Phuket, Patong Beach

Oct 9 – Phuket

We leave Koh Phi Phi early in the morning to catch the first ferry to Phuket. Our luggage is rolled by the Hotel to the Pier we hop on, find an empty seat and off we go. The swap is made again with the ferry coming from Koh Lanta and about 3 hours later we are in Phuket. No rough seas which I am very grateful for. There's some commotion around the luggage in Phuket but we all manage to get ours wait patiently for the pick-up and are delivered to Sweet Home Guesthouse which we booked yesterday. Very cheap, only 1000 Bath for three persons and only a few minutes walk to Patong Beach and roughly 15 minutes to Bangla Road the Party street in Patong Beach, Phuket.

Phuket is much bigger than I expected. It takes quite a while to get around and also cross the hills in the middle of the island. And there's apparently quite many sights and activities to be done. No wonder so many tourists return here year after year. We don't have time for any sightseeing since we are already leaving tomorrow for Singapore but what we do have time for is some relaxing on Patong Beach, which we desperately need after the little shock of our room. It's spacious enough but there's a terrible smell and the air in the room horrible. It's on the ground floor with a padlock as a lock. What helps us over are the nice ladies at reception that are truly friendly. And for 50 Baht one even repairs the missing stitches on my backpack. We can't head out quickly enough and take the shortcut they told us to the beach. And there it is... in front of my eyes. A big sign reading: Austrian Garden! And yes, there's a restaurant with a menu that leaves nothing to be desired. Beach first... and then can't wait to come back here for dinner. On the beach I have to inform the girls of the great Austrian food and the amazing taste and convince them easily to go there tonight.

Patong Beach itself is much better than expected. We heard stories of crowds and all the nastiness that comes with it. We are still a bit before High Season so we can rent empty beach chairs and just plant ourselves there until the sun disappears. Ice cream, snack and water vendors come by so there's no reason to even get up from the chair. Except to cool down in the tropical waters. This beach is really amazingly beautiful. There are Jet Skis for rent everywhere and you can Parasail along the beach. That's also a beautiful spot and I could stay here longer, albeit if it were for another hotel.

Back to the Guesthouse, shower and then... drumroll please.... Austrian Fooooood!

I have been gone for over two months so it's ok for me to be craving some Schnitzel. I go for the typical Austrian Menu of Fritattensuppe and Wienerschnitzel. And yes, you would not have though it with a Thai Chef in the kitchen but it's just perfect – or maybe my deprived soul is playing tricks on me and it just tastes so good as I can't remember properly. The sizes are Austrian too so after soup and schnitzel I am overstuffed. But Jonna and Reija went for dessert. Apfelstrudel and Kaiserschmarrn respectively and I just need to try it to make sure they are getting the proper cuisine. And yes, fanastic tastes there too. I am happy! And in true Austrian fashion the people walking by greet us just as they would in Austria. Austrian Garden is a haven in Phuket to flee from Thailand into a tiny tropical Austria. Even the coffee is good, something that never happens in Thailand. Out of curiosity we also check out their rooms and they are beautiful, clean and spacious and prices are very reasonable to. Too late to switch now but a very good one to remember for the next time in Phuket.

Since we are all overfull we more waddle than walk from the Austrian garden. Our next stop is Bangla Road for some drinks and a few market stalls on the way. Same overpriced items here so no shopping again. Bangla road is what you would expect it. A street lined with one bar next to the other souvenir stalls, food courts and other shops in between. Everywhere peddlers trying to make you purchase something or get you into a Ping Pong Show. We walk up and down and everywhere the bars where scantily clad Thai girls dance on tables as if they were asleep. Anyone jumping to avoid a bug is more active than they are. One can see that they are really enjoying their job – not. I am just wondering if anyone actually finds that sexy. They just stand there stomping from one foot to the other barely moving. Who calls that dancing? And who pays to see that? Well actually you don't have much option they are just everywhere and it's kind of included in your drink price. There is other bars where I assume Eastern Europeans are dancing, and yes you could call that dancing. Not many patrons there either though: Still kind of quiet. This place must be heaving in High Season.

We decide to go to a Finnish Club for a drink and then head back. The Club is completely empty but the music is good. So one drink, walking along the beach and beachside roads back to our moldy room for a bad nights sleep.

