The days almost seem to be getting earlier and earlier. This morning we were instructed to meet our driver (somebody new) in the lobby between 7:30 and 7:45 AM. If one wants breakfast before heading out, that means you need to be eating by 7:00 AM at the latest. And that means that you have to get up about 6:30 in order to get the day going. I thought this was a vacation?
Today was not with our private guide and driver, but with a larger group tour to a few islands in the area. Although, the skies were looking a little ugly this morning and there was a bit of a wind that was bringing in some decent surf. That could mean a rather bumpy ride out on the water - and we are going to be spending most of our day there. Let's hope it's not as bad as it looks.
Breakfast was a bit of a rush as we didn't get out the room door until about 7:10 AM. That meant you needed to eat something, and get it down, so that we could get to the lobby on time. Nothing like a bit of a rush start to the morning. We swallowed breakfast and then went straight to the lobby with our backpack filled with our towels, our sunglasses and some sunscreen (which we put on before we left this morning - but should have reapplied as will be described later).
We were approached right away and the driver asked "Going to Phi Phi"? We indicated that we were, but the name he was looking for was not us. Just after that, our driver for the day came up to us and was looking for Laureen. Success! We hopped into his transport vehicle and made our way to a second location that picked up 4 younger individuals. We found out later that they did not know each other before the trip, but had met along the way and were spending some time together. Two were from the UK, One as from Germany and the last one was from Australia. Nice bunch of folks.
We then made our way down the madness known as morning traffic in Phuket (which may help explain the name a little). Weaving in an out of traffic with scooters everywhere, long traffic lights and U-turns to get where you needed to go. All in the first few minutes. The total travel time took just about an hour and we arrived at the Andaman Leisure Phuket Co. area where we were checked in and then corralled into a room where they almost expected you to buy water shoes. We didn't have any, so we ended up purchasing them for 25 USD. In cash - because they don't accept anything but cash. The morning is not starting out well. You know how you just sense that things are not going to go as planned - why am I getting that tingling feeling?
A quick trip to the washroom, before boarding the boat which held about 40 people plus crew. Our first stop was Maya Bay on the island of Phi Phi Le (pronounced “P P lay”) which is the island where some of the movie "The Beach", with Leonardo DeCaprio was filmed. It came out 25 years ago, so if you don't remember, don't be too hard on yourself. This was a tourist trap if I ever have seen one. Boatloads of people were being loaded off their respective boats onto this floating pier and then up on the island. It was pretty to look at, but super crowded.
Our guide gathered us all together once again and we followed him back to the boat. It’s a very organized pier where there are constantly sightseeing boats dropping off people, while other boats are picking up sightseers who are done on the island. Everyone was hot from the short time on the island, so the guide had the driver take us over to Pi Leh Bay to cool off in the beautiful water. Curt jumped into water with a number of other passengers. Laureen decided to stay on the boat and take pictures. She was having a bit of trouble working Curt’s Samsung phone, so she did get some nice photos of the motors attached to our boat. Everyone back in the boat! It’s time for lunch.
A quick ride from Phi Phi Le over to the bigger island of Phi Phi Don (pronounced “P P Don”) to a large bay area called Tonsai Bay. We’ve already mentioned that all of these places are full with tourists. This bay was no different. Our guide directed us to a small restaurant that would serve us a buffet lunch. We filled our plates and went outside to enjoy our lunch. It was about this time that there was a lot of yelling and screaming coming from the beach area. There were people fighting while others around were yelling. Eventually the police showed up. We found out later that it was two groups of women from India one was trying to stop the other group from passing on the beach.
After lunch we walked down to the beach to the swimming area and took a plunge. The weather had changed dramatically from the morning when we had left Phuket. Blue, sunny skies and a warm ocean for swimming. Who could ask for more?
Once again, the group met up by the boat and we boarded for more fun. This time, snorkelling just around the corner at Monkey Beach. While it was a beautiful spot, I must say, we’ve now been spoiled by our adventures in Australia and snorkelling at the Great Barrier Reef. Once you’ve swam in those waters, nothing else comes close.
Our final stop with the boat would take us to Bamboo Island. Our boat backed up to the beautiful beach, and all of the passengers jumped off. Have we mentioned that all of these places are very touristy, and there are a lot of people? We enjoyed a quick swim and then we were ready to head back to Phuket.
As we got closer to Phuket, we could see that the tide was way out. Many of the boats that were floating were now resting on the sand along the sides of the canal. Our captain moved our rather large boat carefully through the channel, but we could see the ocean floor on either side. A quick “surprise” stop, was just before the dock. The captain stopped the boat and all of a sudden swarms of little monkeys emerged from the mangroves. These monkeys have seen this boat before, and it usually has nice people that throw them the leftover fruit from the tour group. The monkeys got a good feast of watermelon, much to the delight of the boat passengers.
Back at the dock we hopped back onto our shuttle bus that had picked us up from our hotel earlier in the day. The closer we got to Patong Beach, the thicker the traffic became. Then we noticed swarms of people carrying water guns laughing, dancing and having a whole lot of fun with the Thai New Year’s party. Young and old, local and visitor shot each other with water guns. People riding motorcycles seemed to be the main target, but it really didn’t matter, everyone was getting wet. We initially had planned to return to the shopping area not far from our resort, but seeing the mayhem, we reconsidered our shopping and dinner, and decided to settle in at the Rim Talay Restaurant on the property of the resort. Just like our morning breakfast (same building, etc.) the food was amazing and throughly enjoyed. It’s been a day of crowds and loads of sightseeing and sun. We loved the time out enjoying the islands. Now it’s time to get to bed. One more day with our guide tomorrow, hopefully this time away from the crowds and tourist traps.
Curt and Laureen at the Phi Phi Islands, Thailand
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