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Published: February 1st 2009
We no sooner stepped foot off the "pick-up-truck-bus" than we were snagged by our first Patong hawker. What an aggessive, persistent group they are!! This was a constant occurrence no matter where we walked in Patong. It was enough to send us directly to the beach which was a wonderful alternative to the walk through town. The beaches are beautiful with lovely, warm, cobalt blue water and hard packed sand.
One piece of advice that we received from an Aussie lady, who once worked in an Outback iron mine, was not to get stuck with a pink shopping bag. Apparently, if a local merchant was able to charge you too much for an item, they put it in a pink bag as a signal to the other shop owners that you were an easy mark. From that point, we started looking for and counting the "pink baggers".
The Phi Phi Islands, off the southeast coast of Phuket, were a major destination for us. These are rugged, mountainous, pristine islands with eroded sea caves, isolated beaches, and coral reefs for snorkeling. This is also where "The Beach" was filmed. I like to think my feet touched sand that touched Leo
DiCaprio's feet! The snorkeling was very good with crystal clear water and hundreds of fish of numerous varieties. Our day's excursion took us to 2 islands, 5 beaches, 2 snorkel spots, a lagoon, a rustic beach resort, and past numerous eroded sea caves.
Our last day in Phuket we took an elephant trek that led to mountain top views of the island and the Andaman Sea. The ride was bumpy but had a great 10 foot high perspective. The elephants slowly climb the mountain trails stopping along the way to tear up grass and vines for a quick trail snack.
Our Blue Marine Resort was away from the Patong craziness and had a great view of the Andaman Sea. It was a wonderful place to enjoy the pool, have a Thai massage, and watch the sunset. From Phuket we flew to Myanmar (that was an interesting 6 days!!!) and now we are in Singapore. I'll do my best, the next few days, to get caught up with all the stories and photos.
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