8.0592° N, 98.9189° E

A recap of one of the most beautiful weekends of my entire life:

DAY 1: (Friday)

- Friday was a school day for me. This means that I had class to attend and then a plane to catch to Krabi, Thailand! For those who did not read my last post, Krabi lies on the southern coast of Thailand, very near to Phuket.

- A quick shoutout to the Kendergrass duo: I don't know what I would be doing during the travel time here if it were not for The Hobbit! A thank you goes out to the both of you lovely souls!

- Once we landed, it was just a quick bus trip to our hostel, K-Bunk, then off to dinner. Our Bundit group was so lucky to have stayed at K-Bunk what with such helpful and hospitable owners and top-notch breakfast skillets!

DAY 2: (Saturday)

- Saturday was a very busy day for us. To pack everything we possibly could into just one day, we decided to do a boat tour. The full tour included a visit to many of the Krabi islands, snorkeling, cliff diving, dinner, bioluminescent swimming, and a fire show back at the pier! --- at only around $24 USD (900 THB)

- Dinner Menu: Thai BBQ of course!

- The islands: 1. Taming Island 2. Puya Bay 3. Gai (Chicken) Island 4. Tup Island 5. Phra Nang

- All along on the boat tour, the tour guides thought it necessary to put a Maroon 5 CD on replay...which was an experience in itself right there.

DAY 3: (Sunday)

- Today was the day we said goodbye to Krabi. Before we left, we were able to get a morning start by hiking up to Tiger Temple after eating a breakfast of fresh fruit mixed with sweet coconut milk.

- The temple has one stairway leading to the summit, with a total number of 1,237 steps, some of them more than a foot high. The top of the stairs is 278 meters high. Another set of steps with 184 steps leads to the foothills area where monks live in the caves.

- Long-Tailed Macaque monkeys swarmed us all along the stairs and temple grounds! They looked happy and healthy with lots of adorable new babies hanging on tight to their parents bellies!

- At the top of the mountain there is an enormous golden Buddha statue. This statue, other temple buildings, and much of Krabi Town can be seen from shrine at the top of the stairs.

- Tiger Temple History: The foundation of the temple dates back to 1975 (B.E. 2518) when a Vipassana monk named Jumnean Seelasettho (Ajahn Jumnean) went to meditate under the cave. During his meditation, he witnessed tigers roaming around the cave. This discovery led to naming the temple Wat Tham Suea. Another legend says that an actual huge tiger used to live and roam the cave. The naming of the temple also comes to discoveries of a tiger paw prints on the cave walls, and also the bulge of the cave resembling a tiger's paw.