Sunday - 13 July 08
Well a long tiring day today. We were up at 4.45am, showered, packed and on the shuttle bus to the airport by 6am. We checked in our baggage which seeem to take forever, the airport was chokers at that time of the morning and you couldn't move for people. It took us three quarters of an hour just to check our luggage in and we quickly ducked outside for a smoke and then stood in line with a million other people to go through immigration which took over an hour of waiting. We finally got through and headed to our departure lounge which was way over the other side of the terminal, a bloody long walk. We went through 3 x ray checks before we got to the last one before we had to go into our departure lounge. The last x ray check and they confiscated my shampoo, condition and suntan lotion that I was carrying in my toileteries bag in our small backpack as hand luggage, yet they let me keep the bottle opener, go figure.
We sat in the departure lounge for half an hour and finally boarded our Thai airways plane, and as usual it was late leaving. It was a full flight and it went fairly quickly. We arrived into Perth on time, whacky doo! and it was an absolute shitfight going through customs and immigration which took over an hour and finally we got through having nothing to declare. We got the carkeys out of the lockbox and they had left us a note saying the battery in the car wasn't holding charge so we would need to go to the office and they parked the car there and could start it for us with the charger, which they did. We headed straight to mums no stopping thinking the car just needed a good run to recharge the battery as it had been sitting at the airport for nearly three months. We got to mums just after 6pm and could finally sit back and relax.
We can't believe we are back in oz and have been gone nearly 3 months and once again we are homeless. He Ha! We hope to be on the road to Queensland Wednesday so we have a lot to organise and get done and little time to do it. But we can do it!
So this is the final post for our Thailand blog, I hope everyone has enjoyed the diary of our trip. For us old farts, it was an experience and somewhat of an adventure, we do love Thailand and would encourage anyone looking for a unique and cheap holiday to visit the country and not just the touristy parts of Phuket and southern Thailand but adventure out up north and to other places its so much nicer, cheaper with heaps of things to see and do. So to everyone who has journeyed with us, Kob koon Chai (thank you) and we will catch up with everyone soon. Sawasdee Ka!
Monday, July 14, 2008
Last day in Thailand - Almost
Saturday - 12 July 08
Hello to one and all as usual this blog is heaps late. We were up early, packed and ready to leave for our pick up at 10.30am unfortunately our car that was supposedly booked wasn't booked at all and we waited and waited until 11.15 and no vehicle. The reception staff then called the company and they had forgotton so sent a car from Patong to pick us up and take us to the airport for our Air Asia flight to Bangkok, We arrived with an hour to spare before we had to board the plane so we hung around and finally got hungry and decided to have burger king in the terminal whilst we were waiting. Funnily enough they boarded the plane early and here we are sitting eating our chicken and chips and everyone else was on the plane. Once we realised this we made a quick dash to the boarding gate and ran onto the plane. Air Asia is a discount carrier similar to Jetstar and when we got on they told us find a seat anywhere, talk about no frills, we got the last 2 seats. The flight took off about 10 mins early and we were on our way to Bangkok. We arrived at Suramavuni Airport in Bangkok 2 hours later, collected our baggage and into the shuttle bus to Novotel hotel across the road from the international airport. Wow! what a over the top, luxurious hotel, no wonder it cost us so much for the nights stay. It was total granduer although the rooms, I thought weren't all that flash for the money. We stayed here only because we have a 5am start in the morning and it was as close to the airport as you could get.
We checked in, dumped our backpacks and went for a walk back over to the airport terminal to get some milk for our coffee and something to eat, it was way to plush at the Novotel for us to be able to afford eating at their exclusive and very expensive restaurants. We wanted to grab just a couple of small little souveneirs but not much to choose from at the airport so headed back to the hotel and decided to get a taxi into Bangkok to grab those last minute items at the markets. We booked our taxi for 6pm and waited to be picked up, it was about a 45 minute ride into Bangers and the driver was quite helpful, he took us to a huge nightmarket which would take you a week to get around and look at everything, we couldn't find what we were after so he then took us to some huge shopping centre and after going up 5 floors they didn't have what we were looking for so we gave up and the taxi driver then took us to another market somewhere along a main street in Bangkok and we picked up a couple of thing and by this time we were buggered and he drove us the 45mins back to Novotel.
We got back at 9.30pm and were absolutely worn out, we had a coffee and our donuts we had bought for supper and headed to bed as we have to be up at 4.45am in the morning.
A busy day today and one more day of travelling and we will be back in oz. Until tomorrows blog. See Ya
Hello to one and all as usual this blog is heaps late. We were up early, packed and ready to leave for our pick up at 10.30am unfortunately our car that was supposedly booked wasn't booked at all and we waited and waited until 11.15 and no vehicle. The reception staff then called the company and they had forgotton so sent a car from Patong to pick us up and take us to the airport for our Air Asia flight to Bangkok, We arrived with an hour to spare before we had to board the plane so we hung around and finally got hungry and decided to have burger king in the terminal whilst we were waiting. Funnily enough they boarded the plane early and here we are sitting eating our chicken and chips and everyone else was on the plane. Once we realised this we made a quick dash to the boarding gate and ran onto the plane. Air Asia is a discount carrier similar to Jetstar and when we got on they told us find a seat anywhere, talk about no frills, we got the last 2 seats. The flight took off about 10 mins early and we were on our way to Bangkok. We arrived at Suramavuni Airport in Bangkok 2 hours later, collected our baggage and into the shuttle bus to Novotel hotel across the road from the international airport. Wow! what a over the top, luxurious hotel, no wonder it cost us so much for the nights stay. It was total granduer although the rooms, I thought weren't all that flash for the money. We stayed here only because we have a 5am start in the morning and it was as close to the airport as you could get.
