Holy Smokes - we are in Hanoi!

Since our arrival this morning in Hanoi we have repeatedly kept say "Wow!". This is everything and, at the same time, nothing like we expected. We knew that it was an old city (1000 years or more) and we also knew that the North was distinctively different from the South due to Vietnam's tumultuous history. What we were not prepared for was how sophisticated and aesthetically pleasing this city would be. It has a real old world charm with a very romantic feeling, much like one would think of old Shanghai. The city is crammed with old French colonial buildings, the streets are narrow and filled with tons of interesting activities, and most of the traffic is two-wheeled. The people seem very different from Thai people - but it is hard to pin down what it is. For one thing, they seem more curious about Westerners, and yet at the same time, they are very sophisticated in trying to get one to buy their wares. They are not so much aggressive as they are very crafty in starting up a chat and then it leading to the inevitable sales pitch - seeming unwilling to take "No" for an answer.

People here are very friendly - which I was not expecting since the Northerners have a reputation for being more guarded and closed (as opposed to the Southerners who are said to be more gregarious, fun-loving and open -- at least this is what the travel guide said.) I know those are stereotypes - but they are rooted in the fact that the North was never truly occupied during the recent Vietnam war and the South was more open to the influences of invading forces. This apparently also extends way back to the North being ravaged repeatedly from the Northern borders from their Chinese neighbours. Even before the Vietnam war, the French were here trying to maintain Vietnam as a French colony, but they left in the mid 1950's having lost 35 000 men in their own war with the Vietnamese. Vietnam has been through a lot. All said and done, all those wars and the strife has apparently left some animosity between the people living in the North and those in the South. The North has also had a longer history under Communist rule - going back to the post second world war era - where as the South only entered that era once the Americans left.

Moving away from my simplistic history lesson - this has been a very refreshing and exciting day for us. We really feel like this is a totally different country (and of course it is!) and are looking forward to the three weeks ahead. Hanoi itself clearly deserves some time. We have barely scratched the surface with some walks around the old quarter and there is clearly so much more to take in around this romantic old capital.

Something else that really struck us all (since we are in that comparison stage with Thailand) is that Vietnam seems highly organized and there is less visible trash everywhere, which is a nice change. The organization is an interesting thing because it is reflected in the housing and the way peoples' living space is organized. We think that it speaks to the fact that the prosperity is a relatively recent thing here in Vietnam and many of the guides speak of 1996 being the change-year when market reforms made big changes to peoples day to day lives. A lot of the less appealing parts of Thailand are a result of the "growth at at any cost or speed" policies that have had them become one of the Asian economic "Tigers." Apparently most of that crazy economic growth has for the most part so far focused on Southern Vietnam around Saigon - or Ho Chi Min city. It still, somehow, feels like a city from some time ago. The fringes of Hanoi city are speckled with rice paddies and small village outcrops as opposed to the big industry and the cement jungles one experiences in Bangkok. We all kept remarking on how pretty it was on our arrival from the airport.

A street scene here in the the Old Quarter - clearly some kind of temple. Notice the lovely big potted plants. They are a regular sight throughout SE Asia.

We have also been repeatedly struck by the degree of attention to detail to the aesthetic layout of shops, restaurants, hotels and some living spaces. We are not sure if this is a lay over from the French era or if it is uniquely Vietnamese. At times, when we walk into some places, we almost think we are in Paris or something - because it is so sophisticated and beautifully laid out with attention to detail. Both Skye and I are feeling under-dressed in our traveling clothes, especially considering how formally most locals seem to be dressed most of the time. In case you read this Emilie - we keep saying how much we think you would like it here. All the beautiful craftsmanship - the beautiful antiques, the silk products, the carvings, etc. It seems that old-style craftsmanship is still very much valued here. It is really fun to wander around in it and explore all the stuff. Kai has been really into it as well - looking at all the carved wood, jade and the trinkets, etc. Not to mention the crazy food items: like the snake and scorpion drinks being sold everywhere as health drinks. I think the Vietnamese have had a heavy influence that has come from 1000 years of Chinese occupation which is reflected in their medicines, their superstitions and the aesthetics. Somehow it really feels at times like old China. Although, I imagine that this strong Chinese flavour is much more a thing of the North given the proximity to China - I don't think the Vietnamese would appreciate these comments though, given the fact that China has been a very aggressive invading force for so long and still considers Vietnam to be nothing more than a "renegade province."

