Koh Phi Phi

We got the bus to the airport, very handily right outside our hotel in Bangkok on Tuesday, and had the smoothest and quickest check in and security. All flights should be as stress free as an internal Thai flight. On the flight itself which is about 70 minutes long, you get a meal and everything. Total madness. When we arrived in Phuket I immediately knew I didn’t like it (it’s ok I was expecting not to, hence just the once night stay). As soon as we were outside (walking straight to the Airport- City Bus that stops outside our hotel and was cheap as chips) SOOOOO many taxi drivers tried to get us to go with them. And they didn’t  take no for an answer like in Bangkok, they even  told us the 4pm bus was cancelled (they’d even gone so far as to stick up a poster at the bus stop!), but I stuck with my instincts and held out and surely enough it shows up 5 minutes early.

We chose to stay in Phuket town, rather than go to the touristy coast as we were just staying one night before catching the ferry to Koh Phi Phi and seemed like the simplest option. We got a nice guest house for next to nothing and got collected the following morning and brought to the ferry port. Simples. Boy am I glad it was only one night. Phuket town was, in my humble and oh not so eloquent opinion, crap. There was nothing to do and nowhere to eat. A total right off. We eventually got a KFC and headed back to the guest house, tail between our legs and made the most of the free wifi.

The ferry the next morning was grand, and I used it to get some sleep and I’ve been waking up at 6 am every morning since arriving. When we started getting close to Phi Phi I could see how gorgeous it was, just like the tropical paradise I’d been expecting.

First spy of Phi Phi from the Ferry

We’d decided that we wouldn’t book accommodation beforehand, deciding instead to wing it, like the experienced backpackers and see what we found when we arrived. You can get the best deals this way and see the room before you take it. In theory this sounded great. Never again. It was a nightmare, in 35 degree heat, carrying a backpack…yuck. We got talking to a woman in an official Phi Phi Travel Agent t-shirt who gave us prices of a few places. When we said we wouldn’t pay her before we saw one she passed us onto a man in the same “official” t-shirt. He had an air conditioned room in our price range, he’d walk us there and if we like it we could take it, if not there were others close by. Sounded like a plan. Except the place was a 15 minute walk away in that heat with those bags, and the place ended up being a kip, that he owned! Ptcctchhhhh  he was as much an official agent as I was. Disaster. And it was in the middle of nowhere. We couldn’t walk around with the bags in that heat anymore, so we split up, I stayed with the bags, Leigh went off solo on the hunt for a room. After nearly an hour of searching half the town he came up empty handed and dehydrated.. The scandalously cheap prices we’d expected were obviously from low season, this was high season. Completely disheartened but not willing to take the first place I went off, leaving Leigh with the bags, for a quick stroll in the opposite direction. My famous lucky streak kicked in and I found somewhere nice, and just about affordable in 10 minutes. It was a cute, albeit rustic, wooden hut right on the beach. They probably weren’t worth what they were charging but they were nice, and the location couldn’t be beaten. And it meant we could have a cold shower and a lie down.  Bliss.

View from our bungalow

That night we had drinks in the bar attached to where we were staying and as it got later we sat on chairs on the beach as the tide came in, sea lapping at our feet, with lightening flashing above, it was pretty amazing.  Sitting there in that moment completely washed away how stressful earlier that day had been, and we were delighted to be there and made it all worth it. Gotta take the rough with the smooth. J

Day 2

I woke up early, again, and went to the beach and read my book for a while, defiantly making the most of having the beach at my doorstep. By the time Leigh got up (at a normal 11am for a holiday) it had started raining and proceeded to rain for most of the day, which ruined our plans for a chill out day on the beach. Instead we walked around the town and took in the sights. We booked our ferry and accommodation for Koh Lanta, our next stop, and booked a boat trip around Phi Phi Ley (the smaller uninhabited baby sister island to Phi Phi Don where we were staying) for the following day. That night we got dinner in a great place along the water, we both got fried rice in a pineapple, how cool?! And delicious.

