If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies...

Well it was only a matter of time before something new came along - planning a trip to a new country, me convincing Alo we should buy one of the cute puppies they sell on the side of the road in Indonesia - or that we are moving...to Africa? Yup you guessed it - Alo found out recently he got a new position working on a different program in his company and we are moving to Tunisia! We are both really excited about it, yet sad to leave Indonesia.  It's been our home for the past year and we have had so many wonderful experiences together that we'll never forget.

I was apprehensive in the beginning to move to Indonesia.  I hated to leave my job in DC which I really enjoyed, my friends of course, and most of all my family.  I was nervous about living so far away and moving to a city I'd never visited nor heard very nice things about. Well if I've learned anything from this - it's JUST DO IT! You'll never know until you try.  Alo is also the most positive, go-with-the-flow, happy person I know so being across the world with him makes it much easier on any bad days!  I am so thankful we've had this opportunity together in Indonesia and look forward to our new chapter in Tunisia!

James Bond Island

On our last day in Thailand, we took a day trip to Phang Nga Bay in the Adaman Sea where the famous James Bond Island is located.  If you want a day trip with some kayaking around and stopping to see stalactites/stalagmites then this trip is for you. If you want a day of swimming and clear blue beaches then it's probably not the day trip for you but I really enjoyed it!

The entire trip gets its name from the James Bond movie filmed there (Man with the Golden Gun).  The actual island they call James Bond Island is tiny! I was expecting like a real island whereas its more of a limestone rock jetting out from the sea?

The kayaking was my favorite part! Some of the areas were so small we had to lay down. We had a guide on the back with us too!

Some of the small spaces we kayaked through...

See Alo and the guide??

There were guys on the wooden long tail boats just selling coconuts all day - ice cold coconuts - my favorite! yummm!

We had lunch at the place below but unfortunately I can't remember the name of it. It was basically a community built on the water and tons of shopping stalls and food/snacks for sale. We ate at a buffet and looked around for a bit and then headed to our last stop, the ice cream cave.

Can you imagine living here with small children?  So many cracks and crevices that lead straight down to the ocean!

Ice cream cave...why the name you ask? Because of the stalagmites formed by the dripping of the limeston in the cave - they think it looks like scoops of ice cream.

Kob kun ka is about the only thing I can ever remember in Thai :) Kob kun ka Thailand for another amazing trip - we hope to see you again someday!

Koh Phi Phi Islands

I'd say for sure the Koh Phi Phi islands in the Andaman sea are the most beautiful islands and beaches I've seen yet in Asia.  I will say they were an exact replica of the photos on calendars, websites, brochures, etc that I've seen in the past.  It's just what I always thought Thailand beaches were like - so it didn't let me down by any means!

There are about six islands total that make up Koh Phi Phi.  The islands are about an hour away from the marina in northern Phuket if you take a speedboat.  The most gorgeous one (but you can't stay on it) is Koh Phi Phi Ley.  The lagoon our boat took us in to swim was just stunning and I've never seen anything like it in my life.  The other islands we visited were Bamboo island and Koh Phi Phi Don (the main island where all the hotels are located).

Driving into the lagoon - this photo doesn't portray how gorgeous it really is - but you get the idea...

We first stopped at Bamboo island. It's a small island just with crystal clear water, beautiful white sand and nothing to do! (my kind of place!)  They did have a big wooden swing I loved - so when I get that private perfect island someday I'm certainly adding a big wooden swing to it! (one can dream right??)

Work it - work it! I snapped this while walking around the island - isn't this supposed to be the other way around?? Since when are men making the sexy poses on the beach instead of the women? HA!

We had lunch on Koh Phi Phi Don at a small restaurant on the beach. The island was really big so we hardly saw any of it.  The island is where all the hotels and villas are located and where tourists stay when they travel to Koh Phi Phi.

The last place we visited was Maya Bay on Koh Phi Phi Ley where the movie The Beach was filmed.  It actually wasn't as impressive as I imagined but maybe because of the large amount of tourist.  Regardless - Leonardo DiCaprio made it quite famous! 

Lots of tourists and lots of Speedos of course! 

It appears Alo is having an arm spasm in this one - or he is flexing!  haha

Just simply wonderful :)