We checked in, dumped our backpacks and went for a walk back over to the airport terminal to get some milk for our coffee and something to eat, it was way to plush at the Novotel for us to be able to afford eating at their exclusive and very expensive restaurants. We wanted to grab just a couple of small little souveneirs but not much to choose from at the airport so headed back to the hotel and decided to get a taxi into Bangkok to grab those last minute items at the markets. We booked our taxi for 6pm and waited to be picked up, it was about a 45 minute ride into Bangers and the driver was quite helpful, he took us to a huge nightmarket which would take you a week to get around and look at everything, we couldn't find what we were after so he then took us to some huge shopping centre and after going up 5 floors they didn't have what we were looking for so we gave up and the taxi driver then took us to another market somewhere along a main street in Bangkok and we picked up a couple of thing and by this time we were buggered and he drove us the 45mins back to Novotel.
We got back at 9.30pm and were absolutely worn out, we had a coffee and our donuts we had bought for supper and headed to bed as we have to be up at 4.45am in the morning.
A busy day today and one more day of travelling and we will be back in oz. Until tomorrows blog. See Ya
Friday, July 11, 2008
Ony 2 days to go and WE'RE BACK...Oh No!!!!
Fridai - 11 July 08No Way! I can't believe this is our last full day here in Thailand, where did the time go. It's unbelievable to think we have been away for nearly 3 months, 12 months wouldn't be enough for us its such a great country with so many great areas to visit and hang out in, of course our favourite was 'PAI' and I don't think we will ever forget that place or the people.
Today was a lazy day for us as we just wanted to soak up the last hours of our holiday. We had breakfast at the restauarant here at the resort which wasn't much chop just some reheated left over food but we didn't eat at all yesterday and were worried we might fade away. Lol! We took our last walk through the main drag of Kamala looking for shops to grab last minute items but it was not to be as just about every shop other than your little cafe's and 7/11's were closed, I guess when it is so quiet its the only time these people can take a break themselves. Just as we were walking back to the resort it started to rain big time and continued to rain for hours so we spent the arvo sorting and packing our stuff ready for our flight out to Bangkok tomorrow.and our trip back to oz on Sunday. I have had to rearrange everything in the backpacks and don't know how I we are going to fit the last lot of items in tomorrow, we might have to think about ditching the Thai kettle we bought way back at the start of our trip to give us extra room.
That done it was dinner time and thought we would head back up the road to the little restaurant we have eaten up a couple of times since we arrived here, its the only one open other than the resort one so its not like you have much choice. The food is good and it was like having the last supper in Kamala Beach, its very sad. We then walked up to a little DVD stall and picked up a couple of movies for the kids and ourselves and headed back. Our car picks us up at 10.30am in the morning to take us to Phuket airport so I am having an early night, knowing Rick he will sit up all night on the computer because once we leave Bangkok there will be no more net until we organise something for our big trip to Queensland and like when he is hungry, no computer or internet and he is a grumpy old shit.
Anyway that was our last day in Kamala, tomorrow night I should be able to do the blog from our hotel in Bangkok but after that, not sure. So until then! La Kon
Thursday, July 10, 2008
What a day In Patong Phuket!
Thursday - 10 July 08
Here we go again, this is the second time I have done todays blog. What a bloody nightmare!
Well we were up early this morning deciding what we wanted to do today as this is our last day of having the bike. The resort lost all power and went onto generator, and me having spent nearly 2 hours trying to connect to the internet. O f course when the power ent out it shut down the router on their computer so we couldn't get the Wi Fi signal to connect. We bought a 7 day internet card and with all the hassles we have had connecting we have probably used 12 hours of that 7 day card, so I will be writing my comments about it on the guest comment sheet when we leave.
No power, no air con so we thought we may as well head back into Patong and finish our last minute shopping we didn't get done yesterday, bad moove! We managed to stay alive riding through the chaos they call traffic in Patong and parked the bike close to the new 'Jungceylon' shopping centre and decided to go to KFC for brunch, another bad moove! Nothing really opens here in the way of shopping centres until 11am so we sat and waited for 15 minutes, that was ok, but then when we got into KFC Rick stood at the counter for quite a while waiting for someone to serve him and they weren't organised, not a good move when it comes to Rick. Needless to say we left there and with Rick having the shits big time! We got back on the bike and headed south of Patong to Karon & Kata beach and there wasn't much opened there either. When Ricks hungry, hes hungry and grumpy. By this time I had had enough and asked Rick to take us back to Kamala to the resort, it was a good ride until we had to go along Patong beach esplanade again riding through the chaos with Rick swearing and cursing until we got to the Kamala Beach turnoff and it was ok from there until coming down the hill a stupid Thai sheila with a wog guy on the back of her bike put on her right hand blinker to turn right and instead veered left to pull up in the gutter and nearly wiped us out. She apologised again and again and the wog bloke on the back was just a prick, that finished Rick. We eventually got back to the resort in tact.
This arvo we didn't leave the resort, not even for lunch, I spent hours trying to connect, again, to this freakin internet and then gave up and had a long nanny nap leaving Rick to try and connect and to return the bike and helmets to the rental place.
Tonight is a quiet night and now that we are connected to the net I won't be logging off. No rain or storm as yet so hopefully Rick can catch up on the market and do what he usually does without loosing the connection.
So that was the day of all days! Only 4 to go and we will be back in OZ. Boo! Hoo!
So until tomorrows blog, whenever that may be! Kob kun Chai!
Here we go again, this is the second time I have done todays blog. What a bloody nightmare!
Well we were up early this morning deciding what we wanted to do today as this is our last day of having the bike. The resort lost all power and went onto generator, and me having spent nearly 2 hours trying to connect to the internet. O f course when the power ent out it shut down the router on their computer so we couldn't get the Wi Fi signal to connect. We bought a 7 day internet card and with all the hassles we have had connecting we have probably used 12 hours of that 7 day card, so I will be writing my comments about it on the guest comment sheet when we leave.
