Phi Phi Islands : หมู่เกาะพีพี

like i mentioned in my last post, we decided to go cruising around some of the andaman sea islands. unfortunately like most things in phuket, they came with an exorbitant "tourist" price...
and finding a cruise was no exception.

we finally selected a tour which was not too rushed, not too expensive, and hopefully not too touristy.
i was hoping that we might just have the boat to ourselves, being the so called "off-season"...
man was i wrong. it was full! and a real mixture too; some rough aussies, noisy hong kong-ese, some laid back europeans, a handful of chinese and an super cute boy (as in 6-years old).

after a one hour speed boat ride which saw one of the chinese guys bring up his breakfast... we had left phuket province and arrived at maya bay situated on phi phi lee island (เกาะพีพีเล) in the krabi province.
maya bay was the location for leonardo dicapio's film the beach, so the beautiful picturesque photos in the brochure were obviously taken minus the hordes of tourists!
our speed boat parked up alongside all the other speed boats and we were given some time for a dip in the warm crystal clear water. imagine what this bay would have been like before fox studios laid their eyes on it!



we then dived overboard at loh samah bay with its towering limestone cliffs and snorkeled amongst schools of colorful fish darting in and out of the coral reef.




next stop was phi phi don island (เกาะพีพีดอน) where after a quick stop at monkey beach where one of the aussies got a rabies infested bite from one of the islands inhabitants, we then had lunch at the tropical tonsai bay.







last stop on the tour was khai nok island with its small white sandy beach and emerald green water teaming with small tropical fish who ate bananas right out of our hands! now that was pretty cool.
if the stupid monkeys hadn't want to bite us they would have got to eat more bananas, but nooooo, they bit so we gave the sweet bananas to the little fish.
so glad these fish could distinguish between my little banana and my big banana *wink wink*




so although it was all a bit too touristy for my liking, i'm glad i took the tour just to see some of these islands and their tropical inhabitants.

after all that frolicking dinner tasted amazing!
spicy tom yam goong, a spicy/sour pork-noodle salad, green curry and of course a cold thai chang beer.
and all for 200 bahts!

The Chedi Phuket

i didn't think it would be so difficult having to come back to the reality of riding jam-packed subway trains to work and slaving away in an over air conditioned office!
oh if only i could rewind my life back one week... it's hard to imagine that only a few days ago i was frolicking in the warm andaman sea and sipping back tropical cocktails.


i don't wanna sound snobbish, but to tell the truth i had no desire to visit thailand's largest island; phuket.
from what i'd heard about phuket it just didn't sound like my kinda place; an over-developed island catering for the typical sun-burnt tourist who needs their starbucks for breakfast, macdonalds for lunch and some cheap thai girl (or maybe a lady-boy) for dinner. phuket just screamed tacky in my books.


but having had won two nights accommodation at the upmarket chedi hotel, k-chan and i decided to check out phuket just to be sure.
we decided everything very last minute but had an amazing five days doing nothing but relaxing and soaking up the thai sun.


the chedi was divine...

"surrounded by azure waters of the andaman sea and the tranquil coast of pansea beach, the chedi phuket is the gateway to a tropical island paradise. thatched cottages sit cosily under a canopy of coconut groves, where landscaped slopes gently descend to meet a private stretch of sandy shore. the appeal of the spacious cottages is further enhanced with private verandahs, secluded sun decks, and handcrafted teak floors." the chedi phuket

even though it was super hard to pull ourselves away from this little slice of heaven, we did manage to drag ourselves away and visit phuket town (a waste of time), check-out some local restaurants at a few of the nearby beaches (delicious cheap local food!) and squeeze in a day cruising around the islands which dot the andaman sea.

if you want to braid your hair, drink away the nights at some seedy bar, or buy a few "genuine" nike t-shirts, phuket is the place to be.

i know i will only be back here when i can afford to stay somewhere secluded and relaxing as the chedi.