something i forgot

So it turns out that people are actually reading this blog. I mean who would have thought. But this particular feedback came from my husband. It doesn't make it any less important, if anything he probably will wish that he never said something. But he did. So now I have to add this anecdote at his expense. Not that I want to embarrass him in front of the 5 readers of this blog, but because this had me laughing so hard that I need to keep this story alive.

This one goes back to our flight from Ohare to Seoul. In his defense we had been flying for about 12 hours at the time. Those that are familiar with these long haul flights know that every few hours they turn all the lights on and feed you. It serves a few purposes, nutrition yes, but also eating is a way to start to regulate your wake patterns and therefore help with jet lag. So lights go on, we wake from a half slumber and are handed our choice of beef or squid. Or something like that. We both got the beef, I almost ended up with squid because again everything is harder to understand when you are half awake at cruising altitude. Before we ate we are also handed a little package, that in Brett's defense was labeled a "refreshing toilette" on one side. Unfortunately he did not see that the other side said "antibacterial wipe" Very contradicting if you ask me, but before there was time to examine, Brett opened the package and started wiping his face. I'm laughing again as I type. Not as much as I did when I saw the complete discomfort on his face as the disinfectant sunk into his pores. I am not a monster. This was just a priceless look at such an exhausting moment. A mistake Brett will (hopefully) most likely, never do again. In my defense for finding this hysterical, Brett also laughed or at least I saw tears. At each hotel check in we were handed warm towels to freshen with. Definitely made me chuckle each time.

Koh Phi phi

Throughout this day, I know I said it more than one time either to myself or out loud. "I hope I never forget this day." I am not even sure where to begin with words because it was picture perfect from the beginning. We needed to leave the hotel by 7am so again we were up early. No alarm clock needed. The internal clock is a hard one to trick. Late nights and early mornings. Story of Thailand.

We met Angela and Matthew for another lovely and overfilling breakfast before catching our transfer to Rassada Pier, which was about 45 mins away. With Matthew sitting shotgun, the ride flew by as we learned all the things about our driver. He was actually an accountant. We are thinking after he dropped us off he went to his real job. Not super sure because later on he will tell us that he was late to pick us up at the end of the day because he was home sleeping.

After boarding the speed ferry boat, crammed in tight, we were instructed to wear life vests. This made sense once we departed and literally flew over the open ocean waves as we trekked toward Phi Phi Don. This is the largest island in the group of islands. The word large is used lightly. If standing in the right spot in the main square you could see both coasts of the island by turning front to back. The island does have inhibitors, about 2000 people live there. This is impressive when seeing the size of it, not to mentioned nearly the entire island's infrastructure was destroyed 20 years ago in a Tsunami. So sad and yet so impressive what they could rebuild with so little.

Before boarding our private luxury longboat, we hit up a 7 Eleven for some snacks and drinks. Our boat came stocked but you just never know what kind of treasures you will find at a convenience store. Sour cream and onion and Squid flavor Lays made the cut. This is not a joke. We also ever opened the Squid chips. Just couldn't do it, I love chips too much.

clear sky, clearer water

Everything you may have ever seen or heard about this group of islands is exactly true. Google image search will show you the most beautiful water, beaches, coastlines and jungles. While planning our trip my Instagram algorithm was all over this showing me the most beautiful Reels, leading me to believe that it couldn't possibly be that perfect. Turns out social media is sometimes right.

Our tour left prior to a lot of others, which was such a blessing. The Phi Phi islands have 100s of visitors each day, so being one step ahead made everything seem so much more pure and exclusive. Our first stop was Phileh Bay Lagoon. Absolutely breathtaking. The water was so intensely green. Not Fox River green but a tropical shade unlike any other. We anchored and took a photo or two while our waitress was setting up champagne and some light snacks. It was Angela's birthday, so champagne was the perfect toast to start the day. We all swam and enjoyed the peaceful lagoon. Each stop of the day was so unique and different. It was hard to leave this location not knowing what the next would be, but we knew it couldn't disappoint.

