From Grits to Chopsticks

Since it only takes a few hours by air to get from our city to Thailand, many friends travel there for medical care or for a time of R&R.  Susan and I enjoyed the latter last weekend.  When you first arrive in Thailand, you are greeted by the king (at least, by his picture):

The king is highly respected in Thailand, so we were careful to stand up with others in the airport when his picture was broadcast on the TV sets.  Along with local customs, the Thai language can be pretty confusing to an untrained foreigner:

Fortunately, some warning signs are easier to figure out than others:

The summer months are off-season at the beach in Thailand, typically rainy and cool with low prices and small crowds.  Here’s a photo from our hotel porch – as you can see, we were blessed with nice weather and peaceful surroundings:

It was just a short walk from our hotel to the beach in Ao Nang:

From there, you can ride a long-tail boat to a number of destinations for just a few dollars:

We rode over to Tonsai beach and hiked up the mountain, passing some “resorts” that were a bit more rustic than the place where we were staying:

While climbing up another mountain, we encountered this monkey who didn’t want to share the handrail on a steep set of stairs:

After hiking through the jungle behind Tonsai beach, we stopped for lunch at Railay East.  It was high tide, and based on the proximity of these shops to the water, it’s easy to understand why the tsunami in 2004 was so devastating:

Since our home in China is pretty far away from decent seafood, we took this opportunity to get some fresh fish, like this fried snapper:

We also took a guided kayak tour through a mangrove forest at Thalane National Park.  Shortly after this photo was taken, my sunglasses fell into the water while ducking under a branch:

The rocky islands, the clear water, the friendly people all combine to make Thailand one of the most beautiful places that we have ever visited.  Meet us there sometime?