.jpg)
We didn't do all that much; just chilled with Gary, Troll & Glen which was cool. We went kayaking with them, played in the sea, played footy with the locals/jogged on the beach and ate good food. We saw really beautiful sunsets over west Rei Leh beach.
We were supposed to head to Ko Jum for 4 days (together with Giada and Lauren) but only got into Krabi Town in the afternoon & they only have 1 ferry in the morning. They are meant to have 2 but because everything is fairly quiet because of the Bangkok airport closure, one
has been cancelled- no one in Rei Leh knew this! So instead we jumped on a ferry to Phi Phi (real last minute spur of the moment decision). Jacqui had been before but I hadn't and it was definately worth a look. It has lots of shopping, nice places to eat & just a good vibe all round. Stayed in a cosy guesthouse on the hill in town (Calamero) for 1500 baht(£30) a night, had a/c and breakfast and great views of the town and the ocean. It was on the hill where all the Tsunami evacuation signs lead to so at least we knew we were safe! For anyone that has been before, it is up the little alley way where Tiger Bar is. It had only been open for a few months so everything was very new and clean, we seem to be making a habit of staying in brand new
places!
Had the best pizza & panang curry at Cosmic restaurant and just did some shopping & booked a snorkelling trip for the next day. Jacqui bought lots of pearls!
The day trip wasn't the best run trip, was basically a bunch of farang piled into a long boat with snorkels & fins & a guide who couldn't speak english. The snorkelling was pretty good and Maya bay (The Beach) was stunning! And still fairly unspoilt which is good. We had lunch on monkey beach which was a bit of a disappointment, the monkeys have become so tame they literally take the food out of your hand as you eat it. . .and all the stupid tourists think it is hilarious when
the monkeys are drinking their cokes out of a tin or opening up a packet of biscuits. When you are a kid in SA we were always taught not to feed wild animals as it harms them in the long run as they can't fend for themselves but obviously not everyone believes it ;) makes us so angry seeing naive morons destroying coral and feeding stray dogs/cats/monkeys.
The monkeys got their own back by commandeering one of the girls towels for some sexy time with a female, they spent about half an hr afterwards "cudding" & picking tics off. Everytime she tried to grab it, the male went to attack her, serves her right!
Shortly after that we were out & sea & the heavens opened and it went all scary and dark, we were now all sopping wet getting sprayed as it was so windy, but we decided it was warmer in the ocean so all jumped in for another snorkel. Apart from some monster sized fish we spotted a chair and table. . . And then jumped into the boat and made a hasty exit back to Phi Phi for some hot chocolate & doughnuts. We were sopping and freezing after our strong shower with sea water and rain water!
After dinner we had some cocktails and watched the fire dancers on the beach down by Carlitos/ Hippies Bar. We tried the famous Singapore Sling- very strong but very tasty! Oh and we also booked our ferry to Lanta for the next day.
Arriving in Lanta (again the ferry time on the ticket was wrong!), we headed to a place recommended by a travel agent in Phi Phi, but it was clearly on the wrong beach as apart from the fact there were rocks in the sea and the beach was very narrow, it resembled a ghost town, it
was overcast and raining but still... The room was tiny, no hot water, had spiders living in the roof above the bed and just had no character. The people were unfriendly so we decided to leave which was a pity because the pool and sea view was amazing! We hired a moped (haha) and dodgy helmets and headed up the coast in search of greener pastures. . .we found it in the shape of Long Beach Bungalows, they were amazing & right on the beach but at £100 a night: not in this holidays price range. We ended up booking at Palm Beach for our second night at a measly 800 baht (£15). Wonderful, large comfy room with tv, hot water and a pebbled shower right on the beach! We had a delicious seafood barbeque in a bamboo hut on the beach for dinner and rode back on the moped in the rain & mud for some kip in our not so nice room.
The next morning, much to the dislike of the owner we checked out of our hotel & made the move to the new one (I delivered my bag and then returned for the 2nd trip with Jacqui and her bag, little scooter has come in handy), after which we relaxed on the beach and enjoyed the
great weather- me in the shade, Jacqui tanning. Had a monstrous Massaman curry and a duck curry for lunch on the beach before the heavens opened again, so after some shopping decided to be lazy & watch tv and eat takeaway pizza, just like being at home.