No power, no air con so we thought we may as well head back into Patong and finish our last minute shopping we didn't get done yesterday, bad moove! We managed to stay alive riding through the chaos they call traffic in Patong and parked the bike close to the new 'Jungceylon' shopping centre and decided to go to KFC for brunch, another bad moove! Nothing really opens here in the way of shopping centres until 11am so we sat and waited for 15 minutes, that was ok, but then when we got into KFC Rick stood at the counter for quite a while waiting for someone to serve him and they weren't organised, not a good move when it comes to Rick. Needless to say we left there and with Rick having the shits big time! We got back on the bike and headed south of Patong to Karon & Kata beach and there wasn't much opened there either. When Ricks hungry, hes hungry and grumpy. By this time I had had enough and asked Rick to take us back to Kamala to the resort, it was a good ride until we had to go along Patong beach esplanade again riding through the chaos with Rick swearing and cursing until we got to the Kamala Beach turnoff and it was ok from there until coming down the hill a stupid Thai sheila with a wog guy on the back of her bike put on her right hand blinker to turn right and instead veered left to pull up in the gutter and nearly wiped us out. She apologised again and again and the wog bloke on the back was just a prick, that finished Rick. We eventually got back to the resort in tact.
This arvo we didn't leave the resort, not even for lunch, I spent hours trying to connect, again, to this freakin internet and then gave up and had a long nanny nap leaving Rick to try and connect and to return the bike and helmets to the rental place.
Tonight is a quiet night and now that we are connected to the net I won't be logging off. No rain or storm as yet so hopefully Rick can catch up on the market and do what he usually does without loosing the connection.
So that was the day of all days! Only 4 to go and we will be back in OZ. Boo! Hoo!
So until tomorrows blog, whenever that may be! Kob kun Chai!
Day 5 in Kamala Beach
Wednesday - 9 July 08
I don't believe this bloody internet, this is the 3rd time I have done this blog and as soon as you hit the publish button to post the blog the internet shits itself drops out, so here I go again!
Today was another relaxing day in Kamala, Phuket. After the wicked storm and rain we had last night the day started out cooler but then heated up later in the day. We were up and about early today as we thought we would get on the bike and head into Patong early, before all the traffic and do some last bit of shopping and besides if you go early and you are the first customer of the day at the individual stalls at the markets they have a 'special price' for first customer of the day, as they say. We decided to go to the OTOP markets which has been our favourite the previous times we have been here. I managed to get myself a new pair of thongs and a fat dress and Rick did well to get 'best price' when he bargained with the lady. He also bought himself a new pair of Diesel thongs and paid half the price the guy wanted. We then headed down to the Patong beach esplanade, parked the bike and went to maccas for brunch. That done we headed back to where the bike was parked and low and behold some asshole had parked behind us and blocked us in, so Rick moved his bike back while I got our bike out and then pushed the other bike back into our parking spot, this didn't impress Rick at all. We then rode along the esplanade in all the chaos they call traffic with Rick swearing and cursing all the way until we got to the Kamala Beach turnoff and from there it was smooth riding up and down the mountain and along the winding road. We got back in one piece and thats what counts.
After our stressful morning of shopping and traffic we decided on a quiet and relaxing arvo at the resort, no more riding in traffic. Rick played around on the net when we finally got it up and running again and I did some handwashing. We had a wild storm blow in and the rain was torrential which went well into the night. We decided rather than go out for dinner might be a good idea to order room service which is not that much more expensive that eating at the restaurant. Rick was chuffed with that as he just called them, ordered what we wanted and 15 minutes later it was delivered to the door and we didn't have to leave the room, he thought that was cool as it was the first time we have ordered room service on this long trip.
That was the day done and over, I watched a movie laying in bed and Rick was on the net for the rest of the night. 4 days to go and we will be back in Oz, Boo! Hoo!
So until tomorrows blog. SEE YA!
I don't believe this bloody internet, this is the 3rd time I have done this blog and as soon as you hit the publish button to post the blog the internet shits itself drops out, so here I go again!
Today was another relaxing day in Kamala, Phuket. After the wicked storm and rain we had last night the day started out cooler but then heated up later in the day. We were up and about early today as we thought we would get on the bike and head into Patong early, before all the traffic and do some last bit of shopping and besides if you go early and you are the first customer of the day at the individual stalls at the markets they have a 'special price' for first customer of the day, as they say. We decided to go to the OTOP markets which has been our favourite the previous times we have been here. I managed to get myself a new pair of thongs and a fat dress and Rick did well to get 'best price' when he bargained with the lady. He also bought himself a new pair of Diesel thongs and paid half the price the guy wanted. We then headed down to the Patong beach esplanade, parked the bike and went to maccas for brunch. That done we headed back to where the bike was parked and low and behold some asshole had parked behind us and blocked us in, so Rick moved his bike back while I got our bike out and then pushed the other bike back into our parking spot, this didn't impress Rick at all. We then rode along the esplanade in all the chaos they call traffic with Rick swearing and cursing all the way until we got to the Kamala Beach turnoff and from there it was smooth riding up and down the mountain and along the winding road. We got back in one piece and thats what counts.
After our stressful morning of shopping and traffic we decided on a quiet and relaxing arvo at the resort, no more riding in traffic. Rick played around on the net when we finally got it up and running again and I did some handwashing. We had a wild storm blow in and the rain was torrential which went well into the night. We decided rather than go out for dinner might be a good idea to order room service which is not that much more expensive that eating at the restaurant. Rick was chuffed with that as he just called them, ordered what we wanted and 15 minutes later it was delivered to the door and we didn't have to leave the room, he thought that was cool as it was the first time we have ordered room service on this long trip.
That was the day done and over, I watched a movie laying in bed and Rick was on the net for the rest of the night. 4 days to go and we will be back in Oz, Boo! Hoo!
So until tomorrows blog. SEE YA!
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Another lazy day in Kamala Beach
Tuesday 8 June 08
Hi to one and all. Yes I know the blog is late but we had a wicked storm and torrential monsoon rain and it took out the internet everywhere in this area.
We have had yet another great day in Kamala Beach in Phuket. I was up early this morning trying to get connected to this freakin internet and takes about an hour or so and requires sitting on the balcony to pick up the signal, finally with a lot of messing around changing settings and what have you, success. This has now become the way of starting the day.
