Koh Phangnan is soooooo amazing....

Here we are in the south of Thailand. We made it to an island called Koh Phangnan which is situated on the east side of Thailand. All I can say is that it reminds me of Costa Rica (but hotter/more humid) and the style here is way more exotic. There are Hindu and Buddahist shrines everywhere and in the most random areas. People wear these colorful thin scarves all over ( in the hair, around waists, arms, hips, etc.) Sarongs and Thai pants are almost always worn...it is sooooo gorgeous here! It took us exactly 27 hours of straight travelling to get here from Chiang Mai. Also, I had gotten a bug in my system at Chiang Mai, so I travelled sick with nausea the whole way. That was no fun. However, I now feel great after literally fasting for a couple of days and only drinking juice and water. I am thoroughly better since the day we first arrived. So, I have to tell you all about the place we are staying at. We are staying the week at a resort called Jinda Bay and the guesthouse we rented is ridiculously big and new and overlooking the torquoise ocean waters and cocnut palms! I would never in my life think that I could afford to stay in such a nice place as this (especially on my backpacker's budget) but I can! It is so crazy and ridiculous how cheap Thailand is! Right now 30 Baht is for 1 U.S. dollar. This room we have is 800 Baht a night, which we split 3 ways. So, at the end, we are each paying roughly lil less than 9 dollars a night. Did I mention we have our own private balcony and walkway and are surrounded by exotic fruit trees and palms...and are 15steps away from the white sands? It is cerrtainly amazing here.
Let me tell you all about yesterday! Oh how I love yesterday! and also today! But yesterday we had rented a car to check out the other parts of the island. Right now we are on the north west side of the island in an area called Hat Phao chao ( I may have massacred the spelling of that). So, yesterday, we decided to check out the north end of the island for snorkelling. We had heard from 2 very cool Austrian girls that they had done the best coral reef snorkelling of their life over in Coral Bay area, which is in the north part of the island. So, off we went to explore. After getting lost on dirt roads and going up and down some insane hills...we finally made it to Coral Bay area. Its a sleepy gorgeous strip of white sand beach with some small "resorts", yoga place, and bungalows. I actually like the vibe and the beach here more and if I were to come back to Thailand, I would probably stay in this area. Anyway, the beach was beautiful but what is even more breathtakingly beautifull are the coral reefs here! Now when we first got into the water, I had no idea what to expect...Especially since I have never seen coral reef before! But it was amazing! As we swam further out the coral started getting bigger and bigger! and suddenly it was like I was in another universe! We were swimming thru bright green fan-like coral, yellowish table coral, large neon blue clam-like things stuck on coral! We saw big neon yellow fishes, blue fishes, and best of alll...we swam WITH a school of silver and black striped flat fishes for the longest time! The fishes (more than anything) were very curious about us and kept following us and swimming right up to our masks! We would try to touch them but they would just swim away and swim right back! They were so beautifull and such cute curious creatures. Anyway, Gen has snorkelled thru coral before in the past and said that this was by far the most beautiful she has seen. This was only my first time snorkelling thru coral but I absolutely believe this. Anyway, before we had left Chiang Mai, we had met and talked to a group of young Buddahist monks in a temple during the Songkrang. One monk in particular spoke good english. He was very wise for a 23 year old. He had been in the monastery for 15 years by his own choice.
He talked about how making strangers into friends is good for us. And how keeping our mind positive leads "newen". He also reminded us to live in this moment and to enjoy.
I couln't agree more.