After the Krabi Forever Wild hub ended, we flew to Bangkok to meet Michael’s sister and her family. They made the long journey to meet us for a few weeks in Southeast Asia. It has been almost a year since we saw them.
The first order of business was pickleball. Melissa is as excited about pickleball as Michael and Lucas. We chose a place to stay in Bangkok near pickleball courts. Michael and Melissa dominated on the court. Lucas and his friend had fun playing as a team.
It is hot in Bangkok, so we opted to go to the mall a couple of times to cool down and eat. The kids also went ice skating. Barrett and Violet enjoyed riding in tuk-tuks to get around.
We toured the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market and Mae Klong Railway. The markets are about two hours from Bangkok, so it is a full-day excursion.
Damnoen Saduak Floating Market is a popular tourist destination in Thailand. Tourists can shop, eat, and ponder that these floating markets are over 100 years old. Klong Damnoen Saduak is a man-made canal that took over two years to build. The canal was built on the order of King Rama IV to aid transportation and trade. It links the Mae Klong River with Chinese river and it is the straightest and longest canal in Thailand.
The kids were all in one boat. They ate fried rice on the river. We bought some wares from the shop owners. We met a flying squirrel that may be the cutest thing we have ever seen.
After the floating market, we drove to the Mae Klong Railway Market (Hoop Rom Market). It is also known as the life-risking market because its stalls are attached to the Mae Klong-Ban Laem railway running from and to Mahachai and Mae Klong. The market is about 100 meters in length. Its vendors sell souvenirs, seafood, vegetables, fruits, fresh and dried food, meats and other items. The train passes through eight times per day. The umbrellas protecting the vendors from the sun go over the train tracks. When a train approaches, vendors rush to close their coverings and clear the goods near the tracks. As soon as the train passes, business resumes as usual. You can walk to the end of the market and board the train for pictures.
After Bangkok, we flew to Krabi and took a speed boat to Phi Phi island. We were in Ko Phi Phi last October. We stayed at the same resort, Phi Phi Village Resort.
Last time we were on Phi Phi we went snorkeling. This time Michael, Lucas, Henry, and I went scuba diving with the Adventure Club dive shop. Lucas and Henry were excited to dive again. We saw several sea snakes, batfish, moray eels, and schools of fish. We enjoyed the dives, but it was sad to see the coral bleaching. Thailand is having some of the worst coral bleaching in ten years because of rising ocean temperatures.
We spent time in the pool and at the beach. Melissa, Violet and I got our hair braided. I went wild and got long purple braids. It was uncomfortable and I only kept them in for a few hours, but the pictures are priceless.
One of Michael’s tennis buddies Mo, and his wife Erica, who we have not seen in over a decade, happened to be on Phi Phi Island while we were there. We met up for dinner and learned that they are like-minded traveling souls! It was exciting to hear about their journey. We look forward to seeing them somewhere else in the world.
Our time on Phi Phi Island ended with a fire show starring Henry and Barrett, and a hike to an epic viewpoint (the kids were not impressed). We still have two and a half weeks with our family, and more epic adventures await.
