Friday, February 20, 2009

Phuket!

We are in Phnom Penh, Cambodia right now... but I'm trying to catch up on images from our time in Thailand! When we landed in Bangkok we weren't exactly sure what our plan was going to be. The tentative plan was to spend some time in Vietnam but the visa takes too long to get (3-5 days), so it would have wasted a lot of time.
We ended up opting to head down the the South of Thailand because during our last trip, we absolutely loved it... and we never got to visit Phuket. We found flights from Bangkok to Phuket round trip for about $115 each, we booked the tickets and flew down for 7 days.
We spent 5 days exploring the island of Phuket on a moto-scooter, and and 2 days north of Phuket exploring Khao Sak National Park, which is basically a giant rain forest with lots of cool animal life. Khao Sak photos are coming later... but here are a handful of images from beautiful Phuket!
Phuket is extremely touristy but we managed to find some cool beaches and bungalows tucked away from that craziness. Bethany spent a lot of time laying out on the beach frying in the sun, while I cruised around on the scooter finding fun things to photograph.

Here are the images!
Our awesome little bungalow at Ya Nui beach-

Longtail boats & full moon-

When you go to the beach at night and turn on a flashlight, you realize these hermit crabs are EVERYWHERE! They are so cute.

Misc nice beach photos that are going to make everyone in the US jealous in the middle of winter!




This guy sells grilled corn to tourists on the beach-

Sirinat National Park has some amazing tidepools with amazing creatures hidden in the rocks!




I tagged along with a local Thai family who were happy to show me how they hunt clams and fish for their dinner-






I love these cute crabs so much!



Beach landscapes at sunset-




This is a Tokay Gecko that I caught in our bungalow, they are such gorgeous little creatures! Feisty though too!

More beach landscapes-










This was my moto taxi driver who was a little camera shy :)

This is the home of a little crab who digs sand out of his hole, then rolls it up in little balls, and throws it outside. I have a video too, it's quite amazing to watch the little guys work!

You always see some interesting sights when at tropical beaches-



When I lay out in the sun with Bethany, I get bored really quick... so that boredom resulted in these images-


This was a really cool island that I trekked out to one morning at sunrise. I was neck deep in water, holding the camera bag above my head. :) There wasn't any sand at all... it was entirely dead pieces of reef and shells!


The airport strip is right on the beach, so you can stand there and watch the planes fly right over you. So cool!



Another sunset in paradise, with my best friend. :)




Let me know what you think about the images and if you have any favorites... I always appreciate comments! :)
Next up is photos from Khao Sak National Park, and then onto Phnom Penh, Cambodia where we are right now... so check back soon for more. :)