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26 March 2018
Since we are now all on our own and we need to entertain ourselves somehow, we decided to go on a day tour of the nearby islands. The are two famous directions here: the Phi Phi islands and the islands of Phang Nga Bay (which include the famous James Bond Island).
We took a while to pick one – both seemed to be very good, but the first route included snorkeling and the second one included kayaking. As we had already tried kayaking in Vietnam, we decided to try snorkeling this time and finally chose Phi Phi.
So, at about 6.15am (!) we were picked up from our hotel by a minibus and taken to the pier with seven other passengers. The painfully early hour is a special feature of this company, intended to arrive to places before crowds of other tourists.
At the pier, we got a light breakfast (special kudos for the hot sandwiches!) and then headed to our boat with the guide – a very friendly guy called Wai. The speedboat was equipped with safety vests, which we were told to wear, as well as with snorkeling masks.
It took us about an hour to get to our first stop – the Phi Phi Lei island. We arrived around 9am, and there were already a lot of tourists, mostly Russians. On the Maya beach, known for The Beach movie with DiCaprio, no one was swimming, everyone was just taking photos.
We took a few as well and then took a stroll among a crowd of Russian tourists to look at the picturesque Loh Samah Bay.
Once back on the boat, we rounded the island and anchored in the Pi Leh bay, where we could swim, jumping (or descending the stairs) into the sea directly from the boat. Right next to us was a boat carrying lots and lots of Chinese tourists, who were swimming around us, wearing bright orange lifejackets.
Our next stop was for snorkeling, again straight from the boat. Wai handed us the snorkeling masks, we pulled on our fins and got out into the water. It felt bizzarre at first, so I had to get my head above water every few seconds. But then I got used to it. The sensations are very interesting, as if you are right inside the Singapore aquarium – there are lots of colourful tropical fish swarming around and it seems like you can reach out and catch one. Except that when you do try to reach out, they dodge and very easily avoid being caught.
Another attraction of the island is the so-called Viking Cave, containing some rock paintings. Previously, the cave used to be open to visitors, but now swallow nests are being harvested here (for food purposes), so tourists cannot get inside. So we just floated by. Quite a pity, as on the outside it didn’t look like anything special.
We didn’y stop at the Monkey Island either, just came very close to it. Not that anyone minded though – the prospect of being attacked and robbed by long-tailed macaques was hardly tempting! It was much better to observe our distant relatives from the boat. And then, when one monkey, apparently a male, separated from the group, jumped on a rock closer to us and stared at us, it even started feeling a bit uncomfortable, so I preferred to go inside the boat.
We stopped on the second major island, Phi Phi Don, for lunch at a local restaurant, with a big table already waiting for us with various dishes: curries, coconut soup, french fries, and some spicy vegetables.
It already got very hot to the extent that walking on the sand became painful. We didn’t get to swim here, but our last stop on the Bamboo Island turned out very pleasant. We stopped at the back of the island, and Wai said that there were much fewer people here than at the front. Indeed, there was only one other boat anchored at beach, and then it left too.
The sea bottom here was more suitable for snorkeling than for normal swimming, as there were lost of coral reefs. And again it was very interesting – there were colourful fish all around you in the crystal-clear water, there were sea sponges, contracting their bodies, there were some ugly creatures looking like sea cucumbers at the bottom.
Overall, we had a very good trip, with the cherry on the top being such an interesting activity as snorkeling.
We still have two and a half days to spend in Phuket, but I am not going to write any more posts, since all we are planning to do is lie on the beach.
Travelling Leila 