I Found Heaven

The title of this post is dead on. I have found HEAVEN in a few islands off the coast of Ao Nang. Today we went snorkelling around the most beautiful islands off the coast of Phi Phi Island! I'm not kidding when I say I saw the clearest waters, the whitest and softest sandy beaches, and the most beautiful surroundings...

We arrived in Ao Nang yesterday morning and from the minute we stepped out of the van I realized that this place was pretty westernized and touristy. There was a McDonalds, Starbucks, and Subway on the main strip and tons of little shops, bars, and hostels all along the shore and alleys. First order of business was a massage with an ocean view. We found this really sweet place right on the water and got massages and facials for a total of 7 dollars! Best deal ever. It's funny, they have basically drag queens out here called catooyies (thats how its pronounced but definitely not how its spelled.) I had a girl masseuce but the other two I was with had catooyies (lady boys) and it's so funny, they aren't judged or looked at weird out here. Every sexuality is accepted here and they're treated just like ladies. Pretty interesting seeing them first hand but I think it's cool how eveyone out here just sees them as another sex, not like some freak or something like people back in the states do. After that I was in a daze and wandered around looking for a place to crash. We ended up staying at this pretty decent place steps from the beach. There was six of us so two to a room--me and this english girl Gemma shared a bungalow. At first sight the bungalow was so cute and quaint and just perfect for the setting, however later that night we realized it was a real dive. After shopping around, eating a ton of food (pizza thank god), and exploring the nightlife, me and Gemma went back to our bungalow and passed out. At about 4am I heard this weird scratching noise coming from the ceiling. About 5 minutes later Gemma shot up screaming "What the eff is that noise?!" Just her freaking out about the noise scared me and then I realized there was some sort of creature living in our room. We didn't know what to do since it was so late so we walked down the path to the lobby and found a "security guard" fast asleep on the sofa. We woke him up and using as many hand gestures as I could made him come back to our room to check out the situation. Once we got to the room he started messing witht he foset and checking the AC not really understanding what we were panicked about. Then I pointed to the ceiling and started making scratching noises and he said "OHH! Yes, there's a CAT up there!" and me and Gemma were like "Huh? A Cat?!" and he goes "Oh, noo a Lat, a lat!" Thank god I have been teaching Thais english and know that they cannot pronounce their R's for the life of them so he was trying to say "Rat, rat" So after we realized it was a rat we asked him to get rid of it and all the "security guard" said was "Sorry...tomorrow we fix." So from 4-7am Gemma and I basically slept with one eyed open hearing the most awkward and scary noises from above.

At 8am we met up with our group at Baracuda's Tour shop and headed for our boat. The weather was super scary at first. It was completely gray with rain startling to sprinkle down. I was pretty scared especially because Ao Nang is a big target for tsunamis. We were sitting on the boat waiting forever for Nong and his family to arrive so I started feeling a little sea sick and stepped off the boat for a minute. After I stepped off this guy stepped off too and we got to talking about how we were both from California and how he is on a six month honeymoon tour around the world with his wife (Who was on the boat at this time.) Completely harmless conversation. Little did I know my english friend Gill was back on the boat (not knowing this guy was on his honeymoon) saying to the entire boat "Oooo Hannah's found a good looking guy she's talking to!!" Gill was sitting next to his wife. She definitely heard. Needless to say, the boat trip was a little awkward after that, THANKS GILL!

So we finally took off and headed for the first island, Bamboo Island. It took about 45 minutes to get there and the skies were becoming more and more gray. Once we got to the island however, the skies cleared up and I hopped in the water snorkel in hand! Saw so many cool fish up close and the water was crystal clear! It was an amazing experience. After that island we went snorkeling at a near by cave and then to another beach I can't remember the name. Finally, we made it to Malay Bay--the beach from the movie The Beach! I got off the boat wide eyed and both amazed and confused as how the hell places like this exist on earth. There were definitely a ton of tourists but I didn't even mind. We were only parked there for forty-five minutes but I soaked up every second of those minutes. The sand is seriously like milk--I don't know how to describe it. It is so soft and white and the water is so clear and warm. Today was definitely one of the best days of the trip, let alone one of the best days of my life! Maya Bay ain't got shit on Windansea, or any other beach I've seen so far, sorry but it's true. I definitely think Ao Nang is the place I want to take Andrew and Serena when they come to visit! You guys would love it! So I'm back at Ao Leuk now, a little burnt and a little bummed that my dream vacation has ended and it's back to lesson planning and teaching. Hope you all had a good weekend! I highly recommend you all make it to the islands off Ao Nang some day! You will never regret it! Miss you all. Love!

Picture captions:

Picture 1: snorkel face...my eyes were burning from the salt water

Picture 2: Maya Bay--the openning where we came in from
Picture 3: Me on Maya Bay

Picture 4: Me with this lantern thing we bought at dinner where you light it, make a wish, and it flies up like a baloon sorta thing--really cool when there are a lot in the sky at night

Picture 5: thai massage on ze beach