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I should really be writing this from the Prehentian Islands in Malaysia, but internet is still the future there.
What a wonderful little place. There are 2 islands, quite close together, beautiful beaches, no cars or roads, and just a narrow dirt footpath linking the 2 sides of the island together. We stayed at the Maya, on the idealic Corral Bay. It is the least developed side of the smaller island, but as I've said, nowhere was developed. It was also a very friendly place, both among the locals and the travellers, partly because everyone was so relaxed. We met an Irish couple on the first day, and got to know them quite well, and the second day had dinner with a couple from Australia and a student from France. We also spent the day with them, but then as with all travelling friendships, all too soon, we all had to go our separate ways, leaving our new found friends.
You will know, we are not really people to sit on the beach and wait for time to go by. Instead we booked on a snorkel tour with 6 different snorkel sites across the 2 islands. It was so good, that the following day we did a trail dive. Neither of us had tried scuba diving before, and we were offered a 'discover dive' for 3 hours. We would go down to 10 metres below the surface, accompanied by the most qualified PADI instructor there is. Now, when you pay money for things in Asia or South America, you become acustomed to getting less than you paid for. They promised us a dive 10m below, along side a reef. We thought, yeah, maybe we'll get in the water and play with the gear next to the beach.....as we were descending down a dive line out to sea, and rapidly equalizing our ears, I' d have eaten my words, had the regulator allowed me.
Now, our next new, expensive and time consuming sport, diving. IT WAS AMAZING.
We then took the boat back to the mainland, a taxi to the border, a short walk to the train station, and then sat back to watch the world go past the windows for a couple of hours.
We arrived in Hat Yai and had a very comfortable night in a seriously cheap, air conditioned hotel, a hot shower, and even a man who opened the door for you as you go in and out! We even benefited from the cable TV, settling down to enjoy the Wimbledom Men Final.
The next day another bus ride followed by a boat trip to Ko Phi Phi. Now, I used to really enjoy boat rides, but they are gradually loosing their appeal. On this one, the passengers, numbering over 120 were truely scared. The initial whoops of elation as we bashed into waves quickly turned to screams, and then a heavy silence for the duration of the 2 hour journey. There were not enough bags to go around to catch the people's suffering, passengers, including me clutched llifejackets and planned escape routes, and the narrow upper deck was full of people and an inch deep in water and chunder. We wished for it to be over, and through the mist even spotted the fishing vessels heading to port. I imagine they were not impressed to see all the tourists leaning over the tiny deck rail with waves washing over them, with no safety lines or even lifejackets on. Had there been a disaster, it would have been the fisherman in the first line in the rescue attempts. We are resolved now to stay here until the sea calms down. It is also calm in the mornings, so we'll leave at 9am to Phucket one day.
After the Prehentians we were not expecting Phi Phi to be so touristy and developed, particularly as the main area was devastated in the Boxing Day Tsunami. We did have a nice day walking over the island and then along the shore and generally exploring, well away from the crowds. And we treated ourselves to another spot of snorkelling, knowing this could be the last of the trip.
It is more expensive here than expected, and busy, as people flock to see the islands featured in The Beach film.
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