These are the snake and scorpion tinctures being sold all over the place. I suspect it has something to do with virility but maybe it is more about general vitality. Either ways it is fun to look at. I shudder to think about where the snakes are coming from. The wild? Hopefully bred in captivity, but I won't hold my breath.

Beautiful wooden stamps and other larger block prints are sold in little boutiques around the old quarter.

Here is an example of a store selling stunning silk wares from Vietnam. The stuff is not always cheap, but the craftsmanship is amazing. There are tons of hand embroidered pieces that show incredible attention to detail. A nice change from the "made in China" crap that dominates so many of the markets in Thailand. We spent lots of time admiring and oohing and aahing...

Stunning silk lanterns that can be found all around the old quarter - beautifully made and lovely to look at.

Of course the food is going to be another whole new adventure for us here in Vietnam. It is clear that there will be lots of scrumptious things to eat. The Vietnamese have their own culinary style and it will be good to take it in after having experienced Thai food (which was incredible.) This is a dish that is eaten everywhere in Hanoi (and apparently throughout Vietnam). I believe it is called Pho (don't quote me on this) and it comes with a soup vegetable broth, noodles, meat of various kinds and then one is provided with a huge plate of excellent greens, many of which are herbs, that one mixes in with the soup as one eats. One could spend time worrying about how the greens are washed in local water - but we won't go there. The best food seems to come from all the local street stalls and we would hate to miss out.


This is another local eatery we went to just up the alley from where we are staying. It is usually crammed with students (so it seems) and it looks incredibly grimy. The food was very good.

There is a lot beautiful iron work on door ways over here, so I took a picture of one with Pippin and Kai modelling the hardware. Sometimes the doorways are made from carved wood which can also be stunning. Gosh, so much to talk about. We had better sign off soon so we can share more in our next blog.


One final thing I wanted to mention was the differences between the old and the younger generation. For one thing, apparently more than 65% of the population is under the age of 30. For many of those young people the strife of the past has not been a part of their lives like it was for their parents and grandparents. According to our guidebook, this can cause some strife since the prosperity is bringing new values to Vietnam and at times the older generation worries that the younger people are getting too soft. One can see around the city that many older people have visible injuries and we assume that it is from war injuries during the Vietnam war era. What a crazy thing these people must have gone through for all those years. It makes one sad to think that such a vibrant nation had to go through such terrible hardships.

As a parting gift we will leave you with a picture from an antique shop showing the beautiful old wares from times gone by. They are great places for spending time poking around.


Well enough from us for now. You will no doubt hear more from us again very soon.

Ronato, Skye, Kai & Pippin

Turning ELEVEN on Koh Tao

Hi everyone! We are back again in Bangkok ready to leave for Vietnam in two days. We had a rather grueling day of travel yesterday from Koh Tao which included a taxi, a high speed catamaran ferry, a tour-sized bus, another taxi, then a tuk-tuk to a bus and finally a taxi - lasting somewhere around 13 hours in total. For the last six days of our time on Koh Tao we stayed on Sairee Beach and had a lovely more "up-market" (although very reasonable) experience. Kai requested that we find a place with a pool and a movie channel for the days around his birthday and we supported his plan whole heartedly. The pool turned out to be great, as did the beach setting but the movie channel tended to be a shoot-em up variety typical of many Asian movie channels and was mostly unwatchable. The other nice thing about the location is that it was close to a village by that particular beach area so we were able to have many eating choices. This was a good change from the previous location we were at where we felt a little like a captive audience -- there were only two restaurants -- one was mediocre and the other had very tasty offerings, but they were both pricey.
So most of our days were spent doing the usual mix of swimming, going on walks, meeting people and taking in the island flavour. Koh Tao was physically lovely with great tropical vistas and excellent snorkeling. Our previous experience on Koh Lipe was a hard act to follow though - probably because it was harder to get to and a lot less crowded.

The picture above is of Kai with his "special ordered birthday cake" (thanks to hard work from Skye scouting out all the local bakeries). We were spoilt with a visit from our friends we had met on Koh Lipe (Martin and Caroline) who came down to be with Kai on his special day. It was very sweet of them and it allowed for another great visit, making Kai's birthday that much more festive. Unfortunately, Pippin came down with a fever on the morning of Kai's birthday which meant that she was unable to enjoy the day as much as we did. Kai was sad about that.