The next day we were off to Ko Lipe by speed boat for a whopping 1800 baht(£35) each, travel is definately proving to be one of the biggest expenses. Going by speedboat did cut the trip by nearly half to 3 hours, and although a bit bumpy, I still managed a nap. We flew threw the ocean with Captain Jack Sparrow at the helm. All in all Lanta was very chilled & relaxing but at times seemed far to quiet for this time of the year. All the resorts were charging off season prices & most restaurants were empty. The locals said it has been quieter than post-tsunami. . .I guess with the airport only being open 3 days, people will only just be filtering through. We feel so sorry for these locals as tourism is their main source of income.
Onto Lipe, one of the most southerly islands before getting to Malaysia. I had done a lot of research whilst trying to find accomodation but still wasn't sure what to expect. Coming in from the sea, the entire island is surrounded by shallow, sky blue water, littered with coral. It really is a little paradise, but with that comes the downside & we had been warned it was growing quicker than it could sustain itself. There is still no ATM and not all accommodation has 24 hr electricity, as well as there being a lot of rubbish littering the beaches and inland, but we had read about that so knew what to expect.
We are staying in Forra Bamboo Resort which is only for scuba divers but I have decided to do a 1 day introductory course so that solved that. The bamboo huts are pretty cool, upstairs on stilts with an open air downstairs bathroom. . .the downside, not much electricity, no hot water, no flushing toilet and a simple mattress as a bed with a mosquito net. Very simple and sustainable which is probably what they are going for but a shock to the system for us! The little village on
Lipe is very cute, similiar layout to Phi Phi, just much much smaller. I'd imagine this is what PP was like 10 years ago. Its small enough to be able to walk everywhere. Good choice of restaurants and the most amazing pancake place, Thai Pancake Lady- Banana, Nutella & ice cream, a winner.
On returning to the bungalow that night, within 2 minutes, Jacqui had a massive beetle fall onto her shoulder, not a great start, but suprisingly that was the only bug we saw. . . A quick cold shower & then we secured ourselves into the mosquito net on the hardest mattress in the world. . . The next morning we decided we would stick it out one more night but couldn't do another 4! The bamboo doesn't keep noise, light, wind, heat and bugs out. We really take concrete houses with water, electricity and proper sanitation for granted! There is a lot of accomodation on the island, just not much cheap and decent (flushing loos seem to be a luxury here), so we decided we would have a treat & chose the Idyllic Resort, still not finished being built but we could get the beachfront bungalow for about half price at 3600 baht(£70) a night. Hot water, proper toilet, massive LCD TV, A/C and most importantly the best view we have seen the whole trip. The sea around Lipe really is crystal clear blue, scattered with coral, perfect for snorkelling right off the beach. Our bungalow is surrounded by white beach sand and maximum 15m from the sea!
We just spent the day chilling on the beach and going snorkelling, definately the best snorkelling we have done, so many colourful(and big) fish, only about 2m deep all the way out. Unfortunately my underwater camera packed up so no pics :( We watched James Bond at a
bar in the evening (all legal of course) and then back to the pancake lady...
The next day was SCUBA! Had been looking forward to this, Jacqui came along but decided not to scuba so just snorkelled while we were diving. Was suprisingly easy to learn all the breathing and buoyancy techniques and once you have those down and get relaxed, it really was one of the best things I have ever done, you just wish you could talk to the other people when you are down there. Not sure what all the things we saw were, need a book to tick off all the fish I saw like you do in the Kruger Park, but my 3 favorites were a massive puffer/porcupine fish, moray eel and a trigger fish. . . And nemo of course. After lunch we did another dive before heading back. I pondered doing another 2 days of diving to get the certification but it just seemed a waste to have such a nice new house and beach to relax on and spend the time out on a boat as a billy. Think I will definately do it another time, just not now.
Had the hottest penang curry and tom yam we have had so far, sweat was literally dripping off our faces, you can't really taste the food its so hot. Must start saying no chili again, because no chili to them is still hot for the farang!
Went back to heaven on earth for a good night sleep. The next morning we awoke to the most spectacular view I have ever had from a bedroom window. This sea is bright turquoise filled with long tail boats and white sand. The manager Noon, and her side kick who won't leave her
side, served us breakfast on the beach. We are now enjoying every second on this beach, reading on the deck chairs under a large pine tree.
No comments:
Post a Comment