Christmas in Phuket, Thailand....Day 1

The first full day that we spent in Phuket was amazing!  We left the hotel at noon and headed down to the pier where we chartered a boat that took us out to James Bond Island (named that because some of a James Bond movie was filmed there).  Some of our friends from Beijing were with us so it was a lot of fun! 
Once we arrived we were introduced to our personal guides for the day.  Kelly and Ella were teamed up with Sunny and Julia and myself had a guy named Ann!  They were both fantastic!  They took us in kayaks out to go sea caving and hong exploring.  Some of the caves were pitch black and when the guide turned on the light on their hat you could see thousands of bats on the top of the cave.  It was pretty cool and yet disgusting all at the same time!  The other thing that was a trip was some of the caves we went into were such a tight squeeze that we had to lay down to fit through and it barely scraped your nose as you went in!  To make it more interesting it was even tighter coming out of the caves because of the tide coming back in.  They actually had to let a little air out of the kayak to fit it through!  Not good for claustrophobia!
We kayaked and swam the rest of the afternoon and then we got back onto the big boat and made Loi Kratong's with our guides.  These are an offering to Buddha for good luck and prosperity.  They were made with biodegradable materials.  Banana leafs, different flowers and some candles on top.  Some were very elaborate and beautiful. 
While the sun was setting we had not only the most breathtaking scenery you have ever seen, but we had an out of this world Thai dinner.  After dinner we headed back out into our kayaks and ventured into another pitch black cave.  Inside we all lit our Kratongs and made a wish and let them float.  To say it looked magical inside the cave would be an understatement.  The only light was coming from the candles of our beautiful floating Kratongs.  Then to make it even more magical....when you blew out the candles and were in the dark again, if you splashed the water you could see the luminescence.  It was amazing! 
After dark we headed back inland and made our way home for the night.  Exhausted and amazed at all we had seen and done that day.  Absolutely awesome day!

Poppy, Lily, Julia and Ella riding on the bow of the boat with a new friend they met, an English girl living in Dubai.

This was some of the crew!

The scenery was absolutely breathtaking .  The water was crystal blue and there were islands popping up all over.

Sunny (guide), Kelly and Ella

Julia and myself

Friends from our neighborhood.  Dave, Poppy, Kristen and Lily.

We would have to lay down to fit through some of the caves.

Suck it in Kelly......

Inside one of the caves.

Our guide Sunny was fantastic.  He made our trip so much fun!

Coming out of one of the caves...amazing stalagmites.

Oh lord,  watch out....Sunny has let Ella have control!

Kelly, Ella and Poppy hanging out in one of the Hongs (inside of an island).

Julia

Ella and Sunny making their Kratong.

Julia and Ann with our finished Kratong.

This was our dinner and it was AMAZING!!

Floating our lit Kratongs in the cave......make a wish!