Good morning from Bangkok.
We arrived into Bangkok last night. Big traffic, tons of people in the streets, and a strong rain storm. Not the best introduction. But a look outside shows a beautiful day.

On Wednesday we had a very fun adventure - a John Grey sea canoe trip. The trip departed on a large boat carrying about 30 guests and almost 20 crew. At 1p we headed out and were immediately served a nice light Thai lunch (fresh fruit, salad, noodle dish). A 1 1/2 hour ride brought us to a set of beautiful and dramatic limestone islands. We learned that we would not be paddling the canoes, but rather would have our own personal guides. I was disappointed to hear that, until we found out where we were going!

These island had very high limestone cliffs all around, but were actually open on the inside. Imagine the island being like a donut - walls all the way around, but open in the middle. Now the only way to get inside to the open area was to travel 'underneath' the walls - through some caves. The caves are dark, a bit hot, and beautiful. And did I mention that the caves were very low? In order to fit through, we had to lie completely flat on the canoe (3 of us and a guide on an inflatable). Completely flat! At some points, our guide had to let out some air from our canoe, as the cave ceiling was less than 1 inch above our heads as we very slowly went through. If you sneezed, you would hit your head and scrape your face badly. This is definitely not for claustrophobics. Even I was a little freaked out when we would stop moving and I only had an inch or two of clearance above my face. But, it was very cool! When we reached the interior, it was other-worldly. Very peaceful, just the sounds od cicadas and birds. It was eerily serene. The rocks were razor sharp from rain erosion, and it was just an untouched place. The ride back to the boat was just as tight and close. Very fun!

We visited another island cave, then had some time for self-paddle and swimming. We then made a traditional Kratong, which is a Thai offering to the sea. It is made with a round base from a banana tree (it floats). To that we attached some banana leaves we folded to look like flowers, along with some real flowers. We added some incense sticks and candles. This was all for a ceremony later that evening.

We enjoyed a very nice seafood dinner (Travel Boy had rice) before riding off towards the beautiful sunset. Of course, this is when our camera battery died! Ugh. When it got dark, we got back into the canoes, and brought our Kratong. We entered a pitch black high ceilinged cave. Lots of clicking sounds and squeaks - we were in a bat cave. Thousands of bats were hanging from the ceiling. It was a long cave - 150 meters. It opened into a beautiful open lagoon. Here we lit the candles and the incense, and we made a group wish as we all released the Kratong onto the water. It was stunning seeing the 15 or so Kratong floating in this lagoon. The outgoing tide drew the Kratong back towards the cave and the sea, and we slowly paddled alongside it. When the candles burned out, we placed it back into the canoe, and paddled through the dark cave towards the waiting boat.

What a fun and unique experience. Hopefully Bangkok has some fun stuff in store.