May 04, 2016 Thailand - Phuket, Surin Islands and Chiang Mai

We landed in Phuket late at night and went straight to a fancy resort hotel at Kamala Beach. It was nice to spend 2 days here to adjust to the new time zone, the incredible heat, and unwind from the stress of packing up Nirvana. The kids loved the water slide.

Next we stayed at the oldest hotel in Phuket Town called the "On On." It had lots of character and was reasonably priced. 

We experienced the Sunday market, where you can buy knock-offs of anything, even an iPhone that runs on Android. The best part of the market was the food. There were vendors selling such an incredible array of food, and Gary attempted to try everything, he was in food heaven. It seems that every time we turn around in Thailand, Gary seems to be chewing on some different street food.

As we hiked up Khao Rang, we stopped at the first of many Buddhist temples we have visited in Thailand. At the summit we were greeted by monkeys and enjoyed the view over the city.

After only 2 days, we had enough of the city, so we rented a car and drove to Khuraburi, the town where we caught a ferry out to the Surin Islands. We spent 2 nights in the tents in the national park. The water is crystal clear and very warm, Axel approved, and the islands are surrounded by coral reefs. The reefs have experienced damage from over fishing and coral bleaching from rising sea temperatures, but are starting to regrow now that the islands are a national park. There was a great number and variety of fish, and many different corals. The land creatures were all new to us, monitor lizard, Hornbill and flying lemur. Gary left part of a watermelon outside and a monkey stole it.

We flew to Chiang Mai in the north of the country, and stayed in the old town which is surrounded by a moat and is 720 years old. The city is filled temples and has wonderful character. Here is Axel's description of the temples " The outsides of the temples are very fancy, with lots of gold, carvings and statues. On the inside there are lots of Buddhas and religious artifacts at the far end. Covering the walls are murals. All of the temples have many buildings, at least one stupa (burial shrine for an important monk or monarch), and many bells and gongs."

Visible air pollution over Chiang Mai

Gary even convinced me to rent scooters and tour around Chiang Mai. The kids agree that although Gary may drive faster, I am scarier to ride with, because I am not very comfortable riding a scooter.

We are enjoying travelling by land, but it is really different. We got very used to having all our possessions around us, being able to make food whenever you want, and having more time for school work and relaxation. I am finding it hard to go into a grocery store and buy just the food we need for the day, the kids keep reminding me I don't need to provision. I have to remind myself that if it doesn't fit in the backpack I can't buy it.

Bon Voyage,

Julie