Lunch over a lotus pond.

For my sister's visit, Bordeaux and I made our first trip to Southern Thailand. We arrived at the Krabi airport in the early afternoon, and after lunch at a Muslim canteen in town, caught a taxi out to our resort. Along the road, we traveled among craggy vine-entangled karsts and overgrown forest. I was enthralled by the passing greenery. I had come to Krabi expecting sparkling beaches and blue tide; I hadn't come expecting jungle.
Once unpacked, we gave in completely to relaxation. I'm usually an overly active traveler, but after two intense weeks in Vietnam, it felt great to just chill out. We spent most of our days by the beach or in the pool, and when meals rolled around we didn't feel like walking very far. Thankfully, there was a decent selection of places, even on our small beach. After reviewing menus, we found a particularly good restaurant at the Tubkaek Resort. Aside from the extensive list of tropical cocktails, we were drawn by the skillful kitchen, who served an interesting Thai menu that included a number of local Southern specialties. For one lunch, we ate tasty Hokkien noodles, and a spicy Krabi-style chicken with sticky rice and papaya salad. But as delicious as the food was, it was outshone by the lush tropical environment. Meals were served on a wood platform over a lotus pond, and the surrounded garden was landscaped with fiery red ginger, yellow-green banana trees, and dripping turquoise palms.