Today we had to actually set an alarm to make sure we got up in time to make our boat trip to Phi Phi Island. We still started out with our delicious breakfast; everything changes each morning so we love sampling the different Thai dishes that they have. I still always end with the banana whipped cream crepe!

We didn't do the best job with the sunscreen yesterday (we are both burnt) so an entire day on a boat and snorkeling is a bit scary. We made sure we have lots of sunscreen and brought along some dry fit shirts to wear while snorkeling. We met the boat down at the beach and hopped aboard. It was a 30 foot boat with twin outboard engines - 225 hp each! There were 18 other people on our boat and so once we were all loaded we headed off. Being on the water was great. The boat had a cover so we weren't directly in the sun unless you sat in the front, but there were still gaps so you got the breeze as we left Railay Beach.

Our first stop was Bamboo Island. Here the water was multiple shades of turquoise and the temperature of the water was also perfect! We talked to our guide a bit while we applied more suntan lotion, and then we went for a swim. It was beautiful! We stayed on the island for about an hour. Our next stop was the Viking Cave where there are some cave paintings from a long time ago. What it's actually being used for right now is that there are a lot of swallows that call the cave home, and their nests are the ones used in the famous "Bird's Nest Soup." Basically it is bird saliva (how they make their nest) in a broth. I don't think this is something that we will be seeking out in Bangkok though.

Next we entered Phi Phi Leh lagoon. It was extremely beautiful. There were a lot of other boats there and the water was very shallow, so we just did a drive through to see the sites. It was spectacular with rock formations looming out of the water and this small lagoon with beautiful turquoise water and white sand nestled between the rocks. Next we went to Maya Bay, where Leonardo Di Caprio's movie The Beach was filmed. It was a spectacular scene. The beach was beautiful and there had to have been hundreds of people there as well. At least 25 speedboats were lined up on the beach. Ours was able to back into a space where he had about 6 inches on either side and parked it perfectly! Then there were probably 25 longtail boats on the other side of the beach for smaller groups. Even though it was so busy I am glad that we had some time to walk the beach and take pictures, it was truly spectacular!

Next we got our first taste of snorkeling just outside of Maya Beach. We saw a lot of different fish from the typical zebra fish to others that seemed less "typical". Large fish that were turquoise and pink, little miniature bright blue fish (Kevin's favorite) as well as a lot of sea urchins. We only snorkeled here for about 40 minutes and then we were off to find lunch.

We went to Phi Phi Don, the largest of the Phi Phi Islands for lunch and had plenty of time to walk around to see what the area had to offer. There were a lot of tourist shops, a couple of beaches, but we felt good about our choice to stay at Railay. While the beaches were beautiful we liked ours much better! After a little relaxing in the shade, we boarded our boat for one more round of snorkeling. We were in more open water instead of inside a bay this time and we saw some different kinds of fish. We saw cigar fish, some cool blue coral, and even an angel fish. It was spectacular! We both agreed that we would like snorkeling a lot better if it wasn't in salt water though…while it helps for floating I definitely ingested way too much! After about an hour or so in the water it was time to head home. It took us about 45 minutes to get home and we were very excited to take a shower to get rid of the salt and sand!

Tonight our plan to watch our final sunset on Phranang Beach was spoiled by a thunderstorm, but we are still going to go eat at the Thai restaurant on the beach. The food last night was amazing and so we're headed back for more! It was such a great day in the sun, on the beaches, and snorkeling. We had a ton of fun! We are a bit sad that tomorrow we have to leave this paradise and head to the bustling city of Bangkok. I'm sure there will be new adventures to discover though!

Keely