Saturday, March 01, 2008

My aerial view of the island

One afternoon I took off by myself to go up to the viewpoint. I left just before 4:30 and you would think it would have started cooling off by then ... nope. I have no idea what the temperature was at that point, but the sweat was still dripping down my back while I was walking through the streets, and then I saw these steps.

Oh yeah. I guess to get to a viewpoint, you need to do some climbing. Off I went. Luckily I had brought a bottle of water with me and since I was alone I could stop when I wanted and didn't have to worry about holding anyone up. The hike up to the first viewpoint probably only took 10 minutes from the bottom of the hill, but it was nice to stop and rest when I got there.

This is looking to the south of Ko Phi Phi Don. The island you see in the distance is Ko Phi Phi Leh. This is where the movie The Beach with Leonardo DiCaprio was filmed. More pictures of that island to come.

It was quite hazy up there the day I did my hike, but as the sun started setting, it did clear up a bit.

Now that's one red face!

Close up of our area. The tall building on the left with the brown trim was right beside our hotel.

After I rested for a bit at the first viewpoint, I set off on about another 5 or 10 minute hike/walk up to the second viewpoint. I saw this beauty on my way up.

Lots of vegetation on the island.

Even though the name of the island is spelled Phi Phi, for some reason at the top of the viewpoint they wanted to be phonetic.

When I got home and took my bag off, I had a black streak across my shirt. Nice, hey? Mmmmm, sweaty!
Waiting for the sun to set.

This rim below is called Monkey Point. Can you see why?
No, neither can I. I just thought maybe you could see something I couldn't. :)
I believe my friend, Karen, got crapped on by a monkey here, so maybe that's why it's called Monkey Point. Sorry to bring back those memories, Karen. I know when I got crapped on by a bat, everyone told me it was good luck, so maybe it's the same with monkeys. How can being crapped on be good luck? Wait a second, I have won quite a few things in the last 10 years. Hmmm, maybe there's some truth to it after all. Ha ha, just kidding.
I've been up here now for about an hour and yet my face hasn't gone back to normal colour yet.

I wasn't the only one who had the idea to go up and watch the sunset.

Finally it's less hazy. The sky didn't turn amazing shades of red or orange, but I was still glad I went. Reveling in God's creation can be a very calming experience.

More of God's beauty.

Going down was much easier than going up, that's for sure.

After I showered, I met up with the family and off we went for supper.

I would stop on the way home and send a few emails. It's nice to know you still have some contact with the outside world. Internet cost 2 Baht (Thai currency) per minute, which was about 30 cents Canadian.

Time for bed! Craig, Jode and Jackson shared a room.

Just across the hall I was sharing a room with Syd and Ash. It was so much fun to hang with these girls and really get to know them. We will have memories to last us a lifetime.
Off to sleep now because we have a big day ahead of us tomorrow (a day that ended up being my favorite day on the island).

6 comments:

Keri's Collage... said...

What an awesome post! Love the pics!
How fun that you are such a 'young & hip' auntie!

Nancy Skeels said...

Gorgeous photos! One day perhaps I'll get to visit that area. Amazing.

Jennie said...

Wow! Beautiful!

Marni said...

i'm sure enjoying the virtual trip:)

Anonymous said...

Thanks for bringing up the "monkey poo" incident... :) I have to add that I think the edge of that cliff looks like a gorilla face. Maybe it's just me.... maybe when a bat craps on you it brings good luck and when a monkey craps on you it brings the ability to see animals on rock surfaces.

Anonymous said...

I just love the vegetation. Very beautiful! I also enjoyed your little bat crap tangent. LOL!