Underwater adventures Koh Phi Phi

Oct 8 . Koh Phi Phi – underwater world

Did I get offered two breakfasts yesterday, today I don't get any. But seeing that we are heading out into rough waters that was better for me anyway.

Chris is already waiting for us, all the gear ready and we just have to carry some stuff and make our way to Phi Phi Harbor to hop on the boat. First stop is Bida Nok a fantastic dice site a bit further out from Phi Phi Leh. Marcus can just relax as a Discover Scuba Diver everything is prepared for him. I go over all the gear again and set it up with Chris' help. A little review is good since it looks a bit different to what I was used to. And then the rough waters hit and my stomach starts to churn instantly. The boat moves up and down and all I can do is just try and not throw up. One final review of commands and signals and the boats positioning and repositioning. I can't wait to get into the water and off the moving boat. And finally! We reached our spot, one big step forward and there we are! Hello underwater world!
As if by command two – harmless – leopard sharks pop out and greet us the moment we start our descend. Sweet! We practice a bit with the equipment and then continue. It's so nice just to follow Chris around. No navigation and depth checking, just swim after the guide and keep an eye on air. So much nicer, you can concentrate fully on the underwater world, and what an underwater world it is. All kinds of fish and reef animals, plants. Just woooooow! Since pictures say more than words and I don't have an underwater camera, just check this out to get an impression of what I saw.

Diving Bida Nok

After a FANTASTIC dive it's back to the boat. Since it's still raining and windy (damn was it nice to escape that underwater) instead of heading to Shark Point we are moving to the Viking Caves.

The boat is still moving a lot and I have to concentrate hard getting really motion sick. I refuse the lunch politely, nothing would stay in at this moment.
Getting to Viking Caves I once again can't wait to get off the boat. And it is a rewarding jump. There is an artificial sunken reef as well as a natural reef there that make diving great. Not as great as Bida Nok but still extremely remarkable.
Some impressions taken from other people:
Diving Koh Phi Phi
Amazing marine life later we hop on the boat and once everyone made it we head back to Koh Phi Phi. Since we had such an early start it's only about 1 pm so most of the day still ahead of us and already experienced so much. The weather's gotten a bit better by now and Vilma, Reija and Jonna meet us at the dive shop when we get back. They wanna spend some time at the pool but I guess for me it's better to nourish my sunburn another way. After a walk through the middle of the island I treat myself to an Aloe Vera massage. And yes, does that feel good. Since it starts pouring the moment I want to leave the massage salon I stay in and go for a foot scrub while the others get ready and we meet for early dinner.

On the way we get by a Travel Agency that sells the Ferry tickets to Phuket 50 Baht cheaper than all the other ones we have seen so we book for 250 B each and already secure a hotel and transportation there as well. Transportation is crazy expensive, just as on most islands. 150 B (I hope I remember right) for a Minibus to hop from the Ferry terminal to Patong Beach. Well we need to get there somehow. So tomorrow Phuket, all arranged and day after morning flight to Singapore.

Dinner is again in the Swedish restaurant and I am going for some Mexican food today. Yep, having Mexican Food in a Swedish restaurant in Thailand. Globalization says Hello! We shop for bit afterward but prices are inflated compared to Bangkok, so it's more window shopping only.

Long Beach for some farewell cocktails enjoying some fire-show and acrobatics show on the beach and wading in the water. Music is good, good cocktails, good friends... could this just last forever?

Beaches, Beaches and THE Beach! Koh Phi Phi

Oct 7 Koh Phi Phi

Getting up early to catch our Hotel's breakfast. And what a breakfast it is. Yummy! Andaman Beach Resort really spoils us there. And getting ready for our day on the Longtail Boat. Pretty much a full day tour with many stops for snorkeling, swimming and relaxing. And that all for just 400 Baht, roughly 10 Euros. The meeting point is at 9am just a minute from our Hotel. And as we are to find out we only set out over an hour later, since people there are having their breakfast too. Would have been nice if they told us before. I could have managed a bit more sleep. So we just sit around and wait while the other tourists gorge on the breakfast buffet as if they haven't been fed for 3 days.

