminded me of Old Orchard Beach in Maine intensified a million times. As Lonely Planet says, Patong is the ultimate gong show. We were dropped off at the quiet end of the beach so walked along the beach for a bit. As you walked further the beach got insane with people.

There were people offering massages every few feet. I just can’t imagine getting a massage out in this heat. The thought of it grosses me out, but there was a booming business going on

We crossed over from the beach side to the shops side and walked some more. I spied a Burger King and by now it was going up for 1:00 and I was getting hungry again. Maybe I really just wanted some nice cold air conditioning. We decided to gab some lunch. I am still shocked at how expensive fast food is over here. I had the chicken strips and Doug got a cheeseburger. They asked if he wanted the small or large burger. Since we had no idea of the sizes he went with large. It was massive and came with a massive price. The photo doesn’t show the size of it. You will just have to take my word for it.

After lunch we continued to walk around and take in the sights. Not sure if I have mentioned it before or not but fast food restaurants do not have washrooms. There was one on the beach but I can’t even being to imagine what the inside would be like and I was not about to find out.

Found a cool bar, Tiger Night Club and decided to grab a Chang, but not before asking if they had a washroom. They did but you had to pay 10 baht ($0.45 Cdn) to use it.

There was no toilet paper in the stalls. You had to remember to get it before going in.

As we sat here enjoying our not so cold Chang we admired their hydro lines. Many are really low.

After our Chang’s we continued our walk around what we think was the main streets taking in the sites.

We have a restaurant back home that also hangs the Husband Day Care sign. I’ve also seen it in other cities. Seems to be quite popular.

We have seen many many many massage places while in Thailand but this was the first we had seen with this notice

There seems to be Thai Boxing everywhere you go here. Looks like Canada is even involved.

By now it was going up for 3:00 pm and we were tired and hot so decided to head to catch the blue bus back to Phuket. We made it back to the Beach busses transfer point but had no idea where to catch the pink bus back to our hotel. We walked along the street heading back and couldn’t find any bus stop. By now we were near the coffee shop from yesterday so decided to stop in and grab. Smoothie each.

No pink bus stops to be found we ended up walking back to our hotel. I can’t believe I made it back! Down our dismal non air conditioned hallway. Good thing our room is bright and has A/C

Since we had had a big lunch and later a smoothie neither of us were that hungry. Found these at the 7 Eleven and decided to try them. They were surprisingly good. There may be more of these in our future.

Well I survived the night and actually slept. Guess knowing that the spider had moved on helped. After breakfast we went for a short walk in the opposite direction to see what was up that way. Came across another bamboo bridge.

Guess this was the one that maps.me had tried to direct us to on our arrival day in Pai. It would be much easier to cross with luggage as there were no steps to go up. There was a sign stating that a maximum of 5 people on the bridge at one time. Can’t believe I didn’t get a picture of that sign! Checked it out to see where it came out and it was really close to where we had to catch the van back to Chiang Mai. Took a few pictures.

This a field full of garlic growing And papaya trees

After heading back to our hut we collected our backpacks and took the newly discovered bamboo bridge to the van pickup location.

It was another scenic drive back to Chiang Mai which took about 3 hours. We were dropped of in the Center town area of Chiang Mai. Good thing we had been there before and knew how to get to our hotel. We booked the same place we were in before going to Pai. It wasn’t quite a km to our hotel but it was mid afternoon and the sun was beating down on us. So thankful for our new backpacks that have wheels. This has made it so much easier for us. I would not have been able to do this trip with my old backpack. Just too much walking with them. Got all checked in.

Then headed out to get something to eat. Came across this Canadian owned restaurant so thought we would give it a try. Doug had a burger and I ordered spaghetti bolognese. Both were pretty good.

Later in the evening we headed back to the night market and found a whole new area of vendors. I bought a pair of Asian type pants (no photos of them).

These are bars of soap that have been hand carved. Watched a lady making them one day. They are real artists.

The next morning we headed to the Chiang Mai airport for the first leg of our flight. Chiang Mai to Suvarnabhumui airport, Bangkok then Bangkok to Phuket. Bangkok has two airports, both are huge, but this one was massive. In Chiang Mai you go through a luggage security check as you enter the airport building. Saw this as we walked into the Chiang Mai airport.

We were flying Bangkok Air and the flight was approx 1 hour. They served a full meal on the plane. We didn’t have it as it was some kind of stinky fish. On the second leg, Bangkok to Phuket which was a little over an hour flight they also served a meal.

