Most beautiful island ever.

So I told you we were in Phuket, right? Well we were. And the plan was to head up to Phang Nga to do some kayaking before heading on to Bangkok, but we ended up taking a little detour after learning about a wonderful place called Koh Yao Noi from a wonderful cafe owner who sensed our waning fascination with the Scandanavian holiday mecca that is Karon Beach, Phuket. I actually had a lovely time in Phuket: did some pretty great snorkeling, lazed on the beach without getting sunburned, dabbled in medical tourism (the ear doctor when she looked in my left ear: "oh wow"), and met some interesting people who weren't even close to backpackers. However....it was not what Sarah and I had envisioned when we were planning our beach time at the tail end of this trip. The cafe owner guy pointed us to Koh Yao Noi and suggested we make our way to Phang Nga from there, by boat instead of by bus.

Best suggestion ever. Where Phuket was completely overrun with sarong shops, overpriced bad western food, overpriced bad westernized thai food and concrete, Koh Yao Noi was quiet, cheap, almost deserted, friendly, and breathtakingly beautiful. This was the view from our bungalow. No joke.


I really am trying not to like cats. I really am....but bungalow owners had 4 cats that were some of the cutest creatures I have ever seen in my life. Ko Samet may have the happiest dogs on earth, but the happiest cats were definitely here. We were just going to stay for a day, but that turned into three. Whoops. The monkeys.....oh the monkeys. I need sound effects and hand gestures to talk about those, so I'll do it later. Annnnd here we are in Phang Nga Town with only five days until I leave for home and Sarah heads off to Egypt (five!).

Definitely excited to be home for awhile and can't wait to see you all. Love you!