Our first port of call is Phuket where we are instantly hit with "My Friend, My Friend, Taxi??" The touting has already started. We get a minibus into Phuket Town Centre to our hostel and are quite relieved to have a nice room. We head out straight away and stock up on some bottled water grab a bite to eat in a little restaurant in the middle of a fruit market. 85p for a meal, you can't really complain!
On Thursday we take ourselves around Penang and see what is about. There are a couple of temples and a few shops, but nothing of much interest. It seems that most people stay nearer the beaches, like at Patong, but we chose to stay in the town. Phuket town would be most interesting if they had some history boards that you could read as you go.
It does seem that we are always making friends wherever we go - even if it is taxi drivers. You can walk down one street and be unindated with "Hello Friend, you want Taxi?" And then its "I give you good price!"
NO, I DONT WANT A BLOODY TAXI!!!!!
Friday and we are booked on to a 4-in-1 island canoe trip. We get picked up at 08:30 and get taken to Ao Po Pier to jump on the boat. There were around 50 to 60 people on our boat and we all had to say where abouts in the world we came from.
Our first island we stopped at was Lawa Island, 'Lawa' meaning beautiful. To get from the boat to the island we get in an inflatable canoe and are paddled over by our very own paddler. Bex and I have a dip in the sea and have a little wander around until we have to jump back in the canoe and back on board the boat.
30 minutes on and we reach the next island - Hong Island. We get our personal canoe and paddler again who gives us a tour around the island going through a little cave, through narrow passes and we even get to touch a jelly fish. Our guide makes Becky a flower made out of a dead palm leaf.
Back on the boat and it is time for lunch - included in the price along with all soft drinks. We really enjoy lunch - fried rice, noodles with veg, Chicken and seafood, onion rings, calamari, prawns, squid, deep fried corn and some really tasty grilled fish that was to die for!
With full bellies we arrive at James Bond Island and have to jump in a long boat with everyone to get there. The size of the engines on these things are mad - they look like V8's and make such a racket. The rotor is on a large rod at the back - about 10 metres long.
The island is named as it is due to the James Bond film 'The Man with the Golden Gun' being filmed here in 1974. (Roger Moore). You would not believe how many people come to see the island - it was heaving with Chinese and Japs.
We see our first Lady Boy too - she has a market stall, selling souvenirs which she tried grabbing my arm and pulling me in to have a look at. I wasn't overally happy about this.
We enjoyed our trip around the islands but are quite worn out from it all. When we get back to the hostel we grab some dinner and then hit the sack ready to move on from Phuket.
Saturday 24th and it is time to check out - we arrange to be collected and taken to the Phuket Boat Lagoon Marina so we can get a boat to Koh Phi Phi. It is a 90 minute crossing that costs us 400 Baht (£8.20).
When we arrive we are pleasantly surprised - from looking at a map of the island I presumed there would be roads but they do not have any - just pavements. Everything is within walking distance and the pavements are lined with shops, restaurants, booking offices and massagers. Our hotel is not too far a walk but by the time we get there we are sweltering from the heat!
Phi Phi is definitely an island designed to attract party-goers. It is the most costly of places in Thailand so food, accommodation etc is a little pricier. It is still fairly reasonable though. We have a good look around the markets - I buy a couple of elephants whilst Becky buys some wrap around 'Fisherman' trousers.
We make the most of the beaches and sit out under the sun for a couple of hours. It is so hot here that 2 hours is all we can manage!
We are only on Phi Phi for 2 nights so come Monday lunch time we are back on a boat heading to Krabi.
We are booked in to a hotel that is a mere £3 each for our own double room with ensuite. We are really pleased! Krabi is a small town with not a great deal to do - most people use it as a nights stop to island hop. We decide to spend 2 nights here so we are not rushing. On our second day we experience out first rainfall in Thailand but it soon passes. Walking along the river pathway we come across these shells that have fallen from the tree which look like love hearts.
Wednesday 28th we are up at 6am to catch a mini bus to the bus station to then get the coach to the ferry port and then get a ferry to Koh Samui. The journey goes remarkably smoothly and when we get off the boat we jump in a taxi and head to the town of Chaweng. Sun is out, it's hot but I'm not feeling all that great. We spend the afternoon chilling out and then we head out for a walk along the beach. There are plenty of restaurants that push out on to the beach so we have dinner on the beach, watching the waves crashing to shore.
Thursday we have a day relaxing in the sunshine on the beach. There are a few people trying to sell us a variety of things - Ice Cream, Jewellery, Hennas etc etc.
We head out into Chaweng town for the evening and see the various shops, bars and restaurants all lit up. We treat ourselves to a good meal with Becky having Barbecued (giant) shrimp and I have the ribs. I couldn't believe my eyes when mine came out - must have had half a cow put on my plate! The selection of seafood was great though
The next day we hire a couple of mopeds for 150 Baht (£3) and go and explore the Island. We are liking these scooters a lot - so much so I want one when I get back! Really cheap to run too, 3 litres filled it up which cost 120 Baht!
Our first stop is the Big Buddha in the North of the Island. It is placed on a small island where you drive across a short jetty. It is 12 metres tall placed at the top of 73 steps (these were boiling hot from the sun!). People come along and pray and throw coins up on to it, as well as ringing all the bells that are positioned around the Buddha.
We scoot on to Lamai, grab some lunch and find a spot looking out to sea. We go and see the Grandmother and Grandfather rocks. These granite rocks are shaped like male and female genitalia and the story behind them? A young man and woman ended their life together during a big storm and the symbol of their love turning the granite rocks into these shapes. (apparently!)
It is so hot and humid by this point we just want to jump back on the scooters and get some breeze. We head along the west coast past the pier, through Nathon, Mae Nam and back around to the Big Buddha, just in time to see the sun set.
We had a great day on the scooters. I did almost have a minor incident when I had to come screeching to a halt at some crossroads - the 4x4 missed me so all was good!!
Saturday 31st March and we get collected from our guesthouse and get taken to the Big Buddha pier to catch the boat to Koh Phangan. The boat only takes 50 minutes so we are there in no time. Getting on and off the boat you have to walk down some rather rickety piers that sway a fair amount! If they haven't collapsed yet then they should be ok! When we get to Koh Phangan a member of the crew wakes up one passenger and she asks if we are at Koh Samui - she slept all the way from Koh Phangan and back! Ooops!
We decide to stay in a nicer place for a change and pay £19 a night to stay at Milky Bay Resort. We have our own private hut with a pretty cool bathroom - the floor being covered with pebbles and stepping stones as it is designed to be a wet room.
We spend 2 nights on the Island. During this time we hire another scooter but just the one this time. We explore the island with me driving, Becky on the back with camera in hand. We take a ride down to the next town, Ao Bang Chanu, and look around the streets, get an ice cream and find the food market.
We carry on following the road up the West side of the island going through Ao Wok Tum, Hin Kong, Haad Salad and up to the North to Haad Thong Lang and Ao Chaloklum.
On our last day on the island we get a massage at the hotel. 300 Baht for an hours massage - you can't complain! Afterwards we hit the bar and have a couple of cocktails whilst watching the sun set. The deep oranges, reds and yellows that fill the sky and reflect upon the sea are incredible.
Today, Monday 2nd March, we got a boat from Koh Phangan to Koh Tao. We are only here for the one night - more of a stopover really as we are getting another boat onwards to Chumphon tomorrow. We are booked on to a train for tomorrow night that will get us in to Bangkok on the morning of the 4th. We would have done half of Thailand by then and will only have a couple of weeks to do the other parts we want. We had better get a move on!!
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