Landed and got our luggage. Headed out to get a taxi to our hotel. What a nightmare out there. People and taxis and taxi booths everywhere. Taxis here seemed expensive as they were quoting us 650 baht. (Approximately $27 Cdn). Turned out Phuket town is far from the airport. Took a good hour to get to our hotel. Seems like it is always rush hour everywhere. Got checked in. Our room was on the third floor and once again no elevators and no air conditioning in the hallways. The girl helping with our luggage was just a tiny thing, but she and I carried my big bag up together. The room was large and air conditioned.

After a bit of a rest we decided to head out to get dinner. The hotel I booked turned out to be in a more residential area of Phuket and not in the old town. There were many restaurants in our area but definitely all Thai and local foods. Not much English spoken here. We picked one and ate. Doug had cashew chicken and I had fried rice with chicken. They had no Chang beer here so we tried the other local beer, Singha. I didn’t like it.

Called it a night

Woke up to a typical Pai morning – sun shining, heavy dew on the courtyard grass and shrubs, a rooster crowing too loudly (hate that bird!) and some annoying ticking which we could not identify. Almost Paradise.

We ate the breakfast offered daily by the resort (fruit, toast, juice and coffee/tea)

Since Paden and Christine spent some time here, we decided to walk to their Hostel, Spicey Pai, a little over 1.6 km (1 mi) away.It was only 1000 hrs and already wickedly hot! During our hike we saw a large bloom of honeysuckle, a really big Fred Flintstone, a weird looking metal monster and some over- sized cacti. Why not? – it’s Thailand!

On return, a short distance from their hostel, we had to stop for a drink (we had bottled water with us, but it just wasn’t cutting it). We found an interesting retro bar where I had a large Chang beer and Joanne, a Margarita. There is a heaven!

After we quenched our thirst, we walked to a Restaurant, Mama Falafel for hummus and pita – it was closed. However, we were able to find another Lebanese eatery where we each had a great chicken Shawarma.

Back to our bamboo hut to relax, drink a beer, work on our blog, drink a beer, read, drink a beer. We took turns sitting on the steps of the deck and lounging in our hammock. I think I got short-changed!

As evening approached we walked into town in search of street food. We had spicy chicken/vegetable/pineapple kabobs (deeeelicious) which we ate sitting on some old steps along the street. After people watching for awhile, we went and got ice cream cones where the girl made the cones on site – really good!

Well, the sun has been down for a while and I guess it is now officially nighttime and we are back at our bamboo hut. To quote, ‘Throw Mama From the Train”, the night was sultry.

Before I get into what happened after our arrival, I would like to set the scene:

The huts were built on bamboo stilts. The walls are roughly made with thin bamboo slats that do not provide a tight seal resulting in a poor sound and light barrier. The sides of the gabled roofing in the bathroom are constructed of wooden lattice with approximately 1 1/2 inch grid openings through which many creepy crawlers and small winged creatures could intrude.

So, I go up the steps first to unlock and open the door. I flipped the light switch and headed to the bathroom door to open it. Just as I grasped the knob, Joanne let out a horrific high-pitched scream (scared the hell out of me) and started yelling, “THERE’S A SPIDER IN HERE! IT’S ABOUT THE SIZE OF MY HAND!! After almost ripping the door off its hinges (she had closed it and engaged the deadbolt), she tore off down the stairs running across the courtyard towards the office hysterically screaming like a deranged banshee, I’M NOT SLEEPING IN THERE, IT’S A SPIDER AS BIG AS MY HAND!!! “WHERE’S THE OFFICE GIRL!!!! (There was always someone in the office but, not tonight).

I immediately started scanning the room beginning with the wall nearest the door we entered through and across the floor to where I was standing – nothing. I then turned to the bathroom door that I had partially opened, JESUS!!! THERE IT WAS ON THE DOOR AT EYE LEVEL AND IT WAS BIG (as big as Joanne’s hand? Questionable).

We did some research and think this was the intruder.

I immediately pushed the door away about a foot as that was all I could manage while jumping back. I grabbed a large zip lock bag hanging on the wall to my immediate left (I think I was shaking). My plan was to try and somehow get him into it. As I turned back, he went up and over the top of the door (I recall Joanne screaming in the background, “DON’T TAKE YOUR EYES OFF HIM!!”). Too late. I gently eased the door further open and slowly moved into the bathroom (I think I was now sweating too). I peeked behind the door – HE WASN’T THERE! (A thought crossed my mind – “who is stalking who?”). I quickly checked the bathroom – nothing.