The Longtail Boat we get on is full with Chinese tourists, the 3 of us and one European girl traveling by herself. The Chinese are very interesting. One has her boyfriend carry her to the boat since she doesn't want to get wet (why go on a full day boat trip then...) and some other are equally challenging. They barely speak English which is ok as the boat captain doesn't know any English either. With sign language he shows how much we have to pay if we loose any equipment, mask, snorkel or fins. And finally off we go to our first stop. It's only a few minutes drive and we stop by a nearby reef. It takes the Chinese forever to get their gear sorted out and it seems they are afraid of the water. After patiently waiting for a while I just head out and jump in. Come on all, there's fish to be seen. And what a great snorkeling site it is. There are swarms off fishes swimming only millimeters by and you right in the middle. Some are even so cheeky to bite a bit. Luckily it's not the whole swarm, I'd be a goner than. I can't name all the fish but there were aplenty and colorful ones at that.

After some snorkeling it's for a looooong boat ride to Mosquito Island (effing horrible name) but there's amazing snorkeling too and I spot my first Nemo's there. Aaaaaaah. Everyone loves Nemo and I certainly do too.

Next stop is Bamboo island where pristine white sandy beaches and turquoise water awaits. There are a few hiccups getting there. The boat just goes to the very deep end where there is no way of getting out without getting soaked, it's too deep to stand. The Chinese protest so the boat takes forever trying to find its way through to shallower waters. It's still breast deep when we get out but hey, I am wet already. The island looks just as in the advertisements. There is no development on the island despite a small snack stand and bathrooms for the tourists. But maybe the wild would be better. Bathrooms house gigantic spiders, luckily they don't move while we're there. At the snack stand it proves again why Thailand won't be a developed nation anytime soon. They simply don't want to make money. They refuse to sell something to Reija as she doesn't have exact change. It's obvious they have change their (I saw a wad of money when the last person bought something) but just don't want to take bigger bills. No money for you today my friend. That attitude is so often displayed in Thailand that they simply don't care whether you buy something from them or not and it really bugs me. Where is the friendliness everyone's talking about?

I get over that by moving my attention to the turquoise waters and wading through the tubwarm ocean. I think they call that paradise somewhere? After what seems like a way too short time to enjoy there is the dreaded whistle. Come back to the boat everyone. Nooooo! I wanna stay, I wanna soak in the water. Luckily it takes some time for everyone to get back so I just swim around the boat taking in the scenery.

The next boat ride seems to take forever. We go all the way from Bamboo island to Phi Phi Leh to stop at the Viking Caves. There's supposed to be nice snorkeling to, but no one wants to get in the water as garbage is floating everywhere. Yikes. The next stop, same thing. Garbage everywhere, so no dipping for us there. It also seems that our boat has more trouble navigating as it is deeper than other ones, they can't go everywhere.

Now what everyone's been waiting for. Maya Bay – The Beach, meaning Leonardo Dicaprio's beach. Except, we are not going to Maya Bay we are going to Losama Bay. From there we have to swim to swim cliffs, climb up some ropes and staircases and walk over to Maya Bay. Well that wasn't planned but for the xth time today I am thrilled about my Drybag purchase. I safely take all my stuff with me hop in the water and am the first one up and across. There is great snorkeling in Losama Bay too and I see a lot of those black and white fishes from Nemo. Along the ropes and up the steep slippery staircases through the island. On the way we pass the makeshift camp where there are plenty of military tents to accompany the people that book an overnight stay in Maya Bay. Doesn't look very cozy to me but apparently it's all about the booze anyway. Few more minutes through the jungle and then we finally reach it. The famous Maya Bay! It opens up for us the way it must have for Leo. Except today there's a few boats and plenty of tourists there. All taking pictures and taking in the scenery. It isn't hard to imagine why this place was chosen for the movie. It is breathtaking. Less so with all the people but still very, very scenic. Relaxing a bit and it's trekking and swimming back to boat. Watching other people cling to the rope for dear life instead of just swimming is simply hilarious. It takes them two minutes to get 3 meters. Maybe we won't get back today after all.

After Maya Bay there are some more stops planned. On Monkey Beach and some sunset viewing. We all gladly decline to get out. We got breakfast, fruits and lunch all before noon and now had nothing other than water for 6 hours. The sun is exhausting and I really don't want to deal with monkeys at the moment. Back on Phi Phi I really just want to shower and eat.

