Phi-Phi Island

Friday - Off to Phi Phi
We spent a lazy morning reading and swimming in the pool. We were picked up by van for a 40 minute ride to the ferry in Phuket. The road was lined with shops of all variety catering to both visitor and local. We passed several gated residential complexes reminding me of retirement communities in Florida.

The boat ride took nearly two hours, passing small islets with cliffs rising out of the water. We rode past the massive cliffs of Phi Phi for the last 20 minutes and turned into the harbor, a protected horse shoe bay with rock walls on one side and a white sand beach on the other. We were greeted by locals selling hotel rooms. The island has no motorized vehicles so all the streets are quiet narrow lanes. When we arrive somewhere, we are much like dogs, circling here and there, trying to find a comfortable spot. We finally settled into the Andaman Beach Resort, a 10 minute stroll from "down town".
For dinner, another curry (green this time) and grilled red snapper. While the Indians invented the curry, the Thais perfected it.

Saturday - Sunset Snorkeling

I have come to discover the fate of US Automotive industry products. After the cars rust out, the engines are shipped to Thailand, recycled into motors for the long-tail boats that are the only motorized intra-island transportation. That these engines are American in origin, can be of no doubt, since they are large, noisy and polluting. The engines are mounted on top of the stern of the boat, an extender rod is attached to the crankshaft and a propeller attached to the end of it. The engine is balanced and on a pivot so that it can be rotated to turn the boat and the rotor raised or lowered in the water.

Today was most wonderful, engaging us in our favorite activity, snorkeling. We signed on to a long boat trip around the islands,stopping at 9 different sites and snorkeling at 3 or 4 of them. The trip lasted 7 hours, visited three islands and included a box lunch on the beach of Bamboo Island. In addition to the usual colorful fish, the most prevalent novel under sea life we saw was the giant clam in colors ranging from purple to green to red and responsive to movement. When you passed over them they would close and the color would disappear. There were also large purple and black sea stars which were almost phosphorescent. A spotted moray eel, yellow with dark spots hid beneath a small stand of coral.

The most spectacular of the islands was Phi-Phi Lay a national park with spectacular canyon like coves and no habitation. One of these, Ma Ya Beach was the location for the filming of the film "The Beach", the story of paradise overrun. We reached the beach from another cove by swimming off the boat, walking and crawling through a cave,and walking down a trail through the jungle. Finally, we watched the sunset as the boat gently rocked on the Andaman Sea.

Sunday - Walking About

After a hearty breakfast, we started to hike to a viewpoint a few hundred feet above the town with views of both sides of the island and the town below. Judy managed to go about half way where there was a first glimpse of the island below while I hiked to the top. The afternoon activity was a walk to long beach, about 20 minutes from our hotel where the snorkling from the beach was fine and the water more refreshing. We spent the afternoon snorkeling, sitting mostly in the shade and eating Thai curry on the beach. When Judy and I take winter vacations, it appears that we have been to different places. She is dark and tan while I remain rather pale. I hide from the sun because I darken rather slowly. The sun is so strong here that I have been getting more exposure than normal and Judy has burnt somewhat.

I usually wear a T-shirt and my Red Sox cap and if not walking or swimming, sit in the shade. I have been in search of Red Sox nation in Asia but thus far have been stopped only twice by fans, once by a Korean in HK and earlier today by a women from Hingham. There are not many Americans in Thailand.

Monday - Kayaking and Snorkeling
Today we rented a two person kayak and paddled to the other side of the island. This helped keep Judy off her knee which is improving at much slower rate now and enabled us to visit beach and reef not accessible by foot. The reef had wondrous coral though the number and variety of fish were better on Long Beach. Judy claims to have seen 6 sharks at Long Beach which I could not verify.

Tuesday - We decided to try out a beach closer to the airport so that we would be able to get our flight to Bangkok on Wednesday. So, we took a ferry and van to Mia Yang, another beach town but within walking distance of the Phuket airport. It was a quiet town, a beautiful beach with small hotels and bungalows. The beach had a barrier reef, a quarter mile from the shore but we didn't swim out to it as it was a little far and shallow especially at low tide.

Wednesday - We arrived at the airport for a noon flight and soon found out that our flight was leaving three hours late. So, instead of having the afternoon in Bangkok we spent it at the gate waiting for our flight. We finally arrived, took a taxi to downtown and checked into a hotel with swimming pool and terrace right on the river. The hotel was close to the cultural sights of Bangkok and since there are commuter ferries plying the river, a convenient way to get around the city. The pool was most appreciated as the temperature in Bangkok was around 100 degrees and humid. That evening we walked to Khao San, backpackers neighborhood. More about that in the next blog installment.