We headed off on the bike for a morning ride to Ban Bangtoa beach and Laguna Phuket. It is quite a nice area although still rebuilding from the ravage of the Tsunami. There are many new gated communities, villas and 5 star golf resorts being built and opened in the area which should help to rebuild the local economy. We rode through many more villages and small communities and stopped and had brunch at this nice little cafe/bakery in Laguna Phuket, quite an expensive area but the cafe was well priced. We then rode on through Surin beach again and then back to Kamala and up mountains and hills and through more of the local communities and villages, some good scenery and wicked hills to ride up.
This arvo was spent relaxing back at the resort and spending hours trying yet again to connect to this bloody internet. We were going to go for a swim in the pool but I told Rick I am not swimming anymore until he buys me a 'fat bikini' so I can look halfway decent or at least hide some of it by trying to cover it.
Tonight with the storm brewing we didn't want to venture out too far so we had dinner in the resort restaurant. The food is great and prices a bit high but you do get what you pay for and we had excellent service and food. We then just headed back to our room as the rain started and we didn't want to be out in it.
So that was our day. Stay tuned for tomorrows blog! Until then. La Kon
Hi to one and all. Yes I know the blog is late but we had a wicked storm and torrential monsoon rain and it took out the internet everywhere in this area.
We have had yet another great day in Kamala Beach in Phuket. I was up early this morning trying to get connected to this freakin internet and takes about an hour or so and requires sitting on the balcony to pick up the signal, finally with a lot of messing around changing settings and what have you, success. This has now become the way of starting the day.
We headed off on the bike for a morning ride to Ban Bangtoa beach and Laguna Phuket. It is quite a nice area although still rebuilding from the ravage of the Tsunami. There are many new gated communities, villas and 5 star golf resorts being built and opened in the area which should help to rebuild the local economy. We rode through many more villages and small communities and stopped and had brunch at this nice little cafe/bakery in Laguna Phuket, quite an expensive area but the cafe was well priced. We then rode on through Surin beach again and then back to Kamala and up mountains and hills and through more of the local communities and villages, some good scenery and wicked hills to ride up.
This arvo was spent relaxing back at the resort and spending hours trying yet again to connect to this bloody internet. We were going to go for a swim in the pool but I told Rick I am not swimming anymore until he buys me a 'fat bikini' so I can look halfway decent or at least hide some of it by trying to cover it.
Tonight with the storm brewing we didn't want to venture out too far so we had dinner in the resort restaurant. The food is great and prices a bit high but you do get what you pay for and we had excellent service and food. We then just headed back to our room as the rain started and we didn't want to be out in it.
So that was our day. Stay tuned for tomorrows blog! Until then. La Kon
Monday, July 7, 2008
Monday in Kamala Beach!
Monday - 7 July 08
Today has been a quiet and relaxing day for us today, well most of it anyway. We are getting a bit frustrated with this bloody internet and the ISP. We bought a 7 day internet card and it takes us soooooo long to connect and have to jump all sorts of hoops to get the thing working and it is pissing us off.
9.30am this morning was the Tsunami drill for Phuket and surrounding areas, so Rick and I thought we would participate and ride the bike up to the Tsunami evacuation meeting point halfway up the mountain at the lookout, it saved having to walk the evacuation route along the beach and up the hill. Well it was interesting because we were the only ones there and no one seemed interested in participating in the drill and just went on with their normal daily routine, people were swimming at the beach, vehicles were driving up and down the mountain, shops were operating and no one really gave a toss. It surprised me because the evidence is still there of the Tsunami three and a half years ago and its devastation, there is still debris everywhere and buildings that were destroyed and a lot of rebuilding going on but slowly so I would have thought that the people here would have taken it seriously, obviously not.
We gave up hanging around after half an hour so hopped on the bike and went for a ride to Surin beach which is about 10 kms from here. We rode around the village and side streets and checked the place out. There are a lot of new resorts being built there too and a lot of housing developments as well. Its good to get out and about and see how the other half lives and be thankful for what we have.
We then headed back to Kamala Beach and rode around to find an internet cafe so we could book our flights to Bangkok for Saturday and our hotel for the night close to the airport, I could book it on the internet on our laptop but need a computer with a printer to printer the flight and hotel vouchers. We found one just up the road and I started the booking and found we had to put our passport numbers on the booking and they were locked in the safe in our room, besides that we had cats running all over the computer and keyboards and I got pissed off, had a hissy and left there. We came back to the hotel collected our passports and went for a ride and found another internet cafe in a travel agent so finally booked our Air Asia flights and our hotel and printed up the vouchers. Our domestic flight to Bangkok only cost us $58 each and our hotel, the Novotel at Bangkok airport cost top dollar but as we are flying out to Perth at 7.50am ( if the plane leaves on time that is)so we decided we had to be within spitting distance to the airport as we will need to be there 2 hours before the flight leaves so the closer, the better.
By the time we finished that it was lunchtime and we were hot and hungry so we had lunch in the restaurant here at the resort its a little more expensive that the restaurants in the town but the food is better. Having done that it was time to veg and headed to our room to catch up on internet stuff and relax. The time is just flying now we are getting to the end of our trip and so before we knew it dinner time had come around so off we walked to the main drag of Kamala and found a little restaurant come bar and it must be the place for foreigners to hang out because it was quite busy with foreign men and their Thai wives. We had a nice dinner, I had Duck (which I love) with honey and fried rice and Rick had Duck a'la Orange and steamed rice, reasonably priced and filling. We then walked back to the resort, like two fat porkers and called it a night.
So our day was interesting but still relaxing. So until tomorrows blog. La Kon!
Today has been a quiet and relaxing day for us today, well most of it anyway. We are getting a bit frustrated with this bloody internet and the ISP. We bought a 7 day internet card and it takes us soooooo long to connect and have to jump all sorts of hoops to get the thing working and it is pissing us off.
9.30am this morning was the Tsunami drill for Phuket and surrounding areas, so Rick and I thought we would participate and ride the bike up to the Tsunami evacuation meeting point halfway up the mountain at the lookout, it saved having to walk the evacuation route along the beach and up the hill. Well it was interesting because we were the only ones there and no one seemed interested in participating in the drill and just went on with their normal daily routine, people were swimming at the beach, vehicles were driving up and down the mountain, shops were operating and no one really gave a toss. It surprised me because the evidence is still there of the Tsunami three and a half years ago and its devastation, there is still debris everywhere and buildings that were destroyed and a lot of rebuilding going on but slowly so I would have thought that the people here would have taken it seriously, obviously not.
