Last Asia Page!

Finally I am done with this scrapbook.  Asia was amazing, scrapbooking was like reliving it again which was great.  Loved this trip, will cherish this scrapbook!

China, Thailand & Hong Kong

The front page of our Asia book.  Just the back page of this page to do and it is done!

Live a Colorful Life

The sunsets in Thailand were just spectacular.  These pictures were not altered at all.  The ones below are around Phuket before we left to head to Hong Kong.

Elephant Trek

I was so excited to ride an elephant.  Once on top I was surprised how nervous I was.  They are very large animals and it is a long fall to the ground.  I'm sure they are very steady but the way they amble does not feel it all that steady!

Phi Phi Islands

This was one of my favorite days on the whole trip.  Everything was just so beautiful and I was still on cloud 9 after the previous night's surprise proposal!  If you are Phuket I would make sure to visit the Phi Phi Islands!

Phuket + Engaged!

The fateful day Darren asked me to marry him! :)  Sadly that was over two years ago and I just got to scrapbooking it!  Slowly catching up!

Wat Na Phra Mane and Wat Lokaya Sutharam

The last places we visited before our boat ride back to Bangkok was Wat Na Phra Mane and Wat Lokaya Sutharam.  The latter used to be a temple but the building eventually fell down and disappared but this giant reclining Buddha still remains.

Ayutthaya

Finally was able to get back to scrap booking but yes, I am still working on our Asia Trip!  This is Day 14 of our trip continued from the last time I scrap booked. It was from the Ayutthaya Historical Park with the Wat Mahathat which is now in ruins.

Bang Pa-In Palace

Day 14 - Our second day in Bangkok we decided to take a day trip up to Ayutthaya the former capital of Thailand.  There we visited the Bang Pa-In Summer Palace. The complex was built in 1632.  I was unfortunately not dressed "appropriately" and had to borrow a wrap to cover up my bare legs!

Wat Pho

Day 13 - Last page from this day.  Another picture from the Grand Palace, the reclining Buddha and Wat Pho as well as the Marble Temple.  The Marble Temple was made of "scrap" marble leftover after building the Grand Palace!

Grand Palace

Day 13 - As you can see this was an incredibly busy day.  This stop was for a visit to the Grand Palace which housed the Temple of the Emerald Buddha.  Everything was so ornate and beautiful.  The tiles just shimmered in the sun.

Wat Arun

Day 13 - Our next stop that day was Wat Arun, Temple of Dawn.  I wish the pictures portrayed just how colorful it was.  The whole site is adorned with broken China to give it the color and texture. 

Wat Tramit

Day 13 - Our first day in Thailand we took an insane tour.  We hit many of the highlights in Bangkok all in one day. Our first visit of the day was to Wat Tramit, the Temple of the Golden Buddha.  Our tour guide talked about how this was a temple was built by very wealthy people which is why everything inside was made of gold.

Day 19 - Hong Kong

In Hong Kong we decided to take a city tour.  Little did we know how easy it was to get around and we would not have signed up to do group activities and would have just relied on public transportion.

On our tour, our first stop was the Man Mo Monestary.  Man was the God of literature/business and Mo was the God of martial arts. 

At the temple people could buy these incense rings.  The bigger the donation, the bigger the ring.

People announce their arrival to Man and Mo by banging the drum three times and and ringing the bell three times.

Our next stop was Victoria Peak.  We took the tram to the top of the mountain for a great view of the city and the harbor.

We had heard many people talk about the view of Hong Kong at night and the laser light show.  It was a pretty neat show they do every night set to music.  Something like 40 buildings participate in lighting up and moving their lights to the music.

Day 18 - Phuket

Our last day in Phuket, we took a city tour before leaving for the airport.  It was a little disappointing of a tour, but we did see a few neat things.

This is Wat Chalong the island's biggest temple and monistary.

The ceiling of the temple was gorgeous!

As was the bell tower.

On our drive, we saw many of the beautiful beaches that Phuket is known for. 

We flew to Hong Kong and had a great view of the harbor from our hotel room.

Day 17 - Phuket

One thing on my Thailand wish list was to go on an elephant safari or at least an elephant ride.  Along with getting to ride on elephants we also got to experience other elements of the Thai culture.  They taught us how to make a fresh curry. I'll have to say it was the most tasty curry I've ever eaten!

We learned how rice is planted.  The water buffalo are used for this.  

The one named "Handsome" pulled us around the camp for a couple of minutes.

We got to see a baby elephant show where they showed us all sorts of trucks including playing soccer, painting and playing music.

 

In the forest there were these GIANT spiders nests. I wish you could tell the scale of this guy but he was significantly bigger than my hand.

The views of the bay from on top of the elephant in the Chalong highlands were amazing.

 

 After our ride I got to feed them.  Who knew an elephants favorite food is watermelon and sugar cane!

 

After our elephant ride, we were taken on a boat ride that served lunch. 

 From the bay you could see the Giant Buddha.

Day 16 - Phi Phi Island

What a fun day in the sun!  Our main destination of the day was to Phi Phi (Pee-Pee) Island, but we made numerous different stop among the islands during the day.  We started off on a high speed Catamaran.  

This is a viking cave where locals go to collect birds nests for bird nest soup. Glad I never tried it!

Everywhere we went the water was crystal clear blue.

Our first swimming stop was Phi Leh Cove where Leonardo DiCaprio jumped off one of these cliffs during the move "The Beach." 

 

 Then we snorkeled in Loh Samah Bay.  The fish just swarmed around as we swam.

And then we got some beach time at Maya Bay which was also filmed during the movie, "The Beach."

 

Our last stop before lunch was Monkey Beach.  While they didn't let us feed the monkeys by ourself since they bite, our boat capitan threw them a bunch of fruit.  And they were little piggies, chowing down on everything quickly.

 

 

 Our lunch was served at a resort on Laem Tong Beach.  The water was absolutely crystal clear.

 

Our last stop of the day was at Khai Nai Island.  We took a walk around this tiny island.  It was full of these beautiful rock formations.

 

 That night back at the hotel we took a walk on the beach.  The sunset was glorious.

 

 

 

 

And after getting back to our room, we heard fireworks from the balcony. Perfect end to a beautiful day.