On October 4 we headed out for our Fall break to Krabi, Thailand. Krabi is located in Southern Thailand on the Andaman Sea, part of the Indian Ocean and covers about 500 Square Miles. Back in Dec 2004 this region was hit with the Tsunami - a 9.5 magnitude earthquake that originated in the Indian Ocean. Today there are signs warning people of a Tsunami and what to do if one should hit the islands. Many places that were devastated by it have since been rebuilt. The Phi Phi islands were completely wiped out from the Tsunami and have since revitalized and continue to have some of the most beautiful beaches/waters in all of Thailand. One of tour guides lived on Phi Phi and was out on his boat the day of the Tsunami. He said that he knew something was different but having never experienced a Tsunami before had no idea what was actually occurring. His family home on Phi Phi was completely destroyed.
The Thai people are very gentle and kind people who are proud of their country and customs. The main industry is rice production and Thailand ranks among the world leaders in rice exports since the 1960's. The country has a population of around 65 million. 95% of the population are Buddhist, with about 4%Islamic, and 1/2% following Christianity. We arrived during the annual Vegetarian Festival, a Buddhist celebration where they abstain from meats and have a procession that involves ritualistic self-mutilation. We saw individuals with piercing through their cheeks, quite a sight. Apparently due to mediation practices that feel no pain during this ritual.
We stayed at a hotel called Centara, which has a number of resorts throughout Asia. The resort was nestled into an area that was surrounded by large rock formations. It was quite breathtaking. It is the second picture on this page with the first being the view from our room. We reached the resort by speedboat as it was on an island separate from the main town nearby. It was set in a National Forest so the surroundings were very lush and monkeys lived in the forests. We only saw one monkey sitting on a rooftop. It was a beach front property and we ate dinner 4-5 times beach/pool side and watched the sunset while the girls jumped the waves. We were really fortunate to have great weather as it was monsoon season. It rained twice, once at night and once around 6pm on into the night. We were so lucky as our days were filled with sunshine, warm water and great beach weather!!
We took over 300 pictures on our visit to Krabi as each day we went out on a different excursion. I have decided to have each day be a separate blog, to keep them straight (and the pictures) and be able to document them accurately. Enjoy beautiful Thailand - it is really a scenic paradise!! Allison and Kristin were ready to go back before we even left!!
