Flew down to Phuket this morning and staying in a luxury hotel (which has ensuite - great) which makes a change from those two grotty hostels I was previously staying in. I am stopping
in this hotel
I am absolutely knackered as there was another storm last night (at 12 am) that shook the whole hotel, which meant no sleep for me. The taxi ride to Bangkok airport was an experience, the
driving over here is very scary (beats going on any rides at amusement parks) they weave in and out of cars like an American car chase.
Phuket is a typical tourist resort although the beach is nice and clean. As I am tired, I could not do much i.e sightseeing as I wanted an early night to catch up with my sleep, shame as
I would of liked the James Bond Island tour
Treated myself to a Thai massage as this all you see over here. Everywhere you walk, you get ladies enticing you to receive a massage, so I thought when in Rome. That was an experience as
well!
Off to Krabi tomorrow.
Well what can I say, not long after phoning the family about the constant rain, it started raining!. Krabi is a small costal town that is usually a tourist's one night stop before heading off to the islands (like me) not much to do here but drink (like me) and catch up on my reading.
Now that I have left Bangkok and the sleazy Patong beach (in Phuket), I can see why people want to come to Thailand. The scenery is fantastic. Today I travelled from Patong beach to Phuket main town via the scary bus company (or as it should be known as) and then caught a coach to Krabi (3 ½ hours long) but with the view it was worth it especially going through Phang Nga and the fare was extremely cheap.
Tomorrow I head off to Koh Phi-Phi Don (pronounced Pee-pee) via ferry as it is an island. The film The Beach was filmed on it's sister island Phi-Phi Ley, which I aim to visit. Let's hope the weather improves!
As I stated previously there is not much to do here in Krabi, so I treated myself to a lovely evening meal of fresh White Snapper and boiled rice with garlic and black pepper (the fish
was caught today). I could happily retire here...
Well it is 9pm here (3pm in the UK) and I am off to drink more 'Singha' (extremely nice Thai beer) and carry on reading my book - well I am on my hols!!
Well I have finally arrived on the island of Phi Phi Don. I originally thought the journey was going to be very short - was I wrong.
The journey started in a little speed boat (the traditional Thai style one built for about 10 people) which I thought was going to be the main transport until the boat took us to a ferry harboured on the coast (with 250 other people) The journey to the island took 3 hours and that includes the 1 hour wait for people to go snorkelling (for a charge)
Phi - Phi is a nice place to visit, nice beaches and scenery however it is an island full of bars, hotels and loads of tourist. There is a lot of space to move on the beach and you do
not have to go far to get some isolation (within reason)
I finally had to blend in with the crowd and bought myself some shorts and sandels. I looked so out of place when I got into Phi -phi that I had no choice...
My accommodation (actually it is a bungalow) is this place
Second day on the island and I am getting a nice tan. My neck is severely sun burnt and even after-sun has no effect.
Took a boat tour around the island, started at 9am finished at 4pm. You go to all the islands around Phi Phi Don which includes going to Phi-Phi Le (where they filmed the film The Beach) and you get to snorkel at each stop (flippers and masks were provided) First time snorkelling was great but the novelty disappeared by the fourth time.
One of the stops was at Bamboo Island which was extremely nice and deserted; you had to swim
from the boat to get to it.
Not planning on doing much tomorrow just find a spot on the nearby beach and chill out (if I can with this sunburn!) There is a beach not far from the hotel called Long beach. The weather here is very hot with some rain each day but that is fine as it does not last long and it comes as a nice change
from the constant heat.
Well my whole body is completely sunburnt (the weather yesterday was far too hot). Today there is rain every hour. Went to the Long Beach about 45 min walk, over rocks which was very stupid as if I fell I would easily break my neck. When I finally arrived, it started to rain heavy (after all September is in the middle of the monsoon season in Thailand). Finally decided against walking back and caught a boat taxi to the main town
Not much else to do but read my book and generally chill out. This is the place you go to if you want the quiet life. My hotel (or bungalow) is far from the main town, a bit of a trek but at least where I staying is away from the noise of the town especially at night with the loud music.
Diet consists of shrimp, chilli and rice as it is cheap. I even have alcohol free days which you will be surprised to hear. I thought I would try more fresh fish but it can a little expensive as it is priced by weight (so far I have had white snapper in Krabi and red snapper here in Phi-Phi) I spent last night watching the chef cook food and was very fascinated.
The chef thought it was strange that a tourist would be interested in his work (I felt like Keith Floyd) then I went to bar and got slightly drunk with a couple of people from Middlesex.
Trying to decide on what to do tomorrow as it is my last day - I will head back to Bangkok on Wednesday via Phuket.
Well by now I am getting bored. Could not decide what to do today, so I plan on just chilling out. There was a swim with sharks tour that I was interested in however they wanted me available at 7am and that seemed to early for me.
One thing I am missing is chocolate. My diet is been extremely healthy since leaving the UK and with the amount of walking I am doing.
With regards to travelling next year, I was thinking of Malaysia or Indonesia.
My route tomorrow is a boat from Phi-Phi to Phuket (2 hours) a mini bus from Phuket to the airport (45 mins) a plane from Phuket to Bangkok ( 1 hour) and then a flight to the UK via stopping at Helsinki ( total travelling time 16 hours)
What fun eh!!