Here is a picture of the place we stayed and the view of the beach from the pool area. There were all these beautiful water features everywhere. This has been the case throughout Southern Thailand. We have really enjoyed looking at all the little gardens people put together -- we're getting lots of ideas for our own garden!

Here is Pippin having an epic "fever" sleep on the day of Kai's birthday. She finally seems to be on the mend now that we are back here in Bangkok.

As with all places on our travels - we once again met some lovely people while we were on Koh
Tao. This time we met a family from Paris and we landed up having some really fun times together. We ate meals together, went on a few evening strolls looking at the night life of the island, and we went on a day trip to a local island off Koh Tao where we went snorkeling and beaching. Their kids spoke primarily French so it was great to see Kai and Pippin warm up to them and try out their language skills. Both of their kids were lovely. We intend to see them all again when we go through Paris in a few months time which will be wonderful reunion for us all.

Francois, Eve, Amphelise and Celestin (we're missing a few accents and a cedile! (sp?))

Here are some pictures of our snorkeling day on the little island. It was very crowded with other tourists but the popularity of the island did not take away from its astounding beauty. The water was crystal clear and the tropical fish life was abundant.

Even if one chose not to swim it was possible to watch the fish swimming around all over the place.

Here is a lookout over the little island that allows one to see the island and all its incredible coral. It took about 20 minutes up a steep hill to get to this view point.

Well, I think I will make this post a little shorter than usual. I can only go on about the tropical beauty of Southern Thailand for so long and we are about to change gears. On Saturday we fly to Hanoi which apparently makes Bangkok seem like a mellow city (hard to imagine). There are an estimated 4 million motorbikes in Hanoi alone. Crossing the road there is said to be a cultural experience in itself. We have also been told that travellers get hassled more in Vietnam and one can never get the straight goods on the price of things. Sounds like it is going to be a good education for Kai and Pippin.

So on that note - I will leave you with a picture of Kai and I on an ATV (so not me!) which we rented on his birthday to go look around the island. Kai loved it and I was a willing sport.


Until next time . . .

Ronato, Skye, Kai & Pippin

Travel to Koh Tao

It has been some days since we were in Trang -- Trang was a cool bustling town, and we ended up spending our whole time there just wandering around checking out the local sights and markets, and getting a little consumer-oriented for the first time (we found some really cool t-shirts there). We were going to try to check out some of the waterfalls in the surrounding areas, but in the end we did not get a chance to see any due to a transportation issue and to me (Skye) suddenly becoming extra safety conscious despite the fact that most of our travel so far has pushed this little issue -- somehow I just couldn't 'get behind' climbing into the back of a pick-up truck with the kids and then barrelling down the highway to our destination 45 minutes away -- I couldn't rationalize how that was any different from a tuk-tuk (which is also like a very little pick-up truck with benches in the back and a little roof -- and we've gone in tonnes of these), but somehow it just seemed more risky. Oh well, we'll have to see waterfalls elsewhere.

A gigantic Buddha being built on the temple grounds in Trang.

After two days in Trang, we lugged ourselves over to a minibus terminal to travel onwards to Surat Thani -- a town on the Southeastern side of Thailand, and a jumping-off point for all of the islands in the Gulf of Thailand (Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, and Koh Tao). When we got to the terminal, it didn't look too busy, and we thought there would be plenty of room, especially important for Ronato whose long legs present a bit of a problem in vehicles here in Asia. We climbed into the large van which seated 15 and settled in, feeling pretty comfortable, but then at the last minute people just kept climbing in until almost all 15 seats were filled (all except one beside the driver). The driver took off, honking and weaving through traffic, as is the Thai way, only to pull over about 10 minutes later to pick up another rider . . . hmmm where would he sit? Just squeeze in at the back. We thought that must be it, but no, we had at least 2 - 3 more stops with additional passengers climbing in so that by the time we really got on our way, the van was crammed like a sardine can. Now the driver could really put the pedal to the metal and get going! Thai driving is a crazy affair -- half the time they are either overtaking another vehicle, honking to let them know to move over, or are at least driving on the middle line, in case they have to quickly go around a scooter or other vehicle -- all the while honking. Never mind if a car is coming up from the other direction -- they just have to move over! Our driver obviously knew what he was doing though because we got to Surat Thani safe and sound, if a little squished.