Just then I heard a commotion at the main door – it was Joanne followed closely by the wide-eyed office girl who was brandishing a straw broom in one hand and a large spray can in the other (Joanne was still screaming, “I’M NOT SLEEPING IN THERE TONIGHT!!”). She hadn’t calmed down any. The office girl asked me, in her broken English, where the spider is and I replied, “good question” (as if she understood). I inquired about the spray can and she told me that it is used for spiders. Ah, standard operating procedure in these parts! She tentatively entered the bathroom, can and broom at the ready, eyes darting all about, and then started sweeping and spraying the cracks and crevices (a determined exterminator!). She then assured me that this usually works and that the spider will not return especially now that humans are here. “Sure”, now try and convince Joanne.

The office girl then left, but not before Joanne demanded that she leave the broom and spray can (since the resort was full, Joanne had to sleep in the hut or out on the deck in the hammock (that alternative option was definitely out of the question).

Bedtime. Mosquito netting over the bed firmly tucked under the mattress edges, flashlight close, bathroom light on, and Joanne fully dressed and sitting up with her iPad relaying the horrible event to Paden (his reply, “the lizards will get him”). Great, another creature to worry about! However, I was able to convince Joanne that spiders do not like being around humans – I didn’t quite convince myself, but we finally settled in.

“HOLY F**K! DID YOU SEE THE SIZE OF THAT SPIDER!!!”

Our heads shot up – that was our neighbour. This was about a half hour after we both had laid down to sleep and listening to them talking on their deck. I whispered to Joanne (didn’t’ want them to here me – remember my description of these thin walls?), “I think that’s our spider!”. Joanne was a little skeptical. She was soon convinced when she heard him in a panic say, “F**K, DON’T LET HIM GET INTO THE CABIN – GET SOME WATER TO THROW AT IT! HE WAS BIG!”. We started laughing, partly from the panic in his voice, but mostly from relief knowing that the spider was now his problem. “I DON’T SEE IT” his girlfriend says. “F**K, IT WAS RIGHT THERE”! “WHERE?”. “RIGHT THERE!”. I’M GOING TO CHECK INSIDE TO MAKE SURE IT DIDN’T GO IN”. “DID YOU FIND HIM?”. “NO, BUT COME IN HERE BEFORE HE DOES AND LOCK THE DOOR!”. Sounds of footsteps scurrying across the deck and a door closing and being latched. She asks, “ARE YOU SURE IT’S NOT IN HERE”? “I’M SURE!” “OK, I’M GOING TO HAVE A SHOWER THEN”. (We’re still quietly laughing as we are trying to fall asleep). She finishes her shower and informs him it is his turn. In he goes. About 2 minutes later he yells, “WHICH ONE IS THE SHAMPOO?”. “THE ONE THAT SAYS SHAMPOO”, she yells back! “I CAN’T READ THEM!”. “THE YELLOW ONE”. “OK!”

Finally, he has finished his shower and moves into the bedroom while his girlfriend goes into her bathroom and starts brushing her teeth. “THERE’S A GREAT BIG COCKROACH IN THE BED!” “WHAT?”. “A COCKROACH!”. “WELL, JUST CHASE IT OUT, DON’T HURT IT!”. I HATE COCKROACHES, I HAD A BAD EXPERIENCE WITH THEM IN AUSTRALIA!”. The girlfriend just continues brushing her teeth in silence.

(We are killing ourselves laughing – what an idiot!!)

“I ACCIDENTLY KILLED HIM, I’M SORRY! NOW THERE’S ANOTHER BUG IN THE BED, A STRIPED ONE I’VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE”!

To this point, about 30 minutes after this fiasco started, a frustrated and very irate female voice from somewhere in the resort, and probably through her hut wall, bellowed, “GET IT TOGETHER BUDDY, SOME OF US ARE TRYING TO SLEEP!!!”

silence

Happy Birthday Paden!!

Breakfast was included with our reservation so we headed over to the office area where breakfast was. It pretty much consisted of bread and fruit. Not a lot of choice but still good. I don’t know if I was exceptionally hungry or what but I really enjoyed the toast. Coffee which was instant was drinkable for me, which was a bonus. Most of the coffee over here is like ink. It was great to sit in this outdoor covered area and enjoy our breakfast while listening to the birds.

