I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again… One of the best parts about traveling is when family or friends join you for the fun and exploration!! In this case, Jared’s parents and brother came for a week visit to Chiang Mai!  After a grueling 24-hours of traveling, they arrived early in the morning and we let them rest for the first day. The next day we took a songteow into town and helped them rent their own motorbikes. The kids...

After locating the perfect beach (Nai Harn) on the busy island of Phuket, we next set out to find the perfect rental for our 5 week stay in the area. We found it in “The Sands,” a property located just behind these trees in the top center (big condos are being built behind them on the hillside…but The Sands is a relatively small place that’s been around for a while). We contacted 6 different landlords at The Sands who had prices...

If you’re looking for a great beach in Phuket that isn’t too crowded (or too secluded), Nai Harn may be your match. We have seen the other popular West Coast beaches in Phuket, and believe that we hit the jackpot in finding one of the best beaches in Phuket! Nai Harn Beach is located on the Southwest tip of the Island of Phuket. While it does have its fair share of tourists, it’s beaches are usually pretty low key, not crowded, and...

Doi Suthep is a Buddhist Temple (Wat) towering on a mountain nearby Chiang Mai. It is a short drive from the city, and you can either hire a red songteow or taxi to take you there, or take motorbikes. We opted for the motorbikes—and were glad we did. As we climbed up the winding switchbacks, we were able to get a few glimpses of the city of Chiang Mai (pollution and all). This is the only Buddhist temple I’ve seen that requires you to...

After visiting “James Bond Island” and then doing a short stint in some sea canoes in Phang Nga Bay, our next stop was the village of Ko Panyi. This is a small Muslim village that is built on wooden stilts over the ocean, with a population of approximately 1600 people. The island’s inhabitants supposedly originate from two seafaring Muslim families from Java! Only the local mosque has the luxury of being located on solid ground, due...

If you’re just catching up with us, please check out Part 1 of our James Bond Island Series. Meanwhile, after leaving the famous James Bond Island, our long tail boat wandered over through Phang Nga Bay, and we docked at a big boat that offered Sea Canoe trips. This was not included in the price of our tour, but for the small price (and kids were free), we decided it was worth the extra money. The price escapes me, but I think it was...