We gave up hanging around after half an hour so hopped on the bike and went for a ride to Surin beach which is about 10 kms from here. We rode around the village and side streets and checked the place out. There are a lot of new resorts being built there too and a lot of housing developments as well. Its good to get out and about and see how the other half lives and be thankful for what we have.
We then headed back to Kamala Beach and rode around to find an internet cafe so we could book our flights to Bangkok for Saturday and our hotel for the night close to the airport, I could book it on the internet on our laptop but need a computer with a printer to printer the flight and hotel vouchers. We found one just up the road and I started the booking and found we had to put our passport numbers on the booking and they were locked in the safe in our room, besides that we had cats running all over the computer and keyboards and I got pissed off, had a hissy and left there. We came back to the hotel collected our passports and went for a ride and found another internet cafe in a travel agent so finally booked our Air Asia flights and our hotel and printed up the vouchers. Our domestic flight to Bangkok only cost us $58 each and our hotel, the Novotel at Bangkok airport cost top dollar but as we are flying out to Perth at 7.50am ( if the plane leaves on time that is)so we decided we had to be within spitting distance to the airport as we will need to be there 2 hours before the flight leaves so the closer, the better.
By the time we finished that it was lunchtime and we were hot and hungry so we had lunch in the restaurant here at the resort its a little more expensive that the restaurants in the town but the food is better. Having done that it was time to veg and headed to our room to catch up on internet stuff and relax. The time is just flying now we are getting to the end of our trip and so before we knew it dinner time had come around so off we walked to the main drag of Kamala and found a little restaurant come bar and it must be the place for foreigners to hang out because it was quite busy with foreign men and their Thai wives. We had a nice dinner, I had Duck (which I love) with honey and fried rice and Rick had Duck a'la Orange and steamed rice, reasonably priced and filling. We then walked back to the resort, like two fat porkers and called it a night.
So our day was interesting but still relaxing. So until tomorrows blog. La Kon!
Photos - Rick & his beloved motorbike!
Rick and his Motorbike
Rick and his Motorbike again!
The number plate which helps us to identify it is our bike in amongst everyone elses!
At the Tsunami evacuation meeting point.
The sign letting everyone know today was a Tsunami drill on Phuket. No one took any notice and just went about their daily routing. We were the only ones who went up the hill to the safe meeting point.Sunday, July 6, 2008
Relaxing in Kamala Beach - Phuket!
Sunday - 6 July 08
Hello, day 2 in Kamala Beach and how relaxing and quiet is it? We have had an excellent day. We hired our motorbike which give us the freedom to get around and see a few things besides the fact we just like to ride it. We took of f to look for tobacco as we had run out and thought it would be easy to find in the shops here in Kamala, wrong, seems since the Thai government bought in the new no smoking policy, like Australia that a lot of people have given up and so not a lot of shops stock it, no shops in Kamala do so we headed down to Patong. Kamala is quiet so riding the bike around here is no hassle, get to Patong and its a bloody nightmare, the traffic is horendous and as I have said before there are no road rules its a free for all.
We parked the bike in the main street of Patong and went to the 'Jungceylon' shopping centre which is the new one in Patong. It was stinkin hot and we walked through the shopping centre out the back to the markets and all over the place looking for a shop that sold tobacco, needless to say I was getting pissed off as it was so hot. We did manage to stop though at KFC for Rick to get something to eat for brunch, by this time I wasn't much in the mood for eating. We then walked the street for a bit longer and then hopped on the bike to the beachfront to a small supermarket we remembered from our last trip here in November that sold tobacco. After we found somewhere to park had a few choice words between us and I had a hissy fit and called Rick a few choice names we hopped on the bike, tobacco in hand and headed back to Kamala Beach, lucky for us I have some sense of direction otherwise the mood Rick was in riding through Patong we could have ended up anywhere. Anyway once out of Patong we got over our spat and enjoyed the ride back to Kamala. We stopped at a roadside petrol stop, not a servo and filled the bike up with fuel.
This arvo we went for a swim in the pool and the water was warm but nice, it is very relaxing here as its quiet, so quiet half the shops and restaurants have closed for the low season, but its nicer than being in the hustle and bustle of Patong. We then hopped on the bike and went for a ride up into the mountain and along winding roads, there is a lot of development going in Kamala and a lot of new resorts and condominiums being built along the cliffs, for a couple of million baht you can buy yourself a nice villa overlooking the Andaman Sea built on the cliffside. No thanks! The last Tsunami wiped the place out and they are still rebuilding nearly 4 years later.
We relaxed for what was left of the arvo and then headed out to the restaurant for dinner, it was seafood pizza for me and pork steak & salad for Rick. The meals are nice and food is fresh which is an improvement on Phi Phi food and restaurants.
Tomorrow morning at 9am the whole of Phuket has a Tsunami drill, so when the siren roars everyone, no matter where they are have to follow the tsunami evacuation signs and head for the meeting point at the top of the mountain, that should be interesting.
I have posted 2 more pages of photos, so if you scroll down you can view them.
That was our day today in Phuket. Hope everyone at home is having a good weekend. Until tomorrows blog! See Ya!
Hello, day 2 in Kamala Beach and how relaxing and quiet is it? We have had an excellent day. We hired our motorbike which give us the freedom to get around and see a few things besides the fact we just like to ride it. We took of f to look for tobacco as we had run out and thought it would be easy to find in the shops here in Kamala, wrong, seems since the Thai government bought in the new no smoking policy, like Australia that a lot of people have given up and so not a lot of shops stock it, no shops in Kamala do so we headed down to Patong. Kamala is quiet so riding the bike around here is no hassle, get to Patong and its a bloody nightmare, the traffic is horendous and as I have said before there are no road rules its a free for all.
