Phuket to Koh Phi Phi
I boarded a taxi van from my Garden House Hotel and the driver drove me to the pier near Phuket town and it took about an hour and one half to get to Koh Phi Phi. Inside the boat people slept, read books, listened to music, played on their ever-present phones and chatted with friends. On the outside above deck people sat half in the sun and cooled by the breeze. Beer was flowing on the upper deck. I chatted with a couple women from England, a guy from Italy, a couple from Australia and we had a quick and painless ride to Koh Phi Phi.
I didn’t have any reservations for a place to stay but during slow season you really don’t need one. I pulled into a travel agency and got all my questions answered and a man showed up with a push cart and a few of us loaded our bags into it and we followed the man to where we ere staying, The Mountain View. It seemed like the furthest away but the views were great of the bay and nighttime entertainment on the beach.
I was only planning on staying a couple days so I had to make the most of it. Of course I walked the beach at night where people played with fire, slack lined, juggled, sprayed flames into the night sky, and spun sparks all under an electronic throb of music. Each bar has it’s own ways and means of getting people to sit and watch the entertainment and the place still seemed packed with people, even in the off season. Of course the crowd is half my age and can wake up after 4 hours and start all over again. I don’t fit into that category anymore.I took an evening snorkeling trip with about thirty other tourists all with smiles and a beer in their hand. It was 100 degrees again direct sunlight is to be avoided for long periods of time. You WILL burn. We saw monkeys playing on the limestone cliffs, snorkeled in blue clear water, jumped off the boat, walked through jungle to small empty beaches, had a simple dinner on the boat and watched the sunset. Everybody chose to meet at one Banana Bar which would really make a bartenders night.
Koh Phi Phi has fishing, snorkeling, scuba diving, boxing and training, boat tours of the neighboring islands and beaches, etc. During the day people are pretty scarce due to the heat but when the sun goes down everybody converges on the beach for a multitude of parties and entertainment.
My hotel had a pool that over looked the bay and beach so even at night one could stay in the fray and have a good time watching from afar with a beer of other refreshment in hand.
A relaxing breakfast with bag packed I returned to Phuket for a brief tour up to the big Buddha that watches over the southern half of the island. From Kata Beach it’s about 45 minutes to the top, from Phuket town its 30 minutes and worth a visit on a clear day.
Tomorrow I cross the Friendship Bridge back into Lao via Udon Thani to Vientiane. The bus takes about an hour to get to the border. $35 bucks for a visa and have exact change, because they give back nothing, just something to keep in mind.
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