Our waiter then recommended  a Fire Show back near our place, as the once near the restaurant we were planning on going to was apparently not very good. I’m delighted we took his advice because it was incredible. They put on such a show, including a tight rope walker, multiple acts, crazy moves and fireworks. It turned out to be some sort of full moon party, and we decided to go with it and get locked and dance the night away. We had our first buckets (a kids beach bucket filled with booze, mixer, ice and straws) and dancing in the water. It was a really fun night!

Day 3

Captain Bob’s Booze Cruise

Sinead, Stephen, Steph and Sandra who were in Koh Phi Phi in December pretty much told us we HAD to do Captain Bob’s Booze Cruise. So when we’d seen him the night before we stopped and got chatting to him so decided to go for it. There are possibly hundreds, definitely dozens, of day trips around the islands so to pick one without a recommendation would have been like picking straws. I’m sure most of them are fine, but many are huge boats filled with 50+ people and look fairly impersonal. I’m so glad the guys told us to go with Bob as there’s a max of 14 passengers on his sail boat (that he sailed there from Canada), so you really get to know people on board and the guys working on board really take care of you. It was such a great day! We were out the night before so getting up and out on time was a tough job. In fact we nearly missed it! We arrived at the pier at 5 past, and we saw them untie the boat from port and panicked! I called out “BOB” in a blind panic, which seemed to do the trick and caught someone’s attention long enough to stop them sailing off and gave us enough time to run down the boat it was tied to and hop aboard. Talk about a dramatic entrance!

The first stop of the day was Monkey Island. We dropped anchor a whiles a way from shore so me and Leigh kayaked over. I’m very proud to say I was first to jump into the water, with Leigh a close second! J There was a little bay filled with trees all brimming with monkeys. There were lots of tiny adorable babies, and also larger (and when antagonised by annoying men, aggressive) adults. It was kind of surreal how many of them were there, hanging off tree branches, enjoying the visiting humans who brought them a free banana buffet lunch!  Some of them got pretty curious with our kayak and made themselves at home, covering it with banana mush and throwing our oars into the sea. Cheers for that, monkeys!

Monkey Island

Next stop cliff jumping!

It was quite a climb up the cliff, and once I got up there I was way more scared than I expected! I’m not scared of heights, and I’m a good swimmer, but the standing up there on the edge looking down past the cliff edge into the ocean there was a (quite logical and sensible) block stopping my body from jumping. But this was something I’ve always wanted to do so I was doing it. Also it was way more appealing that climbing down that jagged cliff!  I did it from the lowest height,10 meters, I think,  and after nearly psyching myself and taking A LOT of deep breaths I did it!  I have to say it was terrifying but super exhilarating. Leigh went before me and I was super impressed as he’s not a great swimmer and was worried about not coming back up! But as soon as he stood up to jump he pretty much went for it straight away not a bother. I’m such a chicken!

Leigh after his cliff dive

Then back on boat, the hangover combined with sea sickness set in! Not fun!  Drinking buckets the night before spending an entire day on a boat was a terrible idea! The day was still great but I felt rubbish and nauseous and generally fairly crap. Although once I was in the water I was totally fine, just being on the boat in the choppy waters, not so much fun.

After the cliff jump we went snorkelling over towards Maya Bay (aka the beach from the movie The Beach, with Leonardo DiCaprio!). We saw THOUSANDS of fish. I can’t even explain how many were swimming right alongside us. There were fish of every colour imaginable, all sizes and shapes, so much coral, it was unreal! Then we got to land and walked through the grounds. It was a spectacular beach. The white sand was like velvet and the water was crystal clear. I was just glad to be on land for a while so I was more than happy to lie on the sand for a little while.

Maya Bay

On the way there we saw the army’s camps set up along the cliffs of Phi Phi Ley, they are there protecting against poachers trying to steal the nests of the Swifts which are made entirely of their spit. Sounds gross but they are apparently a Chinese delicacy that’s supposed to improve your health and act as an aphrodisiac, and a single nest sells for $1000 on the black market. Bob told us stories of how men climb the bamboo here, 100 metres to get to these nests, and how some have fallen to their deaths. Until recently the mafia had control of these cliffs, but the army stepped in and they now protect the area and the soldiers protect the island 24/7.

