Water parks in Thailand seem to operate on different rules than the ones in the US. The kids went and spent about 5 hours at the Grand Canyon Water Park in Chiang Mai. They came home a little bruised and battered. They also agreed it was a blast! Will has a few toes that are a funny color after getting his foot jammed between two floaties. Em at one point went “whoop and disappeared between two other floaties”. Megan said she was climbing up an inflatable ladder thing when she went “boop boop boop boop”, back to the bottom. They agreed that it was like the obstacle courses on the show Wipe Out, without any safety measures. There were two colors of life jackets: yellow if you know how to swim and blue if you don’t. Begs the question, why in heavens name would you go to an obstacle course water park if you don’t know how to swim?! The lifeguards were less life guard and more madness motivators. Will was getting yelled at by one, he thought it was to tell him to stop doing something. Nope. It was the lifeguard asking if he needed another body to launch his sister higher.

On our final morning in Chiang Mai we went back to SukiShak for delicious breakfast. It did not disappoint.

Back to the airport so we can head south to Krabi. We have gotten very good at navigating all airports. We have mad skill when it comes to finding coffee and a water filling station. We each grab necessary liquids and wait. Will games. Em messages friends. Megan reads and I tend to people watch or read. Airports are amazing for people watching. The lady that held her phone up to her ear so she could better hear the YouTube show she was watching did not seem to mind at all that my ear was also right there. Sitting back to back meant we could both clearly hear her show. This would have been great if I understood even a few words of Chinese. The monk that wandered around until he found the well cushioned and prettier chair than the rest of us got, was interesting. There were two of these fancy wooden thrones behind a plastic partition. It was clearly marked “For Monks and Novices Only”. That’s cool, I didn’t want to sit there anyways. He kicked off his slides and put his bare feet up on the chair. Blech.

When we landed in Krabi we knew the trip had taken a big turn. The weather is crazy! So. Much. Rain. And that is said by someone from the Pacific Northwest! The first night we decided to stay at our hotel, in Ao Nang, and eat sushi at one of the two restaurant options here. Will continues to impress with his willingness to push the food boundaries. He ordered a roll with raw salmon AND raw tuna. Go Will! Emily was thrilled that there was a California roll and udon. Megan and I ate all sorts of tasty things. And sea bass- not so tasty sea bass. No thanks.

The rain and wind was so intense overnight that I found myself wondering about evacuation routes out of town. There is a severe rain warning around us for the next few days. We have spent a number of hours trying to figure out if we should make other plans. While we try to decide, Em and I got another massage. This time Em loved it- she said that the woman was so good at massage that she didn’t even care if it also felt a little handsy.

We booked a kayak adventure for tomorrow- we were told that when there is rain, find a water activity. We were also flatly told to avoid all the islands, “you stuck there”. Okay.

Favorite quote of the day: “She is resource guarding her mojito!”

As we exited the bus to go kayaking Em said “I just remembered I don’t like water….and I am afraid of boats”. Little late my friend, a little late.

Kayaking was absolutely amazing. We were driven about an hour outside of Ao Nang in a party bus. We didn’t get to turn on the ceiling lights but that’s okay. It was daylight. We went from a fancy party bus to a dock with very questionable plumbing. It looked like PVC pipes that came together into one line that went directly down into the river. I hope it is actually flowing into a natural septic system that I read is used in many areas of Thailand.

The kayaks were sit on tops and they were great! Will and Megan were on one and Em and I took the other. We saw a snake, birds, fish, spider crabs and a water monitor! We paddled through caves that you can only access four days a month around a full moon. Our guide said we were very lucky and we knew it. It was some of the prettiest scenery I have ever seen from a boat.

We ended the adventure with lunch back at the restaurant on our launching dock. The food was delicious and we are going to try and find out how to make the corn pancakes we enjoyed.

We were also extremely lucky with the weather. We had a couple of very minor sprinkles during our hours on the boats. Within minutes of sitting down to lunch we got to see a torrential downpour. After only a few minutes of rain, it stopped as quickly as it had started.

