As I sat on our lanai overlooking the calm of the pool, I tried to take in every sound, sight and smell.  Taking a mental picture of every bit of detail that I desperately wanted to remember.  It was our last morning in Thailand.  To say this trip was amazing was an understatement.  As much as we loved our time in Chiang Mai, we equally loved every second in Khao Lak.  Khao Lak is a small and pristine beach town about an hour north of Phuket.  We knew we had to make it to a few Thai beaches and Khao Lak seemed like the perfect place for the second leg of our Thailand trip.  From the moment we arrived at our resort, we immediately wished we could have stayed for weeks…even months.  Having lived in Hawaii for a few years, we have been spoiled with some pretty spectacular beaches.  But the Thailand beaches didn’t disappoint.  They were breathtaking, gorgeous and serene.  Most of our time was spent in, around or watching the water.  Even the pool was perfection.  And having our own private entrance on our lanai pretty much guaranteed we would always be swimming.

Along the coast there were lots of small, local restaurants.  We loved eating underneath a little beach hut with the sand between our toes.

We got to see a few floating lanterns.  They were so mesmerizing and pretty.  I can only imagine how breathtaking it must be when
hundreds are released during Thai festivals.

We ate so well in Thailand.  So many different flavors and spices.  We loved it all.

Our last full day in Khao Lak was spent exploring Phang Nga Bay.  Words can’t even describe the beauty of this place.

We got a chance to board a small kayak and explore the caves of some of these islands.  It was so fun but definitely not for the
claustrophobic.  We had to completely lay down as we entered and exited the caves as the entrance usually only cleared our noses
by a few inches.

A quick stop at James Bond Island.

We had lunch at Koh Panyee, a small fishing village built on stilts over the water.  Parts of the village are floating, including a
stadium.

The clouds rolled in as we said goodbye.

Khao Lak was awesome and we will definitely be headed back to Southern Thailand in the near future.  There is just so much to see and
explore.  And although we missed our pup, Chloe, like crazy, we had one more stop before heading home.  Next up…Hong Kong.
Happy Thursday!

There’s nothing like traveling to somewhere you’ve never been before.  For a girl who likes structure, schedules and familiarity, traveling is the opposite of what’s comfortable for me.  And that’s exactly why I love it so ridiculously much.  It’s a break from the confines of day to day life to just be.  Go where you want to go and do what you want to do.  Traveling is more than just relaxing.  It is good for the soul.  In the past 10 years, I’ve gone from a kid who had never been out of the United States to a world traveler that lives for adventure.  Seeing so many different cultures, countries and beautiful places has impacted my life to the very core.

It’s almost become a bit of an obsession.  Any chance we get, Matt and I always want to go somewhere new.  Our list of places that we want to go to seems to get longer every week.  And for years and years, Thailand has been at the top of that list.  So early last year, we began planning.  And after months of patiently waiting, December had arrived and we embarked on a trip that we will never forget.

After 30+ hours of traveling, we finally reached our first destination.  Chiang Mai, Thailand.  It was our first taste of Thailand and it was magic.  We spent our time in Chiang Mai exploring the city and getting immersed in the culture.  And spending one unbelievable day with some very special elephants.

We were beyond excited that first morning we woke up in Chiang Mai.  All we kept thinking was omigoodness.i.can’t.believe.we.are.here.

The Night Market in Chiang Mai is huge and overtakes many of the streets.

Oh, fish spas.  Kind of grossed me out but are quite common in Thailand.  You put your feet into the fish tank and they eat off the dead skin.

Our last full day in Chiang Mai was spent with some amazing elephants.  Matt and I are huge animal lovers and the one thing we wanted to
do in Thailand was to spend some time with these very special creatures.  Much research and time went into finding the right place since there
so many different ones and types in Thailand.  When we heard about Patara Elephant Farm, we knew it was the perfect fit for us.  They really
have a heart for the elephants and we loved the idea that we would get to be elephant ‘owners’ for a day.  We learned how to care for them,
feed them and ride them.  And the landscape there was so beautiful.

The first step was to dress like the trainers do.  We put on our new threads for the day.

Next we got to bond and make sure we were a good fit with our elephant.  This was my girl, Boon Yue.  And there is no better way to bond
with these big beauties than with food.

After snack time, we had to get all of the dirt and grass off of the elephant before we could bathe them.

We got to scrub our elephants down in the river.  These guys are huge so it took a lot of time and muscle.  They really seemed to enjoy
the water.

They were happy to return the favor and surprised us with a shower.

There are a few ways to get onto an elephant.  I chose to try the way where you use the elephant’s trunk as a step and she lifts you upwards.

Matt was a little more adventurous with his elephant, Mae Wan Dee.  He chose to do the jump method.

Boon Yue seriously loved to eat.  She snacked her way through the jungle and often went off the path to collect food.

After our trek, we had quite the lunch spread with a gorgeous view of a waterfall.  Lunch was officially over when a few elephants came
and started cleaning up all of the fruit and banana leaves.

We loved this experience so much.  It was hard to say goodbye to our new elephant friends and to the city of Chiang Mai.  It wasn’t long
enough but we were excited for our next stop, Khao Lak.  Will be blogging that portion of our trip next week.  Happy Tuesday!