Thailand so far...

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4th December- So Bangkok was a big city…. Busy with lots of people and many cars. We didn’t really do much on Saturday when we arrived, walked around and sussed out where we would eat dinner- Always the important things!
5th December- Sunday, we discussed doing touristy sights and we really couldn’t be bothered. We were fed-up looking at Temples and Palaces! So we decided to go to the business district to where the shopping centres are. Oh My Goodness, I have never been in such a shopping centre! It was huge, maybe 6 floors and hundreds of shops! A girls Heaven! Only problem was, we were only window shopping! Apparently there are like 2 or 3 of this size of shopping centres in that area. No wonder the people in Bangkok are so fashionable! We decided to go to the cinema to see Harry Potter and thoroughly enjoyed chilling out! Again, the cinema was massive; there were all different types of screens….Regular cinema, Nokia Cinema screens and iMax. We went to the iMax.
6th December- Monday morning, we were up about 4.45 for our early flight to Phuket. When we arrived to Phuket, our hotel taxi collected us and took us to Patong. We were greeted in the hotel with cold towels and our bags carried for us. The hotel lobby appeared very nice, we were happy with the hotel. The staff were so lovely and we were shown to our room. It was a bungalow in the Garden wing. When we went into the room we weren’t overly fussed but on reflection, there was nothing wrong with it. It was just plain and simple! We were in time for the buffet breakfast so we stuffed our bellies and went for a snooze! The weather was warm but very cloudy so in the afternoon, we went for a walk to the beach and to suss out the main party area! The beach is about a 5 minute walk and the party area about a 15 minute walk. The beach wasn’t the Paradise we were expecting. It’s just a normal beach, sand wasn’t overly white and water wasn’t overly clear/blue! But it was nice! Monday night we got dressed up and headed down town. We were about 5 minutes from where we wanted to eat and the heavens opened! We stood under a shop veranda for about 20 minutes and it pelted down! Eventually, we decided to buy an umbrella and brave it! So we headed out, we were of course soaked regardless of having a brolly! The puddles came up to our ankles and the rain blew in our faces! We reached the restaurant and watched as the rain continued to pour! By the time we had finished our meal, the rain had just stopped. We walked up through the main street to get home. Well that’s a story all on its own! What sights we seen. Lady boys everywhere…..Some were dressed as drag queens which is funny. Others were dressed as regular women, working in bars, dancing on tables etc. They are very funny! In fact, we now play ‘Spot the ladyboy’ game as we walk down the street! We also were tormented by people asking Peter to go see a ‘Ping-Pong’ show for FREE!! I mean every 10 steps we took someone was asking him! For those who don’t know what this type of show is I am not going to describe it! Haha…. Then there were just bars with girls and ladyboys pole dancing as you walked past. All the bars were full of beautiful Thai girls waiting to pounce on a Western man when he entered the bar! We have seen so many ugly old men with young Thai beauties. It’s actually gross! We actually saw this one man who could hardly walk, linking this wee young thing! The weather stayed dry until we reached the hotel but that night it rained through until about 8am.
7th December- Tuesday, again it was overcast but warm so we got all creamed up and headed for the beach. Peter was like the odd man out….all the other men were in Speedos or thongs! Right enough they were all old and withered! Very funny…Around 3pm, it started to spit rain so we headed for Starbucks and then back to the hotel. We went downtown again Tuesday night. Tuesday night we were awake all night with an alarm going off outside our room which the dopey receptionist said was an animal. We spoke to the manager the following morning and he moved us to another room, right beside the pool. That afternoon, a complimentary fruit basket landed as management was very sorry!!
8-10th December- Wednesday, Thursday and Friday we just stayed around the pool at the hotel. Wednesday was unbelievably hot and sunny! I only managed about an hour outside as it was so hot! Thursday and Friday were cloudy as well which is so disappointing! I’m glad we don’t just have one week in Thailand… At night we just go for a wander round the town and see what we can spot. It has rained every night and on Wednesday night we got caught in another rain shower that just came on all of a sudden!
11-12th December- Saturday, we had planned to go to the beach but after breakfast it rained so that’s our plans out the window! And it rained Sunday also…..
13th December- Monday we left very early for Koh Phi Phi. We were dropped at the port and boarded a big cruise ship and we arrived on the island around 10am. We found our hotel no problem and got geared up for the beach! At last the sun was shining. We found a beach but thought there weren’t many people around, and then it began to rain so we decided to go for a walk. We then found the main beach and it became sunny again! The beach is what the postcards look like- white sand and clear blue water. Phi Phi island seemed like a dream for both of us!! The island does not have any roads but it’s tiny anyway, it’s meant to take about 45minutes to cycle from one end to another! That night we went out for dinner and pottered around the markets and street stalls and we both enjoyed the quiet, calm atmosphere of the island.
14th December- (today) we had arranged for a boat tour to the other Phi Phi Leh Island where the movie ‘The Beach’ was filmed. But before I get to that….at breakfast this morning, who walked in but Darren from Hollyoaks! He and his girl are staying in our hotel. So after a few sneaky looks at them, we headed off to the Pier to catch our ‘LongTail’ boat (it’s in the pictures) and the next thing who land to the same place but Darren and his bird!! They were on the same boat as us!! Star struck…. I even managed a sneaky photo for proof!!haha… So anyway, on our tour, we went to Maya Bay where the film was shot and Oh wow, it’s so gorgeous! We would love if there was a hotel on this island!! We boat stopped and we walked around and paddled around in the water. There was big fish just swimming around us, no big deal- very surreal! We hopped back on the boat and headed for the next stop which was the middle of the ocean for snorkelling. I jumped into the water but I got afraid so I got out again. There was 2 baby sharks spotted but apparently they ‘are not dangerous!’ Our next stop was a secluded area with clear water and we jumped in and swam around for a while. We headed for our last stop, Monkey Island. On the way, we stopped for some cliff jumping! 3 people done the jump which was 10 metres but Peter and I were happy to sit and watch and take pictures! Monkey Island was great fun, lots of monkeys running around…mums, dads and baby ones! It was so funny they got so excited when someone came with a banana. One of my pictures show one monkey had snooped off and hid as he drank a bottle of 7up!! Quality….We had been told about monkeys in other areas biting humans and that they carried various diseases so we refrained from touching them just as a precaution! So we headed back to the port of Phi Phi and headed to the beach. The sad thing about this island is obviously the Tsunami a few years ago. It wiped out this whole island and it’s remarkable the hard work these people have done to get it up and running again! All over the island there are signs and advice for what to do if a Tsunami strikes again. It’s scary to think of it but at least it’s pro-active! The weather has been lovely and the place magical. We depart tomorrow but we wish we could stay for longer. But we will be back someday…..

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Comments

[anonymous]

Sounds like you are enjoying Phi Phi Island. It looks fab. We are so jealous and the weather we are having here. Peter you would want to watch those Ladyboys. I hear if they take a shine to you, thats it. You won't find until you are moving on to your next port of call. Hopefully you will enjoy it as well and then it will be your Christmas break resort. Love Mum xx