We parked the bike in the main street of Patong and went to the 'Jungceylon' shopping centre which is the new one in Patong. It was stinkin hot and we walked through the shopping centre out the back to the markets and all over the place looking for a shop that sold tobacco, needless to say I was getting pissed off as it was so hot. We did manage to stop though at KFC for Rick to get something to eat for brunch, by this time I wasn't much in the mood for eating. We then walked the street for a bit longer and then hopped on the bike to the beachfront to a small supermarket we remembered from our last trip here in November that sold tobacco. After we found somewhere to park had a few choice words between us and I had a hissy fit and called Rick a few choice names we hopped on the bike, tobacco in hand and headed back to Kamala Beach, lucky for us I have some sense of direction otherwise the mood Rick was in riding through Patong we could have ended up anywhere. Anyway once out of Patong we got over our spat and enjoyed the ride back to Kamala. We stopped at a roadside petrol stop, not a servo and filled the bike up with fuel.
This arvo we went for a swim in the pool and the water was warm but nice, it is very relaxing here as its quiet, so quiet half the shops and restaurants have closed for the low season, but its nicer than being in the hustle and bustle of Patong. We then hopped on the bike and went for a ride up into the mountain and along winding roads, there is a lot of development going in Kamala and a lot of new resorts and condominiums being built along the cliffs, for a couple of million baht you can buy yourself a nice villa overlooking the Andaman Sea built on the cliffside. No thanks! The last Tsunami wiped the place out and they are still rebuilding nearly 4 years later.
We relaxed for what was left of the arvo and then headed out to the restaurant for dinner, it was seafood pizza for me and pork steak & salad for Rick. The meals are nice and food is fresh which is an improvement on Phi Phi food and restaurants.
Tomorrow morning at 9am the whole of Phuket has a Tsunami drill, so when the siren roars everyone, no matter where they are have to follow the tsunami evacuation signs and head for the meeting point at the top of the mountain, that should be interesting.
I have posted 2 more pages of photos, so if you scroll down you can view them.
That was our day today in Phuket. Hope everyone at home is having a good weekend. Until tomorrows blog! See Ya!
Day 2 Photos - Kamala Beach
Photo from lookout between Kamala & Patong
Kamal beach from Viewpoint
Kamala Beach
Beautiful view from Viewpoint
Picture of Pool Area @ 'Print Kamala Beach ResortMore Photos of Kamala!
Kamala Beach from Viewpoint
Unusual - you can sit here and just look at the view
The pool & accommodation at Kamala Beach
The fountain at the pool in Resort
We have a Tsunami drill tomorrow at 9am for the whole of Phuket Island including Patong, Phuket Town & Kamala Beach.Saturday, July 5, 2008
Day 1 - Kamala Beach Resort - Kamala Beach
Saturday - 5 July 08
Hi to everyone! Well we are here in Kamala Beach, Phuket on the last leg of our trip. I can't believe we have been in Thailand for 10 weeks already and only one week to go. The time and trip has gone so quick, its not fair. This time next week we will be in Bangkok for the night to catch our plane on Sunday back to oz.
Well we were up early and were more than ready to leave Phi Phi Island. We checked out of our accommodation and then walked down through the village, loaded up with our backpacks and other luggage, for the last time to the pier to catch the boat back to Phuket. Can't say I will miss Phi Phi, a very unfriendly place with little if any atmosphere.
Our boat ride across to Phuket was good it took about 2 hours and when we arrived at the pier our mini bus was there to pick us up to bring us here, the problem was that there were 10 other people as well and all had backpacks and luggage and nowhere to fit then in the mini bus so the driver had to tie them to the roof. We then got driven around Phuket town as a Russian couple and there toddler wanted to go to the immigration department (on a freakin Saturday!) to extend their visa as it runs out on Monday, assholes should have been more organised and should have known that government departments in most countries don't work weekends. There are a lot of Russian tourists in Thailand and most are ignorant and arogant assholes. Anyway after the driver takes them to the immigration department in Phuket Town and they are told the office is closed until Monday, the driver said he would drop them at their accommodation, but low and behold they had none booked so the driver dropped them off in Phuket Town and called them a taxi, thank god. He dropped off a few other people in different areas in Phuket Town and then drove us to our resort, we were the last ones in the mini bus finally.
We arrived at the 'Print Kamala Beach Resort' at 12 o'clock and our room wasn't going to be ready until 1 o'clock so we checked in anyway and left our luggage and walked across to the beach and had lunch at a small restaurant on the beach which was good, we hadn't eaten since yesterday morning so we were pretty hungry by this time. We walked back to the hotel and our room was ready so the porter took our luggage and showed us to our room. WoW! it really good, not quite as good as the 'Cliff View' at Samui but not far off it. We have excellent views over the pool and across to the ocean. We have Wi Fi internet in our room so we bought a 7 day internet card, Cable TV but no Bloomberg or Australia channel, darn! No stockmarket and no football! But other than that we are back to luxury.
We ventured out early this arvo to go to the 7/11 to get milk and cold drinks and a couple of other things, then back to our air conditioned room for a snooze. We woke at 7pm and I did some handwashing while Rick slept a bit longer. We then headed out for dinner and found a nice little restaurant just across the road from the resort which is a lot cheaper than the resort restaurant and had dinner there, it was the best meal and food I have since we left Pai, a little more expensive but still nice.
We then went for a walk and found a motorbike rental place and asked about the price to rent a motorbike for a couple of days and its half the price the hotel charges so we told the guy we will be back to rent one tomorrow morning. Kamala Beach is very quiet as its the low season and not many shops open or people around, the hotel runs a courtesy bus to Patong & back which is 20 mins away and it costs 100 baht each, one way and so when we want to do our last minute shopping in Patong before we leave we will use the courtesy bus but until then we can explore this area by motorbike. The beach is very beautiful and very quiet so Rick and I might even get to have a swim in the ocean as well as the pool while there aren't many people around.
Anyway no more news at this stage, I have posted some more photos so if you scroll down you can have a look. They are only photos of the resort but still nice anyway.
Until tomorrow! Kob koon Chai!
