Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
PHI PHI PARADISE!
We were in Patong, Phuket for barely two hours when, having some dinner, Joel realised he was chowing down on raw chicken satay kebabs. His solution to avoid contracting salmonella = buy numerous bottles of Chang beer and some natural Aloe Vera juice ("that'll get it out") ... and indeed it did! "Kia ora toilet, you and I will be well acquainted over the next 12 hours!"
Walking down the main street of Patong is a bit like walking a gauntlet, with vendors trying to sell you their best 'genuine fakes', lady-boys screeching "You want maaaassaaaaaage" and countless Russian tourists flouncing around in their summer dresses and speedos! Something we realised pretty quickly about Patong is there are A LOT of dirty old men here and anything goes; it really is 'Sin City!' We even spotted a couple of massage places that actually proudly advertised that they 'did not do happy endings' ... very rare in this place I guess!
We enjoyed wandering around the markets ("copy copy, come looky looky") for a bit and I managed to pick up a $6 bikini to replace one that got tie-dyed blue in a laundry mishap. We also went to the famous Patong Simon Cabaret Lady-Boy Show (I managed to drag Joel along without too much kicking and screaming) and it actually was an entertaining evening. The entire cast is transgender and on top of the cabaret acts they also performed traditional Thai dances and some humorous numbers, including a rendition of Gangnam style. The costumes and sets were incredible and the lady-boys were very convincing (some of them had bodies the average woman would kill for)!
We visited Patong Beach suspecting it would be grubby and overcrowded and having our suspicions confirmed decided to hire a scooter to check out the more pristine beaches Phuket has to offer. We scooted around the South of the island checking out some of the less occupied beach areas, a great lookout spot over the bays and the biggest meditating Buddha in the world. Our only mistake was making a wrong turn and finding ourselves in the hectic main city of Phuket dodging traffic left, right and centre. Poor Joel had to deal with not only the traffic but also a neurotic, shrieking wife on the back of the scooter digging her nails into his sides until we were safely back on the country roads!
A few days in Patong were enough for us and we were more than ready to check out the legendary islands off Phuket. We caught a scorching hot and ridiculously overloaded ferry across to Koh Phi Phi and were greeted by awesome karst formations rising up out of the crystal blue water - an impressive welcome to the tropical island.
Scuba diving was high on our list of things to do on Koh Phi Phi so we suited up on our first day there and headed out to the King Cruiser Shipwreck to do our very first wreck dive. I have to confess I was feeling a little out of my depth (pun intended) having not dived in a while and about to head 32 metres down to explore the inside of an old car ferry. The amazing aquatic life in and around the wreck quickly made me forget my fears - it still was a little eerie but the whole ship was absolutely choca-block with fish, corals and sea-life which was pretty impressive! After the wreck dive, we did a couple of spectacular reef dives - the visibility was amazing, the marine life abundant and we remembered why diving is like being on a different planet. We even managed to see three Leopard Sharks!
After spending a day deep in the sea, we decided to spend the next one on higher ground so we walked up to the Koh Phi Phi lookout (taking an accidental back route up a killer hill in the 40 degree heat!) The amazing view of Phi Phi Don and Phi Phi Ley islands made the hike worth it and we drank it all in (along with a few bottles of water) before heading back down to the beach-front where a Super15 game of rugby was being broadcast in a local bar. I decided to try my first traditional Thai massage while Joel was glued to the TV screen - it was a mixed experience; 57% pleasure, 39% pain and 4% wondering what the hell is coming next (but certainly more enjoyable for me than watching a random game of rugby)!
For our last day on Phi Phi we did a boat cruise around the nearby islands which are absolutely beautiful. We headed out to Bamboo Island for some snorkelling in the 'swimming pool' water teeming with fish, corals and even a couple of sea-snakes. It was definitely up there with the best snorkelling we've done, although at one point some of the fish became strangely aggressive, even trying to bite out my belly-button bar which was my cue to swim swiftly back to the boat!
We spent the day snorkelling different reef sites, visiting the famous 'Maya Bay' where 'The Beach' was filmed and enjoying cruising around the spectacular karsts towering out of the ocean. To top off a great day, we discovered a little local restaurant run by an eccentric Thai woman who made us some of the best Thai food we've tasted to date!! Som Tum Papaya Salad, where have you been all my life?
High: Forgetting you're in a tourist-hotspot when you're in the water and completely surrounded by amazing marine life!
Low: Sailing past black rubbish bags full of garbage floating in the ocean on our way over to Ko Phi Phi!
- comments