I'm not sure why, but sleep was a little restless. Maybe it had something to do with the longer travel day we had yesterday. Or maybe it was just us trying to get used to a new place. Regardless, We both woke up a little tired. More sleep would have been better, but then the day that we are about to have would be changed forever - and we can't have that now can we?
We had to be up before 7:30 in order to get ready, have breakfast and get our hands on some towels for the day ahead. We met Narwin in the hotel lobby for 8:30 AM, where our private transport drove us to the marina where we would start our day on a Thai longtail boat. The Thai longtail boat, or Ruea Hang Yao as it is called by the locals, is an iconic symbol of Southeast Asia's waterways, especially along Thailand’s coasts and rivers. With its slender wooden hull and distinctive exposed engine mounted on a long drive shaft, the boat is both elegant and practical. Its name comes from the extended propeller shaft that resembles a tail, allowing it to navigate shallow waters with ease. Often brightly painted and adorned with colourful ribbons or garlands for good luck, the longtail boat is a vital part of local life—used for fishing, transport, and ferrying tourists to hidden beaches and island paradises (like for us today).
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| Our Thai Longtail Boat and a Friend |
The drive was a bit of a long one as our hotel is not conveniently located for things like this. But it has a pretty good view and lots of amenities. Also, the traffic here is a bit of a mess. It's basically just BUSY all of the time with scooters intermingling with the cars. Our guide (Narwin), noted that he owns a scooter and likes to take it out because you don't get stuck in traffic like the cars do. Scooters lane split everywhere here, so for instance, at a red light, you will see scooters coming up between the cars and getting ready to leave as soon as the light changes. It's entertaining to watch (or not if you faint of heart).
We arrived at the marina, but went across the road to a little store with clean, western washrooms that can be used for a small fee ($10 Baht per person). Since we had no Thai currency yet, Narwin had to spring for the bathroom for us. I'll have to pay him back. Also, before you go in, you have to take the paper that you need. 👀 How much does one NEED? hard to tell, so I grabbed quite a bit. Like Forrest Gump aways says, "...you never know what you are going to get".
From there we hopped in a little open-air van, that took us way down the wharf until we were at the one with our Thai Longtail Boat - the one we have for the day all to ourselves. We hopped on board and they started out to the water. It was an overcast day, where at times the sun TRIED to come out, but was never really exposed directly. Our first stop was one of the limestone rock formations that had a cave and our boat came right up alongs side the ledge and we hopped off the boat and Narwin lead us through the cave. It was stunning.
From there we made our way to an area with a small bay and took pictures in and then looking out.
From here we made our way to Ko Tapu, or since 1974 it's been known as "James Bond Island", as it was used for scenes from "The Man with the Golden Gun".
we departed here and made our way to a spot where there were a bunch of Sea Kayakers all gong in and out through the rooks where a kind of well/or lagoon was formed. We did not go in, but anchored close by, and then hopped out in the ocean for a swim. It was amazing!
We left this spot and headed to a secluded island to have lunch.
Lunch was REALLY good and had more food than we could possibly eat. we ended up moving under a structure as some rain had moved into the area. After lunch we wandered around the beach and picked up a few shells, coral, and some sand for the collection. We also went for a short swim here before we departed to head back to the marina. This was a fantastic lunch and I have to admit, it was a bit hard to get back on the boat and leave this place.
We arrived back at the marina, just in time for it to start pouring rain. I should have known as we missed most of it through the day today. Getting out was a bit of an adventure, and the captain and his crewmate were standing in the pouring rain, helping us get out of the boat. I made sure to tip them well. That was A LOT of fun.
The drive back to the hotel was a little longer than usual due to the heavy traffic. I think it took over an hour to get there, and they dropped us off at the lobby of the hotel. We would not see them tomorrow as our trip to Phi Phi Island was with a larger group (could be 20 - 50 people).
From there we went back to our room to get changed into some drier clothes and then head over to the market that is about 1 km away from where were are staying. There is no such thing as "dry" clothes here as the moment you step outside of an air conditioned space, you begin sweating. We decided to walk to the market as I had not converted any American cash into Baht yet, and we would need some for the Tuk Tuk into the area. So, we went on foot. It was a nice walk with plenty of scenery on the public beach in Phuket.
We wandered around the stores and ended up buying a few things (I got my Thailand hat). I also went into a back room with a guy to show me all of the counterfeit watches hr had. I took a hard look at an AP - but we didn't get to the price I wanted. Maybe another day.
We stopped at place called Roma Restorante & Pizzeria and had a nice tall glass of ice water, an ice cold coca-cola and we shared a Margherita pizza. That was amazing. we wandered over to a 7-11 next door and grabbed some more water and a few things before chatting with a TukTuk driver, negotiating a price, and then taking a bit of a scenic tour of Phuket (due to the one way road he was on). This is a happening place!
Back at the hotel we made our way to our room, found our clean laundry that we put in earlier that day (cost us over $110 CAN for all the laundry we had), and then we started writing blogs to catch up to today.
It's an early start tomorrow as we have to be at the lobby for 7:30 AM. It will be a longer day at Phi Phi island.
Curt and Laureen in Phuket, Thailand
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