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Published: November 1st 2009
En route to the Andaman Coast, we made a brief stop in Krabi for the town festival party before travelling to Ao Nang where we hopped on a boat for a tour of it's surrounding islands. Once again we were in awe of the country's beauty. We snorkelled in the turquoise-green waters and relaxed on various white sandy beaches. One beach in particular stood out from the rest; Railay Beach, where the playful monkeys jumped between the branches of the trees that lined the sand. Although Railay isn't an island, it's only accessible by boat so it's nice and quiet and very relaxing. We spent four fabulous days here, swimming in the crystal clear waters, reading under the shade of the trees and watching beautiful sunsets in the evenings. Then we left this little paradise for the madness of Phuket, not our best move!
The atmosphere in Patong, Phuket was sleazy and seedy to the extent that we struggled to find a bar that wasn't full of older men with young Thai girls. In the hope of finding more of the beauty we have become so accustomed to over the past few months, we rented bikes to visit the other towns
that the island had to offer. Unfortunately, nowhere come close and for the first time we were quite happy to pack up and move on.
It wasn't all-bad here however, the waves were very big on some of the beaches on the island and we did have great fun getting beaten down into the sand as we tried to catch the next big wave. We played in the water like two little kids until our eyes stung and our shorts were full of sand. In the evening time, we discovered Phuket’s major draw card; delicious lobster. We'd been dying to try it since we arrived in Vietnam and it sure was worth the wait. We enjoyed every bite. Possibly the tastiest dinner we've had since coming away.
We left Phuket for Phi Phi the following morning and fell in love with the island before we'd even gotten off the boat. It looked so pretty and tropical, with a green interior full of palm trees, a coastline of white sandy beaches with long tail boats docked up onto them and emerald green water surrounding it all. The place was full of backpackers and the small town was busy. The night life
in Phi Phi was very similar to Kho Phangnan, with beach parties throughout the night - just on a much smaller scale.
One of the big attractions of Phi Phi Island is "Maya Bay" where the famous film "The Beach" was set. We set off in our long tail boat which took us around the smaller islands and beaches surrounding Phi Phi including Maya Bay. It really was brilliant to be there and see where it all happened!
The following day we trekked off in search of what we'd heard was the best swimming beach on the island. It was a good forty-five minute hike through the jungle in the mid day sun but it was worth it. We spent the day swimming, relaxing and snoozing on the beach. By the time we were ready to head back the tide was out so we thought it would be a much better idea to take a short cut over the rocks instead of going back into the jungle. All was going great. It was taking about fifteen minutes off our journey, until I lost my footing and went splat onto the rock. That’ll teach us not to be taking the easy
man’s option!
Another big attraction that Phi Phi has to offer is it's diving. Apparently sharks and sea turtles are quite common here so with very high hopes we headed off aboard the "Seafrog". Within two minutes of our first dive we saw a leopard shark lying on the sand. It let us swim right up close to him without a bother. We saw some other beautiful fish on that dive but it was really all about the shark. We even went back to him towards the end of the dive to have another look. It was really such a great feeling. With one thing on our mind (the sea turtles) for the second dive, we descended on the dive site. Luck was on our side that day, we spotted three turtles and one of them let us swim along side him. It was such an incredible days diving; one we'll never forget.
We left Phi Phi for it's neighbouring island Kho Lanta, where guest houses and resorts were only just beginning to re-open their doors to tourists after the low season. Most places on the island shut down from May to October and there weren't many other travellers there.
Potentially it seems like a great place but with not much happening at the time, we continued on to cross the border into Malaysia. We have no idea what to expect, no plan of where to go; the best way to be!
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familygormley@eircom.net
non-member comment
I woke up to day to the rain pouring down and the wind howling i think i will stay in bed, i better check my e mails only one ,it was from meadhbh i think i will open it later, i will go back to bed and no i will open it. Well 1st i saw the video it was brill you have lost it very good landing ten out of ten the your story of your trip again brill ( i bet you were good at english in school) and then more picturs great pics and then i said i wont go back to bed i will get dress and wrap up and go for a long walk. love from clare and aoife xx You keep safe and continue to enjoy youselves .