Hi to everyone! Well we are here in Kamala Beach, Phuket on the last leg of our trip. I can't believe we have been in Thailand for 10 weeks already and only one week to go. The time and trip has gone so quick, its not fair. This time next week we will be in Bangkok for the night to catch our plane on Sunday back to oz.
Well we were up early and were more than ready to leave Phi Phi Island. We checked out of our accommodation and then walked down through the village, loaded up with our backpacks and other luggage, for the last time to the pier to catch the boat back to Phuket. Can't say I will miss Phi Phi, a very unfriendly place with little if any atmosphere.
Our boat ride across to Phuket was good it took about 2 hours and when we arrived at the pier our mini bus was there to pick us up to bring us here, the problem was that there were 10 other people as well and all had backpacks and luggage and nowhere to fit then in the mini bus so the driver had to tie them to the roof. We then got driven around Phuket town as a Russian couple and there toddler wanted to go to the immigration department (on a freakin Saturday!) to extend their visa as it runs out on Monday, assholes should have been more organised and should have known that government departments in most countries don't work weekends. There are a lot of Russian tourists in Thailand and most are ignorant and arogant assholes. Anyway after the driver takes them to the immigration department in Phuket Town and they are told the office is closed until Monday, the driver said he would drop them at their accommodation, but low and behold they had none booked so the driver dropped them off in Phuket Town and called them a taxi, thank god. He dropped off a few other people in different areas in Phuket Town and then drove us to our resort, we were the last ones in the mini bus finally.
We arrived at the 'Print Kamala Beach Resort' at 12 o'clock and our room wasn't going to be ready until 1 o'clock so we checked in anyway and left our luggage and walked across to the beach and had lunch at a small restaurant on the beach which was good, we hadn't eaten since yesterday morning so we were pretty hungry by this time. We walked back to the hotel and our room was ready so the porter took our luggage and showed us to our room. WoW! it really good, not quite as good as the 'Cliff View' at Samui but not far off it. We have excellent views over the pool and across to the ocean. We have Wi Fi internet in our room so we bought a 7 day internet card, Cable TV but no Bloomberg or Australia channel, darn! No stockmarket and no football! But other than that we are back to luxury.
We ventured out early this arvo to go to the 7/11 to get milk and cold drinks and a couple of other things, then back to our air conditioned room for a snooze. We woke at 7pm and I did some handwashing while Rick slept a bit longer. We then headed out for dinner and found a nice little restaurant just across the road from the resort which is a lot cheaper than the resort restaurant and had dinner there, it was the best meal and food I have since we left Pai, a little more expensive but still nice.
We then went for a walk and found a motorbike rental place and asked about the price to rent a motorbike for a couple of days and its half the price the hotel charges so we told the guy we will be back to rent one tomorrow morning. Kamala Beach is very quiet as its the low season and not many shops open or people around, the hotel runs a courtesy bus to Patong & back which is 20 mins away and it costs 100 baht each, one way and so when we want to do our last minute shopping in Patong before we leave we will use the courtesy bus but until then we can explore this area by motorbike. The beach is very beautiful and very quiet so Rick and I might even get to have a swim in the ocean as well as the pool while there aren't many people around.
Anyway no more news at this stage, I have posted some more photos so if you scroll down you can have a look. They are only photos of the resort but still nice anyway.
Until tomorrow! Kob koon Chai!
Day 1 - Kamala Beach - Photos of Resort!
Swim up Pool Bar
Pool and Poolside restaurant & Bar
Our room & Balcony with Lounge on Balcony
Beautiful bed and furniture
Our Balcony Lounge overlooks the pool & OceanFriday, July 4, 2008
Last Day on Phi Phi !!!
Friday - 4 July 08
Hi to everyone ! Well this is our last day on Phi Phi and we are ready to leave and looking forward to catching the boat back to Phuket early tomorrow morning and staying at Kamala Beach for our last week in Thailand. (We are staying at the"Print Kamala Beach Resort".
Today has been a quiet day just lazing around. Rick and I felt a bit ill last night and we think it could have something to do with the dodgey burgers we had for lunch last night. I woke up this morning feeling nauseus and with a unsettled stomach. I spent most of the morning on the loo. We did go out to grab some breakfast which for me was probably a mistake but we were hungry although a little apprehensive about eating anywhere here as we really haven't had any food here that is worth raving about. We have been travelling Thailand now for nearly 11 weeks and have eaten anything and everything and up until now have had no trouble, puts a bit of a damper on things. We ended up going to the 7/11 after breakfast and grabbed some chips, chocolate and soda water to eat, if we could, while watching the AFL tonight.
We spent the rest of the day hanging out at our bungalow, and managed to slip in a short nanny & poppy snooze this arvo, me still feeling a bit under the weather and in no mood to go out and about or to eat out. Looking forward to getting some decent food into us in Phuket and at half the price.
We watched Geelong tonight on Australia channel cream the Adelaide Crows and felt ok enough to enjoy our chocolate and chips, could even manage to drink a coffee while we watched the game. Wicked! We were going to go out afterwards to get pizza for dinner but decided not to, we can survive without food until we get to Kamala Beach tomorrow, so we just sorted our stuff out and packed our gear ready to leave on the 9am boat tomorrow.
Other than that we did nothing but enjoyed a quiet day. So until tomorrows blog.
La Kon!
Hi to everyone ! Well this is our last day on Phi Phi and we are ready to leave and looking forward to catching the boat back to Phuket early tomorrow morning and staying at Kamala Beach for our last week in Thailand. (We are staying at the"Print Kamala Beach Resort".
Today has been a quiet day just lazing around. Rick and I felt a bit ill last night and we think it could have something to do with the dodgey burgers we had for lunch last night. I woke up this morning feeling nauseus and with a unsettled stomach. I spent most of the morning on the loo. We did go out to grab some breakfast which for me was probably a mistake but we were hungry although a little apprehensive about eating anywhere here as we really haven't had any food here that is worth raving about. We have been travelling Thailand now for nearly 11 weeks and have eaten anything and everything and up until now have had no trouble, puts a bit of a damper on things. We ended up going to the 7/11 after breakfast and grabbed some chips, chocolate and soda water to eat, if we could, while watching the AFL tonight.
