The Thailand Tour: The Islands

Hopped off our plane in Bangkok Thursday evening, toured around the next day only to head off down to the south on an overnight bus that night. This was only the first of many nights in transit.. why pay for hostels and accommodation when you can "sleep" while you're on the move around the country?

Out of the 14 nights we spent in the country: two were on a bus, two were on a train, two were in the jungle, and one was on a ferry aaaand to top that all off the plane ride home was also through the night... so I guess its safe to say that sleeping was anything but restful luxury, or priority.

Phuket

Our first overnight bus brought us to Phuket. Rather than staying in the crowded tourist areas we opted for a cute little hostel in the heart of old Phuket Town that ensured us a good night sleep for the next two nights.

Daytime included shopping around the markets and clothing stores in Phuket Town and also heading up to Karon Beach where we did the same thing... with the addition of swimming, rolling in the sand, and getting our feet cleaned by fish!

Nighttime included a trip to Patong Beach... where we were convinced: to participate in street magic tricks, to observe a ping pong show (which we may never be the same after), and that our hostel in quiet Phuket Town was the most ideal place to stay if you wanted to sleep at night.

Koh Phi Phi

With no more than just a day long speed boat tour away from Phuket we were able to take in the beauty that these little Thai islands have to offer. Stops en route included: Maya Bay where we snorkelled in the same waters where Leo DiCaprio filmed the movie "The Beach", The Viking Cave, Monkey Beach where we discovered that monkeys do like bananas, and Koh Khai where we discovered that fish also like bananas and become quite aggressive once they've gotten a bit of sugar in their tummies.

It just wouldn't have been quite the same without our tour guide who claimed that the monkeys are his cousins and brothers... although he spent his spare time listening and singing along to Katy Perry on his iPhone I couldn't help starting to believe his monkey claims after he introduced himself as King Kong, and used a monkey call to summon us to gather as a group.

Koh Pha Ngan

The one night we planned our entire trip around was approaching. The night we were to party under the full moon.

Now, how did we get there? ...an overnight ferry boat cargo ship that chugged along at about 5km/h and was loaded with eggs, bottled water, various vegetables, close to a hundred tourists, a kitten, and as we were to find out at 6:00 a.m... a rooster. On each ticket you are assigned a "bed" number on the full floor coverage mattress that allotted you about 40cm to yourself, leaving you squished shoulder to shoulder with a stranger.

Anyways... didn't realize there was a rooster on board until we heard the cock-a-doodle-doo at 6:00a.m as we docked in the pier of Koh Pha Ngan. We checked into our resort and killed time on Haad Yao Beach and by the pool while we waited for the moon to come up...

An included buffet breakfast feast at the resort in the morning was just what we needed before the long journey ahead of us. A 3.5 hour ferry back to the mainland, an hour bus ride to the train station, and an overnight train later... we were back in Bangkok for the day... then another overnight train and Chiang Mai here we come!

Sincerely,
THAI