We had booked an all day tour for today. Our tour guy came to the office area to pick us up. He actually parked on the other side of the bamboo bridge instead of driving around, but that was no issue and saved time. There was also a woman from Germany, who was traveling alone, from our ‘huts’ going too. Transportation today was another open back truck but this one had a 3 person cab, which is where the driver put us older folks. We got the air conditioning. Paden had told us it would get cooler the further north we went. He lied to us. It was still stinking hot here. The German woman didn’t want me to open the window as she had a tickle in her throat and didn’t want to get a cold. So I got to roast in the sun and wasn’t able to get any good pictures as we drove. Both the driver and the front passenger had their windows open so the air conditioning wasn’t doing a whole lot.

We were the last pickup as it turned out and off we went to start the tour. First stop was the White Buddha on the hill, Wat Phra That Mae Yen. There were something like 250 steps to get to it. I got wrapped up in my sarong skirt and my shawl and started my hike up all those steps. It took some time but I made it. Good thing this was the first stop as I can’t image doing it in the heat of the day.

We got to the top to find the white Buddha wrapped in scaffolding. The temple below had also had a fire and looked pretty badly burned. I’m thinking they are doing maintenance as the North is going into their ‘burning season’. This is where they burn their garbage and all the old crops to clear the fields in preparation for the rainy season. After the rainy season everything grows back and is all lush, green and a jungle again. The burning season had just begun and you could see smoke and haze in the air every day. I guess it gets really bad and some businesses close down for a few months.

You can see the haze from the smoke in the air.

Next up was Kui Lom Viewpoint where we had a 20 minute stop. This was part way up the mountains and had a manual Ferris wheel type attraction. The younger participants had a great time on it. The view from the lookout was spectacular. Again photos don’t do it justice especially with the smoke haze in the air.

Some of the roads we drove on were no wider than the bicycle paths that we have at home. I managed to get a couple of scenery shots in.

From the viewpoint we headed to Lod Cave. People rave about these caves. It had been advertised as a bamboo raft through the caves so I was not expecting to have to walk through them and didn’t really have the proper footwear on for it. I did the basic walk but we did not go up into the 3 separate caves as there were many steep steps to get to them. I’ve been in caves before and didn’t need to see other hard to access ones. Reading about the caves afterwards, I guess we missed some spectacular sights. Oh well!

We did do the bamboo raft portion but even that paled in comparison to the boat tour through the caves that we did in 2016 in Vietnam. It was pretty dark in there and I wasn’t feeling to secure on our narrow raft.

When we got to the end we got off the bamboo raft as that was where Cave #3 was. Not happening. These are part of the stairs to Cave #3

Plus it really stunk in here. There were so many bat droppings everywhere, plus dead swift birds. All the white spots are bat droppings. The place was covered with them.

Had our guide gone slower instead of racing through we would have been able to enjoy it more. Unfortunately the parts we did were basically a blur as she didn’t stop to allow us to look around and take pictures. I did stop now and then though.

I guess the faster they get you through, the more people they get to guide and the more money they themselves get. After the caves the group regrouped and we all had lunch together. Lunch was good but, how can you mess up chicken fried rice? That was what I ordered. Like to be safe with my meals.

After lunch we headed to Mor Pang waterfalls. There was a sign saying to be aware of the deep water.

This was actually quite funny to us as the waterfalls had no water running. We hiked up the trail to the waterfall and this was what we found.

There was a small pool at the bottom of them. Guess it has been dry here for a while.

Anyone need to use the washroom? A squat toilet at its finest!

Next up was the Hot Springs swimming pool and spa. When I hear hot springs I always think of natural pools but they never seem to be this. This one did look a little more natural than some I have seen.

The hot spring pool was way too hot for us, especially since it was already 1000 degrees outside so we headed over to the swimming pool.

We chatted with an expatriate from California who now lived not far from the hot springs. It was an interesting chat. The grounds for this place were lovely.

Our last stop was Pai canyon for the sunset. The sunset was spectacular. I wish I had of wandered around more while up there but Doug was a little nervous for me. The edges dropped off into the canyon.

Once back in town we headed out for Mexican. We both ordered chicken quesadillas and they weren’t half bad.

We called it a night.