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Published: July 22nd 2009
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Ko Phi to Phuket
The downstairs cabin of our boat... Here's a tip....DO NOT drink the night before a boat journey that you know is going to be rough!!
The boat we ended up on was a pretty big one (not that it helps) but it was a pretty decent one compared to the tiny one that Angela and Naoise went on. We sat on a top deck which was probably another mistake as you can feel the rocking alot more up there but we stuck it out. As soon as we came out of the bay at Phi Phi harbour you can see the swells approaching you....the rest of the 1 1/2 trip was a blur which was spent either in the bathroom or lying down attempting to sleep! For once Amy was fine!! Not fair!
Anyway we arrived at Phuket Town and went for the usual search of a place to stay. We decided to stay in Phuket Town instead of the more commercialised (and sleazy) beach resorts of Patong, Kata or Karong. We were sick of islands and beaches by this point and wanted to get back to the real world of cheap street food and crazy traffic. The taxi driver recommended Phuket Backpacker Hostel and
Ko Phi Phi to Phuket
...we opted for the sundeck instead! as soon as we were there we were set on the place. The guy who runs it used to live in Coventry and a really nice Thai guy!! What a small world!! The four of us (yes our travel buddies are still tagging along!) decided to save some money and go for a 4-bed dorm. We're backpackers and what would a backpacking trip be without staying in a real hostel with real dorms, a movie lounge, free internet and shared showers!! We'd been living in relative luxury on Ko Phi Phi so it was time to get back down to basics! The first thing we did that night was head out in search of street food and it was nice to get a good plate of noodles for 30baht rather than the extortion of 80 or 90 baht for the same dish on the islands.
The next day we ventured to near the center of the island to check out the Gibbon Rehabilitation Centre and Bang Pae Waterfall. The Centre was small but very well organised, where they take in gibbons that have either been abused, used as tourist photo opportunities (you get alot of people wandering the streets
Ko Phi Phi to Phuket
Leaving Ko Phi Phi behind on a glorius day! with a gibbon trying to get you to take a photo of yourself with one) or used as pets. The gibbons are then rehabilitated and eventually released into the large national park where they can then live back in the wild. So a word of warning to help out is to ignore the touts with a gibbon.
The waterfall was ok, but as it was a Sunday it was packed with locals so we headed back to town again.
That evening we ventured out to the towns Sunday Market which was packed with bargain clothing and food. They even had crickets, grasshoppers, larvae and maggots on sale for food. Dan was tempted but ended up backing down!
Monday we decided to check out the snake farm. Every visit to Thailand needs to include one and this one was ok, if not a bit cheesy. It was however very educational. After we headed to Patong Beach on the back of a motorbike taxi and met up with Angela and Naoise (still don't know how to spell his name!!!). This was our most interesting part of Thailand so far, as Patong is well known for it's go-go bars etc. We have
Ko Phi Phi to Phuket
The sea got rougher and rougher! been told that as well as snake farms, a visit to Thailand needs to include a ping-pong show, and we don't mean the sport!!! It was, erm, interesting to say the least but to be honest actually very skillful!! I won't go into too much detail!!
The following morning Angela and Naoise left us to return to Bangkok and head back to Belgian, so we're back on our own again! It's going to weird and we're going to miss them! They've been great company and fun people to travel with. We'll miss you guys! Anyways, we had booked a tour to go to Phang-nga Bay and in particular James Bond Island, the island where they filmed The Man With The Golden Gun. Dan had been there 20 (yes 20 years ago!!) and alot had changed since then, with too many tourists and not enough scenery. The tour was ok. The weather was a bit pants and again with these kind of tours they are always too crowded and too rushed. It started off with an hours minibus ride to the pier where we took a longtail boat to some caves, where we transfered to canoes and were paddled around
Phuket
Arriving into Phuket harbour in some caves. Afterwards we took the longtail to James Bond Island, took some photos and then had lunch at a Muslim floating village. We then headed back to the mainland to a monkey temple which was overrun by hundreds of nasty aggressive Macaques. The temple was pretty good, set in a huge cave complex with a large reclining Buddha and loads of bats! The tour took up a whole day (so alot of things crammed in) but it was worth the money.
Our next stop is Railay Beach and then on to the second part of trip through Malaysia.
See you all in Railay!!
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