More than two years ago, we came up with the crazy idea to take this trip. During our research, we came across a Globe Trekker episode on Thailand in which the hostess did a kayaking/camping trip with John Gray's Sea Canoe. While we still knew very little about what our trip might look like, we knew with certainty that we HAD to go out with John Gray's!

Now four months into our trip, the time finally came for our 2 day/1 night kayaking and camping trip around Phang Nga Bay. With all this built up excitement, you can imagine our disappointment when nobody showed to pick us up; they had lost our reservation! We couldn't believe it, and Annie (a sweet little Thai woman at our hostel) couldn't believe it either, so she picked up the phone and gave them a call. After she hung up, she said, "I told them you're on your honeymoon. They're going to give you a discount and make your trip special!" Haha!

Sure enough, we got a 25% discount and the staff bent over backwards to give us a great trip starting the next day. The first day, we were with a large group. Each pair had a personal guide to paddle their kayak, and our guide always made sure we were the last ones in the hongs so we could take great pictures with nobody else in the way .That night, after being dropped off on our own little private beach, our guides told us they had brought something special for us: a traditional Thai lantern to release into the night sky and beer to enjoy by the camp fire. The special treatment didn't stop there either! The brochure says breakfast will be fruit and toast, but we got fruit, hot scrambled eggs and warm croissants, yum!

While the added extras for our "honeymoon" were very nice, the trip still would have been awesome without them. The second day was the best when it was just me, Jeff and our two guides. We got to do our own kayaking this time around quiet deserted hongs (essentially caves whose ceilings have collapsed so they're open to the sky). My favorite hong had a bunch of mangroves growing inside; it was so peaceful and serene I could have stayed there all day. We also did a bit of snorkeling around some great coral with tons of colorful fish.

I'm sure during the course of this trip, I've thoroughly abused the word "beautiful" in this blog. So instead, I'll say that the scenery around Phang Nga Bay is some of the most unique, breathtaking, and picturesque that I have ever seen! Thank you Globe Trekker for the inspiration and thank you John Gray's for making it worth the wait!