Photo Gallery & Impressions 12a

PHOTO SAMPLER - WEEKEND ON KO THALU ISLAND RESORT, 1-3 AUGUST 2003 - PART A

We are off for another weekend adventure. Our friend Yupadee picks us up early Friday morning at our campus house and takes us to the nearby town of Nakon Patom to catch the bus for Bangkok. There we change buses heading south & southwest down the coast of the Gulf of Thailand. Going past Hua Hin to the community of Bang Saphan, the bus drops us off at the lane to our destination.  We are surprised to find Susan waiting at the end of the road. While Ted stayed back in Ban Pong, she had come directly south using the train to Hua Hin, then by bus further south, then motorcycle taxi. She arrived just minutes before us. We would then go 9 kilometers off the coast to a small private island resort for a fun weekend of snorkeling and enjoying this remote tropical island.

As we near our destination, the bus takes us through prime pineapple & coconut growing areas.

Before leaving the mainland, Keith gets this photo of the map of the island.

After checking in at the mainland office & paying the very reasonable fees for the weekend, we wade out to the large speedboat that will take us out.

Here we get our first good view of our destination island.

Before landing, our boat takes us to the northern tip of the island where this hole through the rock can be seen. It is from this that the island gets its name - "thalu" meaning "through" in Thai.

Now we approach the idyllic island resort where we will be staying. 

Closer yet, we see the white sand beach and interesting tropical style buildings.

Our accommodations in this triplex were spacious, airy & provided a pleasant setting for sea & island views.

Most of our delicious Thai meals were served in these open-air, thatched roofed structures. 

Here the sun starts to set over the distant mountains that mark the boundary between Thailand & Burma. (Burma is quite close here.)

Peg & Susan enjoy our first meal out near the beach as the sun sets.

Here Keith enjoys sleeping in; Peg was intrigued with her first ever night under this mosquito net & was up early to take this photo.

Early morning coffee waiting for the boat to take us snorkeling.

This tiny blossom in an unusual tree caught Peg's eye

Peg looks back at the resort as the boat starts out on its journey to a nearby small island.

With just a few of us on board, we near this tiny island inhabited only by a few birds & crabs. In this area Peg will have her first ever snorkeling experience.

We soon drop anchor near this boat & jump in the water for 1.5 hours of fantastic snorkeling. The world beneath these waters is filled with beautiful & diverse fish & coral. Susan took underwater photos, but we will have to wait for their developing before we can share them.

Back to the resort with the salt water showered off, we discover the very interesting butterflies that are attracted to the many nearby blossoms. 

With their camera, Peg & Susan chase the butterflies as they romp through the banana blossoms (this being one of the best of many pictures taken).

This photo shows the two distinct & beautiful colors of banana blossoms growing near our rooms.

This unusual plant impressed Peg with its variegated leaves.

We are not able to identify all the unusual tropical plants on this island - only photograph them.

As we walk down a jungle trail, Peg finds another mystery plant with large clusters of grape-like balls. This seemed to be a palm tree.

Further south down the trail we come to where they are building a new & larger resort for this island. The woodwork impressed Keith.

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