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Without doubt the month we spent traveling the Thai islands was my personal favourite. The Thai islands has it all from snorkeling and scuba diving in crystal clear waters to rock climbing and full moon parties. Everywhere we went we met really cool people, some we had already met throughout the rest of South East Asia and even a few people from home.
We spent several nights in Phuket after flying there from Bangkok. Phuket was the ideal taster to the Thai islands with beautiful beaches and a vibrant nightlife. Much of time was spent lazing around the beaches or drinking in the bars. We had a few wild nights in Phuket and one bar in particular had a climbing wall for drunk punters to give it a go, it was great fun. The one day we ventured further than the beach, we spent the afternoon zip lining in the jungle. Zip lining from one tree to another at heights of 20 metres was so good we did entire circuit immediately after we finished. The afternoon we spent zip lining in the jungle was definitely the highlight of Phuket.
Phuket was great fun but we knew there
was more on offer in Thai islands. The next stop was Ko Phi-Phi a small island in the Andaman Sea. Phi-Phi is one of the most beautiful islands in Thailand, with a far more relaxed atmosphere than anywhere we had been in Asia. The absence of motorised traffic ( a big change to what we had experienced throughout Asia) added to the charm of this picture perfect island. Small narrows streets lead from the pier to abundance of bars, restaurants and hostels. Phi-Phi had more”backpacker” vibe to it than Phuket with some awesome bars such as the Reggae Bar where backpackers can get in the boxing ring and fight for beer. Needless to say, none of us got in the ring but watching drunken backpackers slung it out was great entertainment. Phi-Phi like the rest of Thai islands served up buckets of alcohol, whiskey, vodka or rum, whatever your preference, with a mixer. A dangerous mix of alcohol led us to some wild nights. Another favourite bar was the Hippie's Bar beside the beach. Hippies bar held regular fire shows and games of musical chairs. Your truly was quick to join the game of musical chairs with a difference, as
part of the game was to run into the crowd and get some random items such as cigarettes, condoms, bras, tampons and boxers!I was quite disappointed to finish second and had to satisfy myself with a free bucket of whiskey. However a few days later at Hippies Bar Half Moon Party, Keeno first night of his 2 week holiday, I returned and won first prize a bottle of vodka. The Hippies Bar was one my favourite bars since we been away, meeting other backpackers, partying on the beach, enjoying the fire shows and the drunken games.
Phi-Phi has one of the best nightlifes but it has so much more. Stunning beaches including the beach used in the film “The beach”, which we visited along with a number of other immaculate beaches during a snorkeling day trip on a long-tail boat, which barely survived the crashing of the open waters. We also did an introductory scuba dive which was very exciting and a little scary considering I could barely swim when we left Dublin a few months earlier. The relaxed atmosphere, fantastic bars, beautiful beaches and countless activities on offer made Ko Phi-Phi a firm favourite and was made
all the better with the arrival of Keeno at start of his 2 week holiday.
After Phi-Phi, we stayed (regrettably) only a fews days at Railey. Railey is tiny beach side town
surrounded by enormous limestone cliffs, the only way to get it was by boat. The mixture of isolation from the rest of the world, breath taking views and easygoing atmosphere made Railey an instant favourite. Railey is also a rock-climbing mecca, famous throughout the world with hundreds of routes to climb. So when in Railey, try climb a cliff to catch a glimpse of some incredible views unlike anywhere I have ever been. I had never done any rock-climbing before and was quite sceptical when I seen the heights we were to climb. Although I struggled initially to get up to the top but when I managed to get to the top and had a look at the amazing ocean views, I felt like I was on top of the world- an unbelievable feeling.
Next up for us after Railey was Ko Pha-ngan, the home of the Full Moon Party. Wherever you go in South East Asia, you meet coming from or going to
a full moon party. The biggest beach party in South East Asia draws backpackers in the thousand every month. Hat Rin beach is lined with bars pumping out all sorts of music and stalls selling buckets and buckets of alcohol. Ko Pha-ngan is the party island and a few days before we went to a pool party. The place was packed with backpackers jumping in and out of the pool, drinking buckets and dancing the night away.
Once the full moon arrives the beach is packed with backpackers covered with body paint and other random costumes dancing all night long. Without doubt, it was the biggest and best beach party we had ever been to. After taking a few days to recover it was time to move on again. Unfortunately for Keeno, his 2 weeks were up and he returned home after an unforgettable action-packed 2 weeks. Both Adam and Podge decided to change their flights and stay on for a few more weeks in Asia. So Adam returned
to Railey (it really was that good) while the rest of us headed for Ko Tao.
Ko Tao is a tiny island just north of Ko Pha-ngan, famous
for some of the best diving sites in the world. Ko Tao was packed with backpackers looking a tranquil sanctuary after the wild partying on Ko Pha-ngan the week before. Ko Tao is the holy grail of diving in Thailand with countless diving shops offering to take you out and explore the seas. I didn't go scuba diving but myself and Podge did do a snorkeling trip around the island. We seen thousands of fish (yes thousands) of all different sizes, colours and shapes. We also seen black tip sharks which are about 2-3 metres long and are harmless once you don't bother them. The snorkeling trip was one of my personal highlights of the month we spent traveling the Thai islands. Away from the water, Ko Tao offered a number of beach front bars
with the customary fire shows to entertain the crowds and buckets to intoxicate the backpackers. The few days we spent in Ko Tao was a perfect end to a fantastic month traveling the Thai islands. It was also farewell to Podge for a few weeks as he left to meet up with Adam to continue their Asian adventure, while sadly ours came to an end.
At the top!
Rock climbing
Railey Our month traveling the Thai islands had it all. Snorkeling and scuba diving in Ko Phi-Phi and Ko Tao, rock climbing in Railey, the full moon party in Ko Pha-ngan and even Keeno t made an appearance! The pristine beaches and real cool vibe throughout the islands made it an unforgettable experience.
Author Note:
Cheers to the lads for the use of their photographs once again. I am too lazy to label all the sixty odd photographs so all the Railey photos and most of the Phi-Phi photos are courtesy of Podge, the Phuket photos are courtesy of Colin, there is handful of photos courtesy of Keeno and all the full moon party and underwater photos are from my super cool waterproof (3rd this year) camera.
Just to keep up to date, these blogs have been published a few weeks late so we have arrived in Sydney about 4 weeks now, living beside Bondi beach and looking for a job. There probably won't be many blogs for a few months now but I will try to keep you all informed. Cheers Ptb
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Essie O\
non-member comment
beautiful islands
Hi Peter, great to see all fab photos, take care of yourself .and congrats your an uncle another girl to keep you all in shape. Love Essie hope to see you soon great writing also.