Forget Disneyland ... this is the happiest place on earth!

First, I'll address some of the comments on my last post. Sonya asked if it was weird to be pretty much the minority (especially when we were in line up to cross the border). The answer is yes, it is weird, but in a good way. I love experiencing new cultures ... yes, I have a problem experiencing their cuisine and a lot of people can't understand how I survive, but somehow I do. I think the things I see, get to do and the people I meet out weight the food issue for me. I love pretty much every aspect of travel. Nancy also said that it looks like a culture shock experience, but fun at the same time. Again, I love it. I love seeing how other cultures do things and yes, some of them seem "weird," but I've learned that it's not weird, it's different.

As you can kind of see in the picture below, many backpackers are making their way to Phi Phi Island. As you get onto the boat, they grab your bags from you and start piling them up in a huge pile in the center of the deck on the boat. Sydney and I are leaning up against them here. Phi Phi Island attracts people from all over the world, but from what I could see, they were mostly backpackers.

The scenery on the hour and a half "cruise" was amazing.

It was such a relaxing ride. I watched the ocean for any sign of dolphins, seals or what not, but I only saw a few fish jumping. It was still beautiful. Jodi and Ashtyn sat inside as Jode has some anxiety when watching Jackson sit like this with his feet over the side. I didn't think of it until he was walking around trying to step over people who were laying on the deck. Watching him walk like a drunken sailor (the boat wasn't rocking too bad, but enough to make it a little uneasy for a 7 year old to walk), I could see why she didn't like to watch him.

The water was like glass. Someone totally could've been waterskiiing behind out wake.

It was fun to sit in the sun and just chat with Syd. I couldn't tell you now anything significant we chatted about, but it was just cool to chill and spend time with her (ok, we did check out some cute guys on the boat, but she's 15. What kind of Aunt would I be if I didn't do that with her?)

The fishing boats were beautiful.

My heart did skip a beat when I looked into the cabin where the captain was steering the boat and I saw 2 Thai men sleeping on the floor. I then saw someone sitting in the chair to the right of them. He was watching where we were going. Phewf!

My first sites of Phi Phi Island. The clump of rocks in the first 2 pictures below is called Shark Point. These will come into play when I do my snorkeling post.

I don't know if you can tell, but I really liked this boat. It looked so huge as we sailed into port and as we got closer and closer, I had to take a few pictures.

Here I come, Phi Phi Island!!! Our hotel was the roof you can see just to the left of the tall building in the picture below.

What a wonderful week we had ahead of us.

To be continued ...