Once in Surat Thani, we quickly found a hotel near the river (thinking the boat left from nearby) and dumped our stuff so we could get out and about to figure out how we were going to get to Koh Tao. We quickly realized that most ferries to Koh Tao actually leave from a point 60+ km to the south of Surat Thani -- drat . . . and we'd already picked our hotel! We did notice, however, that we could book a space on a night cargo boat heading to Koh Tao that left just a few blocks from our hotel -- we went to check it out and after climbing on board the boat to see what it might be like, we saw that the whole top was set up for sleeping, so we decided to go for it -- so what if we'd already booked a room (it was only 350 Thai Baht, about $13 Cdn), the room would give us a place to camp out with our stuff until the 11pm departure. Plus, it would be a whole new "method of transportation" adventure.

We had quite a few hours to kill before our departure, so we did a little chilling out in our room and then we went out to check out the night market. Wow! Yet another different market -- it was packed to the gunnels with Thai people (we only saw one other traveller) and a crazy myriad of food choices. Another yummy food adventure -- see below for some of the choices and some of the other markets, food stalls we've checked out in the last little while:

Food in small town Thailand









Limes, which people here call lemons! Great night markets with cheap excellent food









Fish kept live for fresh eating. Dumplings in all shapes and sizes -great in soups

Sun dried salted fish. Ducks on from a past firing squad

More bird carnage

A constant favourite - Red curry with coconut milk

This dinner was on our last night in Trang, we had been trying to find a noodle soup place, but weren't having much luck, so we just wandered into this place trying to say something about soup. With some minimal English (on their part) and lots of hand signals we managed to order the above meal -- it was really delicious, and everyone in the 'restaurant' (actually an open, but covered, tiled-space with tables and chairs) seemed to get a real kick over the farangs trying to order and eat! A little girl, about 1.5 years old could not stop staring at us.) In the end it was another one of those rich experiences we seem to keep having.

So, back to the night boat -- after the night market we went back to our little room, got our stuff organized, showered (it is really hot here), and worked hard to keep Kai and Pippin from trying to lie down to go to sleep, we still had to get to the boat! By 10:30 we wandered over to the ferry with our stuff and climbed on -- it was already about half full (lots of farangs) and we made ourselves busy by getting ourselves settled in, making sure our bags were within reach (we'd heard that you needed to keep your belongings close, due to theft issues), claiming beds, etc. By the 11pm departure the boat was pretty full -- though I noticed that one side was less full -- I realized that they must have sold tickets for farangs ('white' travellers) separately from Thais as our side was only travellers, and chocka-block full, while the other side was less full -- when a couple of other travellers tried to choose beds on the other side, one of the Thai women said, "Let me see your ticket number. No, you are over there!" Funny. The boat ride was not exactly the most restful, though both of the kids slept through most of the 8 hour journey, so that was great. There was the requisite crying child in the night and the lights would turn off and on randomly, so sleep was broken, but hey, it was yet another part of this adventure.

The night boat

We arrived on Koh Tao by 7 in the morning and were met with cries for "Taxi!" as soon as we stepped off our boat. We knew where we were headed generally, but of course all of the taxi drivers are also linked to resorts, so we got directed to one in the south of the island right on Shark Bay (that was where we wanted to go). When we got there, it was quite nice, so we checked in but quickly realized we were a completely captive audience with only the restaurant of the resort and one next door as possible eating venues -- as I'm sure you've all guessed, the prices were quite elevated. We ended up only staying there for two nights -- it was very beautiful, but maybe a little too isolated (you should have seen the road to get there -- all the taxis here are 4WD trucks), and not enough options for eating. We did do some snorkeling there, and saw some really, really big tropical fish, but swimming was challenging because the coral basically came almost right up to the shore, making it difficult to get into/out of the water without hitting the coral. This provided a bit of a challenge for the kids.

Here are some images from our time at Shark Bay on Koh Tao:

Fresh coconut! We got to watch a man climb the coconut palm like a monkey and then cut all the coconuts down. It didn't taste like any of us expected. Interesting . . .

The view from the resort restaurant. Pretty nice view, but the food was mediocre for Thailand!

Kai on a walk around the bay, sporting some of his cool new clothes.