Next stop was back to Phi Phi Don and we stopped along the cliffs to watch the sun set. It was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever experienced. It was totally stunning. There are a few pictures here to give you an idea. Just gorgeous, and a perfect end to a great day….or so we thought!

Sun Set

Leigh and Chang buddy Anthony

Beautiful sun set over Phi Phi

As we were nearing dock after the sunset one of the American girls mentioned to Bob about bio luminescence, and asked him if we could stop and try check it out. He agreed, I think mainly because he was curious! I’m so glad he did because it was amazing! It felt like magic! We were in the sea in the dark and there were these twinkling glow-in-the-dark lights (coral) appearing when we moved. It felt like I was in space swimming amongst the stars, if that makes any sense at all? 

Then we were back to dock and arranged to meet up later at Banana Bar for some Mexican food and hanging out. I’m so glad we went, because I was feeling so crap during the day I was a bit crap at making much of an effort chatting to people, and had a brilliant night getting to know the group, one of which we’ve met since in Koh Lanta, and a few more I’m sure we’ll see again in Aus. So after some delicious beef burritos and some drinks Leigh and I headed back for our last night in our Phi Phi beach hut to get some (much needed) sleep before our ferry in the morning.

First stop Bangkok!

So we've gone! Woohoo! We flew out of Dublin on Friday evening after a super busy week, including me passing my driving test (YAYYYY!) and packing up everything we own and dumping it on our poor mothers to try an magically fit in their attics (sorry and thanks Mum). After a few tearful good byes we flew to Heathrow for a few hour layover and then onto the big flight.

Family Byes :(

Airport Goodbyes.

We arrived in Bangkok on Saturday afternoon, after a long, but fairly uneventful, 10 hour flight. We got a taxi to the hotel, which was lovely, and headed out to what we thought was Kaoh San Road (more on that later!) which was just a 5 minute walk away but on a quieter road, super handy. We had an amazing dinner, where I had the most deliscious Yellow Curry ever (for approx. €2!!!), and discovered the yummy Chang beer! J

Cheers! Leigh's first Chang.

Yummy Thai beer.

After that we just wandered around looking at the market stalls and took in the madness and energy of the area. 

On Sunday I got up bright and breezy, much to my surprise, and had breakfast and read my book at the roof top pool and went for a swim. Leigh got hit by jet lag and was awake most of the night so I left him to it. Then we got the river taxi to The Grand Palace. 

River taxi.

We saw, without doubt some of the most beautiful buildings I’ve seen in my life. Some with Chinese influence, some European and even a mini Angkor Wat. It was built in 1782 and is the official residence of the King; however the King hasn’t lived there for 150 years. Now it’s used for coronation ceremonies and the King’s Birthday celebrations. The temples, though, are still used by locals for praying. 

Mini Angkor Wat

 I had read previously that you must cover your legs and the tops of your arms to visit the Grand Palace, so I went prepared with leggings under y dress and a light blouse on top. But I STILL didn’t get through the Modesty Police, Apparently they don’t believe in the 90’s fashion revival that is leggings! I had been super prepared though and had a big scarf-come-sarong in my bag, just in case.

 We walked in 10 minutes before a free English tour was due to start so we decided to go with that, and I am SO glad we did. The tour guide was so nice and friendly and knew so much about the all the different buildings and their history. We learned so much, and definitely made it more enjoyable than if we were aimlessly wandering around by ourselves.

Our tour guide

The only thing that wasn't enjoyable was the insane heat, over 35 degrees! And we were walking around in the sun for 2-3 hours. It was nearly unbearable and as soon as we left we went into the nearest looking restaurant that looked like it would have air conditioning. It did. And it was beautiful!


Then we walked back to the hotel and had a much needed nap after the day in the heat, and then went back down to “Our Kaoh San Road”. We had a great night, we got more deliscious and cheap Thai food, including “The Best Spring Roles In The World”! I have to say they were definitely the best I’ve ever had, and deliscious Pork Satay to start…YUMMY!!! 