Girls took advantage of the nifty feature of reclining seats in the party bus and napped their way back to Ao Nang.

Laundry night. Boooo. Wash was fast at 30 minutes but drying it took well over an hour and came out so hot we literally melted a plastic bag. Megan and I could both have used some burn gel. And yes, we know we could have waited until it cooled down. It was too hot in that laundromat to do anything but try to grab laundry without passing out. And it was past our bed time. I’m pretty sure we finished at 9pm.

Found our new favorite breakfast spot! The Tan Hostel and Cafe had some yummy food that we would end up eating four mornings in a row. Never got old. Would do it again.

The rain continues to do it’s crazy thing of dumping large volumes very quickly. Will grabbed us some ponchos. White for Will, blue for Em and two yellow ones for Megan and me. He said he wanted us to look like Paddington Bear. Success!

Got to see another water monitor poking his head out of a broken pipe. Everyone says they are friendly but they look scary!

Walked 6 million stairs up and down on the monkey trail to see monkeys. Saw zero monkeys. The trail was totally worth it though. The beach at the end was beautiful. It was quite windy and the dock for long boats looked wild. It was still in use even though it looked like walking on a roller coaster.

Megan here! Em and Mom were exhausted after the stairs on monkey trail but Will and I were still determined to hike the 1,237 steps up to the Tiger Cave Temple.

I may not be able to feel my legs, but I did get my fair share of monkey sightings! There were hundreds roaming around trying to steal bags and hop on people’s backs. We were told that if they take your phone, just hand them a banana and they will happily trade back. We didn’t have any bananas so we held our bags tight.

Each step was over a foot tall, it felt like climbing a never ending ladder. By the end of the hike, we were completely out of breath and dripping sweat but the views were so worth it! From the giant Buddha statue you could see the ocean, jungle, and the local cities- Ao Nang and Krabi.

We hurried back down to avoid the rainstorm that we could see rolling in before hiding undercover to wait for a car to come pick us up. As we were sitting there petting the dogs that kept coming up to us, we saw an elephant walking through the main gates.

We have been told that many elephants are abused and used for show in Thailand, but we saw it up close and personal. It was horrifying. We had just seen these majestic creatures playing in the water and running around at the rescue facility in Chiang Mai. Now we have also seen two elephants parade down this street, wrapped in chain and rope. Their handlers held long metal rods as they rode their motorbikes alongside these animals. Elephant tourism and abuse is still a very prevalent issue within the country which is why many sanctuaries are trying to move them to safer environments. It was traumatizing to watch these incredibly smart and beautiful animals clearly being used for human entertainment as they could barely walk down the street. Will has a video but it’s too hard to watch so we won’t share it here.

Amy again, feels like a good time for a palate cleanser after the horrible elephant situation. Here are some cute pictures of the sisters:

For dinner after all the hiking around we found burgers at Beats and Burgers. It was at the end of an alley lined with bars. Bars and hookers. We might have nicknamed it Hooker Alley or Hooker Island. Both work….. hourly. I take my kids to some interesting places.

Sand has been procured for the collection. Also found this creature on the beach. He was weird. We left him on the beach.

Now we know why we didn’t see monkeys on the monkey trail. Woke up to monkeys on our building! I saw one across the way and then realized that the ladies below me at the pool kept looking at the one I saw AND near me. I deduced there must be one on my side that I could not see. Will joined me on the balcony and I got the attention of the ladies and asked if there was a monkey on our side. “Yes! Right next to you” she shouted. Holy crap. In the blink of an eye Will and I were scurrying back into our room because the monkey was on our railing! In his moment of confusion, Will may have thrown his wrapped Beng Beng cookie bar at the monkey…..little dude seemed pretty adept at unwrapping it. Kinda rude that he stayed on our balcony to eat Will’s treat. As he ate, there was an incredibly loud bang and monkeys could be seen pouring down the sides of the hotel. I counted seven but it all happened so fast and I was still behind the sliding glass door. It took a second gun blank to send our new friend running. As we all know, Megan LOVES monkeys. She missed the whole thing. She was talking to Rafa. Video is going to have to be enough.