Amazing shells to be found everywhere

Coral washed up on the beach

Learning backgammon. We've managed to teach both Kai and Pippin -- lots of fun!

So now it is the weekend. Yesterday we decided to come up to Sai Ree Beach on the western side of Koh Tao -- we found a very comfortable resort with a pool right on the beach -- and it has a movie channel with lots of English movies!!! We thought it would be fun to be in a busier part of the island and in a resort with some special comforts for the time leading into Kai's 11th birthday on Feb. 24th. The kids are thrilled and we are continuing to have a great time. There are even some more European style bakeries here, so we can get a birthday cake made!

Well that's it until our next post . . .

Skye, Ronato, Kai & Pippin

We Have Arrived!

Hello again all. Sorry for the longer space between this blog and our last one, but the cost of using the internet on Koh Lipe was more than we wanted to spend. It has also been quite nice to be on the island in true "out of the way" spirit -- away from computers and focused on savouring each moment on the tropical paradise that Koh Lipe turned out to be.

Yes, Koh Lipe landed up being something none of us had ever experienced: a tropical island surrounded by incredible tropical coral reefs which were filled with unimaginable varieties of colourful sea life, and beautiful powdery white sand beaches. We all spent a lot of time "Oooing and Aahing" at the beauty of the place, and the photos in this blog entry will, hopefully do justice to the amazing place that it is. It was easy to take beautiful pictures in this type of setting.

We arrived on Koh Lipe after a very long boat journey from Koh Lanta that took more than five hours on two separate boats. The boat trip was actually quite comfortable -- we had the option to sit below deck or out in the open on top of the boat to take in all the sights. We began the trip by weaving through a long stretch of mangrove forests on the east coast of Koh Lanta and were encouraged to see that there were visible signs that the local government is trying to raise awareness about the importance of the mangrove ecology and that they are replanting any areas that are more bare. It was a good view of a mangrove coastline from the boat because the boat had to sneak through some very narrow passageways and the forests were right there to admire. As the boat continued south, the landscapes became more and more of what we had in mind when we thought of Southern Thailand (based on pictures we had seen). The waters on the coast line got fabulously clear, emerald or turquoise-coloured, and the tropical fish life became more and more visible. With every stop (at other islands on the way South) we would look out at stunning islands covered in tropical jungles with enormous canopied trees sticking out and at gorgeous waters teeming with schools of colourful fish that one normally only sees in fish tanks in Canada.

After a long day of travel, we finally made it to Koh Lipe and we had to move onto the island from the big boat via a smaller long boat which made the arrival that much more romantic, of course. Once on the long boat we were taken to shore across stunning corals and the kids were very excited. What we did not anticipate was that we had arrived on the island on a long weekend (a Buddhist holiday) and so the island was actually very busy with Thai people who had come over from the mainland -- we were not expecting this. So I (Ronato) left Skye and the kids to sit and eat something while I scrambled all over the island looking for a place to stay -- I found that much of the island's accommodation was full! I did finally find something -- an overpriced bamboo two-storey hut with a very musty, mosquito-net covered bed that left us all a little out of sorts at first -- not quite what we had anticipated at all! The next morning, after a relatively good night's rest (despite the musty bed), we chose to find something much better. The two pictures below show the bungalow we landed up staying at for the whole week we spent on Koh Lipe. It was a very simple, one roomed bamboo bungalow with a small cemented bathroom at the back. It had only one large bed, but we decided to go for it because of it fabulous location right on the beach -- it enabled us to sit out on the little veranda, lounging in the hammocks for much of the day, while the kids swam in the water for hours and hours. In fact, the first thing we did when we got there was to buy two hammocks (they didn't come with the hut) and some snorkeling gear for the kids. It turned out to be a fabulous, cheap, and simple place from which to take in Koh Lipe. Right out the door were great walking options, two excellent family-run food options on either side of us, and we met a fabulous variety of people all staying in the same bungalows.
A number of the people we met, and ended up hanging out with, actually walked by the bungalows and saw how sweet it was and decided to relocate to the same spot. Some of these same people we had met on the boat coming over, and others we met around the island. The dynamic with the people we met made our time on Lipe that much more special. Over the days we were there, we had daily meals with many of them, as well as some fabulous outings. The kids would run between the bungalows visiting with all the lovely folks we had met and sometimes would go swimming and snorkeling with them. Kai and Pippin became very quickly attached. This aspect of meeting wonderful people from all over the world and then having to say goodbye has been a little hard for them - but it is part of the traveling experience and it does show them how the world all over is full of amazing human beings. That in itself fosters the "travel bug" and makes one feel very positive about the world we live in. Here are some pictures of the lovely people we met:

Sara and Marcus from Copenhagen, Denmark -- Eva and Jacob from Stockholm, Sweden


Caroline and Martin from Brighton, England are shown in two separate pictures here. They are extensive travellers (they travel for a minimum of 4 months a year and have been doing this for the past 8+ years), and they also have a travel blog which has the following link if anyone wants to be voyeuristic: www.travelpod.com/members/m-and-c

On the beach that we stayed on, there was a daily routine where the kids would walk the shore line exploring the tide edge to see what had washed up during the night's tides. Invariably there were gorgeous shells, old coral, and all kinds of critters to look at. In the water itself, fish of all shapes and sizes are abundant, and with minimal effort one can swim out to some coral reefs that allow one to spend hours looking at all kinds of creatures hiding in nooks and crevices. We kept thinking of David Graham and his fish tank habit. The richness of life is astounding. The only unpleasant experience while snorkeling can be the jellyfish and sea lice both of which can burn one's skin if one comes into contact with them. Some days were worse than others depending on the currents and tides. We managed to be on Lipe during full moon which created some very high and very low tides. It was also gorgeous at night to have the moonlight to take in the landscapes. Once the moon started to rise later, and the nights were darker, we also got to observe some stunning phosphorescence in the water after dark -- this was like seeing little blue light bulbs in the sand, shining with all their might once it got dark. The kids got a real kick out of this and would put it on their hands and on the tips of their fingers to observe and prod.

Here is Kai with an enormous shell find.

On one particular day, we decided to go on a snorkeling trip with Eva and Greg (the Swedish couple). Together, we rented a longtail boat and we were taken for a full day around the various islands to great coral reef areas. We would float around the water looking down at all the shapes, colours and sizes of coral, and we would feed the fish from our hands with some banana. The kids loved this because enormous numbers of fish would surround one excitedly eating the banana -- at times the fish would bravely eat right from one's hand. This is Skye and Pippin doing just that - if you double click on the picture you will see the fish surrounding them and eating the banana. Pippin went to bed that night saying, it was "the most amazing experience I've ever had!" (her words). We all dreamed about fish.

This is a beautiful sand bar on the north end of Lipe that we would go to for swimming and hanging out time.
Of course in this climate and heat, drinking pop has somehow become acceptable. Pippin feels like she has died and gone to heaven drinking her Coke. We will have to break the habit after the Asia portion of our trip!

Kai and his Papa at night at one of the local eating spots. The evenings here were absolutely glorious, and we increasingly had a habit of staying up until 11 every night enjoying the warm air. The kids have been loving the flexible hours we are keeping -- especially since it included hanging out with lots of our lovely new friends.

Skye modelling the water on Lipe. Not bad, eh?


This is the other, more popular beach called Pattaya Beach (this is a common name for beaches in Thailand -- this is not the infamous Pattaya Beach -- that one is up much closer to Bangkok!) Every night was like a party on this beach with lots of music, revelry and entertainment. We didn't really spend much time at all at this beach.

One of the very cool fish that one can see in the waters of Koh Lipe. This one had either been washed ashore or had jumped ashore while leaping after small fish (this is actually a common occurrence -- we rescued a few fish who'd done this.)


And as we all know, all good things must come to an end. After a full week on Lipe, we realized that is was probably time to move on -- it was kind of hard to decide to leave, our life on Lipe felt so luxurious and relaxed, but many of our new friends were heading off, and we realized that it is better to leave on a high note, when you're still having fun than to stay until you are sick of the place. Once again we hopped on a longtail boat which then carried us to a larger boat for our trip to Trang (via another small town) which is a small city still in the South of Thailand -- it is renowned for a number of beautiful water falls in the surrounding areas. So we are here in Trang to catch our breath, get some laundry done (yup we take it to someone else to do it -- when you have a lot, it is easier than doing it all by hand), catch up on emails, etc., AND to see some waterfalls before we start heading north to Koh Tao which is in the Gulf of Thailand.

Until next time . . .

Ronato, Skye, Kai & Pippin