SO TICKLY!!!

Then we got a fish pedicure (where you put your feet in a pig pool of water filled with Garra Rufa fish that eat your dead skin cells, for those not in the know). At first it was insanely tickly, but once I got used to it, it was pretty cool. After that we got our first taste of Thai massage, a back, shoulder and head massage for me and a foot massage for Leigh. It was about €2.50 for a half an hour and was incredible! She got rid of all the sitting at a desk tension in my shoulders, which I was really suffering from and pulled and stretched me in  all sorts of ways, and cracked the length of my spine. I can’t wait until I get a full Thai massage, as this was such an amazing half hour!

Fish Pedicure

 After that the Manchester United – Tottenham match had just started and we settled down with some Changs at a make shift outdoor bar set up with a big TV in the back of a van showing the match. There was a great atmosphere, and surprisingly large number of Thai fans around, as well as fellow backpackers.

Watching the match out of the back of a van!

The yesterday, Monday, we decided after how wiped we were after the day in the heat (I reckon we’ll need a few weeks to get acclimatised!) we decided to spend a day at one of the coolest (amazingness and temperature wise) at Siam Ocean World! The aquarium is in the basement of the super swish shopping centre Siam Paragon. We later went exploring in the shopping centre and it was FILLED with high end designer stores and one super posh department store spread over 5 floors. One floor of the shopping centre was entirely a food court! Mental!

Some of the highlights for me: Seeing a baby (3 years old) Hammerhead shark, seeing Tiger shark eggs (you could see teeny tiny sharks moving inside) and the new borns on our back of house tour (some of which they release into the ocean), floating inches about huge rays and sharks in the glass bottom boat, and the tunnel through the aquarium where you feel like you are under the sea. 

Shark eggs with little tiny shark embryos inside

A new born shark

Anyway, the aquarium was absolutely brilliant, so fun and interesting. There was a about a fiver in the difference between the standard ticket and the Premier Package, so we naturally went for the Premier Package, and it was the best fiver ever spent, it came with heaps of extras like a back of house tour, a trip over the tanks in a glass bottom boat, a Pepsi and Popcorn, a Happy Fish Happy Feet fish pedicure (yup our second in 2 days, those tootsies are so soft right now!) and a viewing of a film in the 5D theatre.

Happy Fish - Happy Feet! :)

What a view to have during a pedicure!

A hermit crab                                    

 We easily spent about 4 hours here and weren’t bored for a second. It’s one of the best, well designed and facilitated tourist attractions I’ve been to with equal focus on learning as fun, as well as plenty of opportunity for cheestastic photo ops (much to my pleasure, and possibly unfortunately for Leigh!).

    Playing in the kids section 

 

Ooooooh!

Happy Thai New Year!

Vrooooooom.

   

That morning we decided to head down to Khao San Road to try and get our hands on some student cards (apparently will get us oodles of discounts and tourists attractions in Australia). We couldn’t see anywhere that did them, so eventually I asked someone unlocking IPhones (that was the dodgiest thing I could see going on so seemed a logical choice in my mind). Once he understood what I was on about he said “Ooooh, you want Kaoh San!”….yep ladies and gents we were on the wrong street the whole time! Turns out on our first night there when we followed Google Map’s directions, and a street sign we came across a street filled with market stalls open air, bars and restaurants, hostels, street vendors selling all sorts of yummy street foods etc, so we just assumed this was it. Ooops! So we headed around the corner for the real deal and got some student cards. Turns out though our road (turns out it’s called Soi Ram Buttri) is way nicer! Much more chilled out, with a cool, relaxed vibe. Never the less we went back to Koah San that night as it was our last night and walked around and enjoyed the buzz and some yummy Pina Coladas!

This morning we left the hotel and headed for Phuket. We’ll be here for one night as a stop on the way to beautiful Phi Phi! I cannot wait to get to a beach and swim in the sea, it’s been far too long!!!

