Last days ... on Phi Phi Island (you thought I was finishing my posts of my trip? No, I'm not done my tour quite yet!)

Please bare with me for this post and one more and THEN I will be done my posts about my trip. Thank you for your patience. :)

So, after a long day of snorkeling, we went and showered and chilled in our rooms for awhile. This was a common scene in our room. Ashtyn really did sit like that quite often. Whatever's comfortable, right? And I just love her hat. She's so cute. Yesterday was Syd's 15th birthday! Happy Birthday, Syd. You have turned into SUCH a great kid. Thank you for not being too cool to hang out with your old Aunt. :)

Just a few pics of our last day on the island. We walked the alley below MANY times to go for breakfast, lunch, dinner, shopping, snorkeling, 7-11 trip or just to people watch if we'd had too much sun that day. :) I miss this alley and hope I will see it again someday.

Here are some pictures to prove that we went for Thai food and I ate it! Ok, maybe the look on my face says it all, but I really don't see what all the fuss is about. Craig said the Pad Thai wasn't very good, so maybe I need to give it another try ... maybe. Do you notice that my plate is empty? I ate it all (but also notice that my drink is pretty much gone, too. Always need something to wash it down. haha No, it wasn't THAT bad.)

I can't believe my sis has been married for 17 and a half years! Wow! Good on you guys.

Almost every day we went for a massage. My first day I just had the sunburn massage because, well, I was a tad sunburned, but after that I had a Thai massage every time. Have you ever had a Thai massage? Amazing. Seriously, pretty much the best massage I've EVER had. Ok, the hot stone massage at Spa U.top.ia at P.an Pac.ific was really nice, but can't compare when it comes to prices. This Thai massage was $10 for an hour!

They work you good! Even little Jack got massages and loved them. He didn't get the Thai massage because it's a bit harsh for little bodies, but he would fall asleep almost instantly anyways, so it's a good thing they were cheap.

This little guy was the only cockroach I saw in Thailand. For those of you who say you don't want to go to Asia because there are so many bugs, sometimes that can be true, but we were there for 6 days and this was the only one we saw. While in Malaysia there was one in my sister's car and the girls had a little squealing, freak out session, but Auntie to the rescue and it was all taken care of.

December 31, 2007 on Phi Phi Island. We saw these weird lights floating through the air and wondered what they were, so we took a walk down to a different part of the island. The picture on the top, right is of the lantern being lit and let go. It works kind of like a hot air balloon in that the heat from the fire makes the lantern fill up and float. It looked absolutely beautiful filling the sky with these floating lanterns, however, apparently it's been banned in some cities due to not knowing which way the wind would blow and it could crash and start a fire and also because they float quite high and could intercept with planes. Oops!

We hung out on the beach waiting for the fireworks to start, but at about 11:10 pm we started getting eaten alive by mosquitoes, so we moved the party indoors. Jackson really wanted to play charades, so that's what we did until the fireworks started.

Happy New Year! Bring on 2008. Although New Year's is fun, it was also a reminder to me that my trip was coming to an end. We only had one more day on Phi Phi Island and then only another few days after that and I'd be heading back to Canada. :(

On New Year's Day we all did our own thing. The girls stayed in the room and watched TV for awhile while Jode, Craig and Jack went kayaking. I hung out on the beach reading the last Harry Potter book and just vegged. I was really into my book and didn't even realize that there was music playing at a restaurant down the beach until ... I hear ... "All is quiet, on New Year's Day ..." I had to put down my book and stop and listen to my favorite band in the world. What could be better than sitting on a quiet, beautiful beach in Thailand listening to U2. Aaahh, good times.

Our last supper together on Phi Phi Island and the only picture of all 6 of us together (although you can barely see Jackson).

Yet another sister picture. :) Although my sister and I had a pretty good relationship while growing up, I was always the pesty little sister and was always jealous of my cool, older sister. Being 2 years apart means we were into the same things (mostly) and there were a few fights over the years. As we've grown into adults, we have learned the importance of a good relationship and I value that we are now friends as well as sisters. I am very thankful to have you for a sister, Jode. I love you very much and love that we can be honest and upfront with each other and that we can also almost pee ourselves laughing sometimes.

Jackson wanted to have a drinking contest. These were milkshakes and all of a sudden I realized I was going to get a brain freeze if I drank too fast and plus I wanted to savour my drink throughout the meal (although they're so cheap you can buy 3 or 4 for the price of 1 back home), so I stopped drinking. He kept sipping away and we all said, "Jack, you're going to get a brain freeze!"

He threw up his hands and said, "I win! No brain freeze, but I do have a little bit of a headache." Funny kid.

The girls and I decided to get henna tattoos on our last night there so they would last longer when we got home (they were supposed to last 2 weeks, but had pretty much faded out after 1 week). I want to get my next (for real) tattoo on my wrist, so I thought it would be a good idea to get a fake one there first to see if I like it. Ashtyn wanted hers on her neck (like I have) and Syd wanted hers on her wrist the same as me. We all wanted something similar so we picked out the suns. I actually really liked mine so I know for sure that's where my next one will be (sorry, to those who don't like tattoos - I hope you don't think any less of me). I've told my Mom that she gets to design my next tattoo. I wonder how she's coming along with that (hint, hint, Mom).

The next morning it was time to head back to Malaysia. Here's my sister again in her jeans. :P

The 4 of us took our spots out on deck and Jode and Ashtyn went below again.

As we were pushing off, I took one last look around. Goodbye Phi Phi Island. I hope to come back and visit again some day.

About 2 minutes after we set sail, a huge swell came over the boat and we were soaked. I moved up to higher ground, but still got sprayed little bits here and there throughout the hour and a half ride. I thought as I was sitting there soaked to the bone that if I was on a ferry to Vancouver Island right then, I would've been upset and wet, but here I am on a ferry in the middle of the Andaman Sea in Thailand and it's so warm out that I'll be dry in a couple of minutes. Aaaah, this is the life.

When we landed in Krabi, Craig's brother and his girlfriend were there to greet us. They actually live on Vancouver Island and have a Thai food restaurant there, but she's from Krabi and they happened to be there visiting, so it was perfect timing for us to connect, the kids to see their Uncle again and for Craig to spend a few hours with his brother.

After we had lunch with them, we started our 7 hour drive home.

We saw some interesting things on the way home (who needs to MOW the middle of the freeways when you have cows to do that for you?) ...

we made a few minor pit stops on our way ....

and of course saw some pigs being transported.

It was a very fun trip within my trip. Thanks to Jode and her family for taking the time out of their schedules to go away with me and take me to this beautiful place. I will always remember my first trip to Phi Phi Island.