Gorgeous Islands of Thailand
Karst Formations
The unbelievable limestone mountains on the islands are breathtaking. “Erosion along limestone shores, notably in the tropics, produces karst topography that includes a sharp surface above the normal reach of the sea and undercuts that are mostly the result of biological activity or bioerosion at or above sea level. Some of the most dramatic of these formations can be seen in Thailand’s Phangnga Bay and Halong Bay in Vietnam.” We have tons of great photos of these!!!
Chinese Taoist Lent Vegetarian Festival
Trang hosts one of the largest festivals in Thailand
The Vegetarian Festival started Sept 29 the same date as Rosh Hashannah (HAPPY NEW YEAR!) It is a 9 day festival and the people wear white, think positive thoughts and hope for good luck. We saw a ceremony where they were feeding their gods…one woman was blowing a rams horn (shofar). “The Trang Vegetarian Festival is a spiritual gathering at the Kio OngIa and Chao Pho Muen Ram Chinese Shrines. It marks the first days of “Taoist Lent” with parades and a ceremonies. The title of this gathering is somewhat confusing – food does not provide the central focus, although white-robed devotees attending the event do adhere to a strict vegetarian diet to mark these important days.” It was a great cultural experience for us and we met so many wonderful people. Both of these festivals began on the 1st day of the 9th lunar month, Ramadan ended on Sept 29th.
Wow!!! Do we love Thailand! By the time we left we could count, order in a restaurant and have some of a conversation in Thai. All the people were so great, it truly is the land of SMIILES!
Something that is never far from your mind in the islands of Thailand is the 2004 Tsunami. “The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea earthquake that occurred December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The earthquake was caused by subduction and triggered a series of devastating tsunamis along the coasts of most landmasses bordering the Indian Ocean, killing more than 225,000 people in eleven countries, and inundating coastal communities with waves up to 30 meters (100 feet) high. It was one of the deadliest natural disasters in history. Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand were hardest hit.” We were happy to be in Kata Beach, Ko Phi Phi and Railey. All these beach areas were affected by the Tsunami and devastated afterwards by the lack of tourism.