The whys, whats and wheres of this trip and blog...

What:

Hi! I' m Sarah, and this is my travel blog.

About 8 months ago myself and Leigh (the boyfriend who will probably feature a fair bit in this blog as he'll be right along with me) decided to take a trip.

Our best friend and room mate Peter was moving to New Zealand in a few weeks, and another 3 friends of ours were planning to head off in a few months to Australia on a working holiday visa. We initally thought we'd go on a holiday to visit them for a few weeks, and after alot of tooing and froing we eventually asked ourselves “Why don't we go for the year too?”, and when we had absolutely no reason not to we decided we would follow them out and head off on our own trip. We initially thought we might go with them in November, but Leigh's sister Hazel decided to announce this beautiful guy was on the way, so we put it off until March. SOOOOO glad we did as we couldn't imagine having not met him. Look at that face!!!

So, we are off on March 2^nd on a 1 year Working Holiday Visa to Australia.

Where

We arrive in Bangkok on March 3^rd where we have 3 weeks of sun, sea, sand, and general relaxation and adventure, and then we fly into Sydney on the 27^th, where we'll meet our best friend, and current Wellington, NZ resident, Peter for some much needed hugs, beers and sight seeing for a week or 2.

After that our plans are totally open, we just want to see as much of Australia as we can in our year.

We want to see new landscapes, experience new cultures, eat new foods, SEE THE SUN, travel in new ways, and basically just see and do as much as we can. I like the idea of a semi-nomadic life for a while and am looking forward to a bit of an adventure.

Why the blog? Well 2 of my best friends, Sinead and Shane, both made blogs on recent trips of theirs (well Sinead's is still going). When Shane started his he said the reason he did was... “Curiosity, because I was told to, and because Sinead started it. Let the War of The Blogs begin!!! “ And who am I to not accept that challenge. But mainly I enjoy(ed) their blogs so much, keeping up to date and reading about their experiences, that I wanted to try it myself. I'm also a travel blog junkie, and love finding one I haven't read before and learning from and enjoying their experiences and advice. Anyway I thought I'd give it go. Hopefully some of my friends and family can keep up to date with what I'm doing, and I figured it would be a good place to put up some pictures, and if anyone else stops by and enjoys it then bonus points!

Bucket list for the trip:

-Learn to dive...and hopefully get my Padi licence. We have a rough plan to do the Padi course in Koh Tao, Thailand, and then hopefully we'll get to do some diving in the Great Barrier Reef. (I cannot believe this could very well be happening in the near future!!!)

-Go snorkelling in the great barrier reef

-See as much sea life and animals as i can lay my eyes on. If there's an option to snorkel, visit a zoo, farm, or aquarium I wanna be there!

-Jump out of a plane.

-Get a sun tan!!! Or as much as my Irish skin will allow!

-Visit Summer Bay. (The town where Home and Away is set.)

-Live like a local in Australia for at least a little while.

-Make new friends.

-Eat as many new foods as I can.

-Change my life style. I want to break bad, lazy habits, and get out there doing stuff.

-Learn to surf. I'm definately not what you'd call a coordinated person, so I'm not expecting much, but even just a lesson on 2 to give it a whirl.

-Take LOADS of photos! This is something I always want to do, but am awful at following through at. I get shy taking people's photos, lazy at charging my battery, and have never had a good camera, and I've just never been as good at is as I've have liked. So on this trip I have bought a new camera (Panasonic Lumix GF3) and I am going to use the heck out of it. I'm hoping this blog will work as an excuse to make me take and post some nice snaps. Must learn to use it now....hmm.

-Keep in touch with people. I must make a concerted effort to keep in touch with friends and family back home, as well as hopefuly people we meet along the way.

-Do things that scare me.

-Write. This blog, scripts, anything. It's something I keep meaning to do since college, but keep finding excuses not to spend the time doing. Must give it a go.

Wow, that was long...sorry for boring anyone who actually made it to the end!

Also...apologies for my excessive use of exclamation marks!!! Get used to it though, I'm an exclaimation mark addict.

1 week to go. :)