Another nice evening with dinner and drinks with 4 Finns and me at a Swedish restaurant where we coincidentally run into some other exchange students from Bangkok University. Small world that is! Marcus and I book the dive trip for tomorrow at Adventure Divers. They all have the same prices but this one has a smaller group of divers per instructor going for it. Only 2 divers per instructor/guide is great value as most others do 4 or 6. I have our diving Kiwi diving instructor Chris talk me into taking the refresher course. It's 3200 Baht instead of 2500 for the fun dive but may well be worth it since I haven't been diving in quite a while. Yeah! It's gonna be a very early morning for us since we head out at 7 but it's so gonna be worth it. No drinks for me today! Divers stay sober. So heading home fairly early to be fit in the morning for the undersea adventure!

Welcome to paradise, Welcome to Koh Phi Phi

Oct 6 Koh Phi Phi

Leaving early morning to Koh Phi Phi. Yes! Can't wait. Not sure if the weather is going to be better but what I heard at least Koh Phi Phi is already busy with tourists, and all places are open. Yes, most people would think that places heaving with tourists is a bad thing but after the very untouristy place of Koh Lanta I actually can't wait to see people again.

As our luck has it our pick-up is 20 minutes late and we are just hoping to make it to the 8am ferry – that only runs once a day in off season - on time. We get there 3 minutes to spare till we leave, yes, happy we made it. And so far the sun is shining. It's a pleasant 2-3 hour boat ride and just before we get to Koh Phi Phi the ferry docks off to another one that is heading to Phuket. So people actually don't switch boats from Koh Lanta to Phuket in Koh Phi Phi but mid-ocean, which is quite different.

We arrive on Koh Phi Phi and it is still sunshine, lucky us. Being too lazy to drag our luggage across the island we are booking accommodation on the Pier for the next two nights (not before not verifying online that the price quoted is reasonable, thanks to unlimited mobile Internet).

So we get a room at the Andaman Beach Resort and a guy with a cart picks up our luggage. There are no cars on the island, which I love, and virtually no motorcycles either. Even the bicyclists are having a hard time navigating their way through the tourists. A brisk walk later we get to check in, in a tiny but decent room and immediately make our way to the beach / pool. We have to catch the first sun rays in days. And since it's seemingly so long since I last saw the sun I underestimate it a bit and get sunburned the first official day on the beach. Aaaaarrrrgh!!! And I only have myself to blame. So suncream, after-sun, Aloe Vera and shirts with sleeves for the next few days for me.

It again rains a little bit today, but luckily that is soon over and we get to explore the island a little bit, have some late lunch and walk around. The main part of the island can all be easily walked in a few minutes and that makes it so great. No matter where you are staying, you really are close to everything. How nice not to have to rely on overpriced taxis etc. There is a wonderful beach on the other side of the island, filled with bars and cheap guesthouses, so the young backpacker crowd is never far. The beach is incredibly flat a long way out so makes for good scenery but not so good swimming.

Walking around the island we receive the tip to check out the viewpoint for sunset and we are just on time to make it there. Hot, dripping sweat and trying to avoid the monkeys and mosquitos, we reach the perfect setting. You see most of the island, including Koh Phi Phi Le and can watch as the colors change. Aaaaaaaaah! That is how I imagine a vacation. As an added bonus we get to witness a proposal. All well prepared with a blanket, flowers and of course... a ring. As was expected she cries and says yes. Hm, wonder how many people had had that idea before.

We make our way down before it gets pitch dark and meet up with Vilma and Marcus who arrived from Ao Nang earlier to plan out the next days trips and dinner plans. So tomorrow there will be an island trip, slow cheap longtail boat for us, speedboat for V+M, and day after diving is on the program. Yeah! Really looking forward to that one! The underwater world around Phi Phi should be breathtaking (hopefully not in a literal sense).

We pick a beachside restaurant for dinner and after negotiation a special price for seafood I decide to get a Whole White Snapper. I've had plenty of Red Snappers before but never a White one. Picked fresh and grilled especially for me, it's very tasty but if I had the choice next time I'll go for the Red one again. There is a live band in a bar nearby the restaurant which makes talking almost impossible, they also put on a Fireshow which seems to last forever. Next stop for us is the Bar area to get a little nightcap. It's Ladies Night with cocktails half off, but as you get what you pay for... they taste more than horrible. It's gonna be another bar next time for sure.

First day on Koh Phi Phi was just amazing! So glad we came here. Looking forward to exploring more tomorrow.