A Look Back at The Frijas' Journey in Japan: September 2007

DAY 4

We intended on having another big island tour planned for the start of Day 4, however we woke up plagued with a monsoon. So I made a few phone calls to the tour operator. To my surprise, I was informed that even during torrential rain, most tours take place as scheduled. Rodney and I were reluctant to take Markus out in such heavy rain, especially since our tour involved riding in a speedboat. So without much thought, we cancelled and rescheduled for the following day. Markus spent about an hour with his colouring books and solving a new jig-saw puzzle, while we lounged out in the meditation area of our hotel room and watched the rain pour through the palm trees. Observing the pouring rain can be dramatic in a tropical setting.

After hanging out in the Children's Pavilion and shopping gallery of the hotel, we hired another driver and went into town to a different location to do some more sightseeing and art shopping for a couple of hours. We try to make a point of purchasing pieces of art from our travels to add to our home collection. In town, the driver took us to a local market where streets were lined with souvenir shops and small restaurants. There was a small department store, which we didn't care for too much. (I guess I can't help but compare to the Tokyo shopping, that I've grown so fondly of.) By the time we returned to the hotel, the rain had subsided, so we changed into our swimsuits and headed to the pool for an afternoon swim.

We dined at Cucina, an Italian restaurant at the hotel. Rodney and I indulged on the shiraz, while Markus sipped on his freshly squeezed OJ. After a satisfying dinner, Markus didn't seem quite ready for bed yet, so we took a stroll around the hotel. Each evening, the Lotus Pond on the lower level is lit up with fire torches reflecting over the water. Since it was a very calm night, the water was as tranquil as it was picturesque.

The Lotus Pond For additional photos from Day 4, CLICK HERE...

DAY 5

This was our last full day in Thailand. The first thing I did that morning was confirm the weather forecast with the concierge. He said it was likely to rain for most of the morning with skies clearing in the afternoon. No monsoon in the forecast, so the planned James Bond Island Tour was good to go. We packed our backpacks, rain ponchos and baby Dramamine (just incase), and met with the tour transfer pick up at 8 A.M. at the lobby.

Our first activity was a speedboat ride to Phang Nga Bay to the island where James Bond "The Man With The Golden Gun", was partly filmed in 1974. Neither Rodney nor I have ever seen the movie, but we were still happy to take part in the famed tour attraction. Upon arrival the shore was crowded with many long-tail boats. To the locals, the island is known as Tapoo Island, meaning "Nail Island". The limestone structure with patches of green shrubs stands straight up above the clear water, which appears like a nail (see photo above). We hung around the island for about 40 minutes in the rain and enjoyed the scenes of seacaves and deep crevices of limestone rock formations. Markus enjoyed the beach shore and getting his already wet feet even more wet, if that's possible. The temperature of the water was very warm and would have been more enjoyable had it not been raining.

Back on the speedboat, we headed to a few other small islands and viewed some ancient drawings in caved walls deemed about 300 years old. Next, we boated out to another area of the bay and docked by a floating cafe to board canoes for a ride in the caves. At that point, Markus had fallen asleep so we sat around in the cafe and waited for our group to finish canoeing. Rodney opted out of the canoe ride and sat with me while Markus was asleep in my arms. For lunch we headed to another popular attraction known as Panyee Village, AKA the "Village on Stilts". This place is quite unusual but fascinating. Literally held above the water on wooden stilts, it is a small Muslim village with inhabitants that depend on the sea for their livelihood. There are quite a few seafood restaurants where many tourists stop for a bite to eat during their tours in the Phang Nga Bay area.

This is a scanned image from the tour brochure that I had. It provides an aerial view of Panyee Village, which makes for an interesting perspective.

Docked in front of Panyee Village

Back on land, we headed to the next segment, which was the Eco-Safari Tour. This involved an elephant show, oxen ride and another elephant trek in the flooded river banks. During the elephant show, Rodney braved the elephant massage. He figured if I could do it, he could!

We bought a basket of fruits to feed the elephants. Markus thoroughly enjoyed this activity!

This elephant trek seemed to be bumpier than the first, but nonetheless quite the exciting escapade in the jungle atmosphere.

It was nearly 6 o'clock in the evening when we arrived back at the hotel. After a quick shower we headed down to the Marriott Cafe for the international buffet dinner. We feasted on Pad Thai noodles, sushi, fish, and spicy barbeque chicken. There was also a plethora of tasty desserts and more fruits. We had fun sampling nearly everything! Finally after dinner, we headed down to the banquet hall to check out the night festival. Several stalls of vendors selling unique artifacts were lined up along the walls. The crowds of people were being entertained by a group of Thai natives performing cultural dancing on the stage.