The Beach + monkeys

Have you ever see the 2000 movie starring Leo DiCaprio, The Beach? I remember seeing this when it actually came out and being blow away that a place like that existed. Flash 24 years later and I am standing there on those very same beaches. I will add that later on that week Brett and I rented the movie on Prime and got a good laugh out of the cinematic quality that once was so impressive. In real life, current day, much more impressive. Like beyond any beach, any where. No exaggeration. I am afraid to travel any where else for fear of being let down. The bar has been set. At the time we were a bit disappointed to find out that we would not be able to swim at Maya Bay, but this is now done to protect the ecosystems that are being compromised by, of all things, sunscreen. And without a cloud in the sky, I can say there was no shortage of sunscreen on our boat. Angie and Brett have both known me long enough to know, and to point out, they had never seen me wear that much sunscreen. I'm usually a no burn type person. But even after a few days of building up a golden base, even the SPF 50 couldn't keep up. We had heard before we left that sunscreen was either hard to find and/or expensive, and if shopping at the wrong place, this was definitely true. At some shops they even had it locked up in cases.

From Maya Beach we went to Monkey Island and came face to face with a family or rather street gang of wild monkeys. While they were super fascinating to watch, when they give you the warning to not feed them or leave things unattended, it definitely made you turn your head on a swivel when they approached. We saw one run right up to someone and steal a Coke from the table next to them...and then proceed to drink from the can as if it was no big deal. We even saw a sneaky one rummaging through a kayak looking for treasures.

The day was perfect. Two more stops for snorkeling. And somewhere along the lines we had lunch aboard our longtail. The snorkeling was so great. So many things to see. With the help of bananas, the fish would flock to us for some extreme close encounters. Before closing out the day, the captain took us to one final beach that we had entirely to ourselves. It was just the way to end the day. Surrounded by nothing but the peaceful waves and a jelly fish or two.

Tree Bay


When we left Phi Phi we somehow got on the wrong boat, or at least the wrong departure time and made it back to the port about 30 mins earlier than expected. However we were not aware of this, remember English is not wide spoken. While sitting at the port pick up area looking at photos the day we started to realize we'd been there awhile and decided to call our driver. Well as you can imagine, when it's super hard to communicate in person with someone speaking primarily Thai, a phone call was less than successful. We thought it was communicated that another driver was coming. So when someone came up to us and tried communicating what we can presume is a ride, we unknowingly started following him. Long story shortened, he was not our driver. Our driver spotted us walking down the sidewalk with the other guy and pulled up. We joked that we nearly got taken. Worst case scenario we probably would have just ended up at the wrong resort. Probably.


After a quick stop back at our hotel to freshen up and we headed back out in a decked out party van. Not on purpose, it just the car that arrived when we ordered our Bolt. A fun surprise. Although we were only going up the hillside, or mountain or cliff. Not really sure what to call the elevated areas throughout the island. Regardless, the views at Tree Bay were amazing. You could nearly see the entire coastline of Phuket. Click the link, you'll see just what I'm talking about. I had found this place on Instagram prior to the trip and it worked out perfectly that it was perched just above Kata Beach. Getting there was up a winding, narrow road through the jungle. Our driver stopped at the end of a dark road leading into the forrest and instructed us that we had to walk from there as there was no place for him to turn around at the end of the path. Had I not been following them on social, this probably would have been a sign to get back in the van. But that's the thing in Phuket, some of the most unique dining experience require a little bit of leg work. Literally. After a short, dark walk, thankful for a roadie ahead of time, we heard the bump of music and flashing lighting up the dark night. We loved this place. The food was great, drinks unique and strong, and the atmosphere was upbeat and trendy. But not so trendy that we felt out of place. Don't get me wrong, there was a time that the louder the music, the flashier the atmosphere, I would have been eager to spend the evening like that, but things have a way of changing if know what I mean. While Thailand can be very "off the beaten path" we found there were an equal amount of places that could compete with the likes of any cosmopolitan night scene. However the big difference is the welcoming vibe. Everyone can fit in. Most people come to Thailand expecting a laid back vibe and that's just what you get.