Railay Beach is supposed to be lovely so we booked our tickets for the 20 minute long boat ride to it. We didn’t know we got a bonus back of a pickup ride as well!! Woohoo!

When you land at Railay Beach there is no dock. You just hop out into knee deep (or for me, thigh deep) water and head to shore. For someone that claims to dislike boats, Em seems to have enjoyed the kayaks and now the long boat. Might make her a boat lover yet!

Railay has a very small “town”. There are restaurants, tourists shops, and many options for weed or mushrooms. Most popular method to partake in the “fun mush” was a milkshake. Nope. No thank you. We all took a pass.

We ate, we shopped, we girls all swam in the Andaman Sea and Will got a haircut. Haircut only cost a few dollars and he looks very nice. He also took me into “Dimond Cave”. Good lord that was awful. We paid 400 baht to get us both in (more than his haircut) and proceeded into the cave. Cave was neat. I think. I don’t really know. There were so many bats, I kinda blacked out. Will had a headlamp that was helpful except it allowed him to see the big groups of bats on the ceiling and walls. I saw nothing but could hear all of them. I never moved so fast through an adventure. Well, one other time when I took two middle schoolers on a date to a haunted house. We moved quick then as well.

Will was very sweet. Kept telling me how proud he was of me and how brave I was being. I was not brave. The trail was basically a loop. Once you were on it you kind of had to commit. Never. Again. “Night birds”, my ass. Those were BATS. So many bats making sounds and pooping all over the place.

The weather held and we had a great time on Railay Beach. Our ride back was something special. The wind and waves picked up. We loaded that long boat as full as we could get it and took off into the waves. We all got drenched. There was not a single dry spot on that boat. Passengers got a little concerned when we blew right by Ao Nang and kept on trekking. Captain didn’t speak any English and it was too noisy to ask any questions anyways. We kept going another 15 minutes up the coast. Odd. He pulled into a small bay and very quickly ushered us all off the boat. What in the heck?! We were only about a ten minute drive from Ao Nang, and our original launching point, but this was definitely not explained when we loaded. Took some time and effort to figure out we needed to find our own way back into town. TukTuk for the win!

After showering and cleaning up we headed back to the night market we had passed on the TukTuk earlier. So I guess it all works out. Boat dropped us in the wrong spot, we saw part of Ao Nang we hadn’t seen yet, we went back there later for dinner at the night market. The absolute highlight of the night wasn’t the Vietnamese pancake packed full of stuff I can’t even describe, or the pad Thai (which was spectacular), or the weird fried cheese and corn on a stick that Will ate, or even the mango sticky rice. The highlight was the fire show! Absolutely insane and again I say, safety codes are different here. The video is really worth the watch. Em saying “yeah” at the end is perfection.

For the final morning with Will and Em in Thailand, we went back to Tan for breakfast. The tacos are so tasty. Well, until half way through and Em said “I don’t feel good. Like at all”. Back to the hotel for some rest and antibiotics for Em. So far that is Will, Em and me needing antibiotics for “tummy trouble” and Megan went on a full round for her sinus infection. We DO recommend bringing antibiotics on these trips. They are a game changer. We have the Lifestraw water bottles and drink a lot of bottled water when out and about but things happen. Totally worth the risk and the trouble.

My preference is always to have all three of my kids together with me. I am not a fan when we are apart. It was hard to send Will and Em home. They are starting their 32 hour return to Seattle as I type. Safe travels and we will see them in a couple weeks. Megan and I are off to the islands again tomorrow. We are heading to Koh Tao in the morning. I don’t want to tempt fate but we are going to take another attempt at scuba diving next week. More next time!