We spent the rest of the day hanging out at our bungalow, and managed to slip in a short nanny & poppy snooze this arvo, me still feeling a bit under the weather and in no mood to go out and about or to eat out. Looking forward to getting some decent food into us in Phuket and at half the price.
We watched Geelong tonight on Australia channel cream the Adelaide Crows and felt ok enough to enjoy our chocolate and chips, could even manage to drink a coffee while we watched the game. Wicked! We were going to go out afterwards to get pizza for dinner but decided not to, we can survive without food until we get to Kamala Beach tomorrow, so we just sorted our stuff out and packed our gear ready to leave on the 9am boat tomorrow.
Other than that we did nothing but enjoyed a quiet day. So until tomorrows blog.
La Kon!
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Another day on Phi Phi!
Thursday - 3 July 08
Here we are another day on Phi Phi and we are ready to move on. Phi Phi is beautiful but way too expensive and not much to do for a couple of oldies like us, its more for the young ones who want to party, snorkel or dive. There are no vehicles on the island and then are just footpaths to walk on. Pushbikes are allowed and the Thais use them to get around so you have to be very wary when walking otherwise you could get knocked down by a pushy.
We were awake at 3.30am this morning as we got a wicked storm and heaps of wind, lightning and rain so Rick and I made ourselves a coffee and sat on the verandah and watched it until 5am. We went back to bed but couldn't sleep so got ready and left around 9am to walk up the mountain to the lookout/viewpoint. We walked up hundreds of concrete stairs to the top and were sweating our arses off by the time we got to the top, it was worth it as the view is fantastic, scroll down and check out the photos there are 2 pages of them. By the time we walked down the stairs and back into the village we had been gone quite a while. We walked the back way into the quieter part of the village and decided to grab something for lunch. We sat down in a restaurant and ordered a hamburger and chicken burger and they were no where near a hamburger and chicken burger, it was shit, needless to say we won't go back there again. Just about every restaurant or cafe here has either chooks and cats or both wandering through the restaurant, its a classic.
We headed back to our bungalow and because we had been up since 3.30am decided we needed a nanny and poppy snooze and so slept for a couple of hours this arvo, which was good because it has rained on and off most of the day.
Tonight we headed out to the good restaurant for dinner and had prawns and squid in tempura batter and fried rice, expensive but nice food. We went for a walk around the village and nearly got wiped out half a dozen times by Thais on pushbikes but we made it back without injury. I must say as beautiful as Phi Phi is we are really looking forward to getting to Kamala Beach and our 5 star luxury on Saturday. We much prefer Koh Samui to Phi Phi its much nicer, cheaper and heaps more to do. Maybe because we are almost into our last week in Thailand and not really looking forward to leaving that we are not enjoying it here as much.
Anyway check out the photos. Until tomorrows blog! Kob koon chai!
Here we are another day on Phi Phi and we are ready to move on. Phi Phi is beautiful but way too expensive and not much to do for a couple of oldies like us, its more for the young ones who want to party, snorkel or dive. There are no vehicles on the island and then are just footpaths to walk on. Pushbikes are allowed and the Thais use them to get around so you have to be very wary when walking otherwise you could get knocked down by a pushy.
We were awake at 3.30am this morning as we got a wicked storm and heaps of wind, lightning and rain so Rick and I made ourselves a coffee and sat on the verandah and watched it until 5am. We went back to bed but couldn't sleep so got ready and left around 9am to walk up the mountain to the lookout/viewpoint. We walked up hundreds of concrete stairs to the top and were sweating our arses off by the time we got to the top, it was worth it as the view is fantastic, scroll down and check out the photos there are 2 pages of them. By the time we walked down the stairs and back into the village we had been gone quite a while. We walked the back way into the quieter part of the village and decided to grab something for lunch. We sat down in a restaurant and ordered a hamburger and chicken burger and they were no where near a hamburger and chicken burger, it was shit, needless to say we won't go back there again. Just about every restaurant or cafe here has either chooks and cats or both wandering through the restaurant, its a classic.
We headed back to our bungalow and because we had been up since 3.30am decided we needed a nanny and poppy snooze and so slept for a couple of hours this arvo, which was good because it has rained on and off most of the day.
Tonight we headed out to the good restaurant for dinner and had prawns and squid in tempura batter and fried rice, expensive but nice food. We went for a walk around the village and nearly got wiped out half a dozen times by Thais on pushbikes but we made it back without injury. I must say as beautiful as Phi Phi is we are really looking forward to getting to Kamala Beach and our 5 star luxury on Saturday. We much prefer Koh Samui to Phi Phi its much nicer, cheaper and heaps more to do. Maybe because we are almost into our last week in Thailand and not really looking forward to leaving that we are not enjoying it here as much.
Anyway check out the photos. Until tomorrows blog! Kob koon chai!
Photos of Phi Phi - 3 July 08
Rick going down the hundreds of stairs from the lookout
A longtail boat taxi in Loh Dalum Bay
Street stalls at Loh Dalum Bay - Don Phi Phi Villag
Wayward Chooks on the way to Lookout
A couple of goats at top of lookout.More photos Of Phi Phi from Lookout! 3 July 08
Lookout at the top of the mountain.
View of Loh Dalum Bay from Lookout/Viewpoint
View of Loh Dalum Bay & Ton Sai Bay
Beautiful view and island - Phi Phi
Loh Dalum & Ton Sai BayWednesday, July 2, 2008
Relaxing Day on Phi Phi !
Wednesday - 2 July 08
Hello to one and all! Here we are our 3rd day on Phi Phi and we have had a good and relaxing day, still missing Pai.
We were both awake early this morning as we were asleep early last night. We decided to go to Longbeach for a swim and break away from the hustle and bustle of backpackers in the village here. Its low season and apparently quiet, I would hate to see the peak season because its overrun with young people, backpackers and yahoos which is a bit of a pain in the arse.
We thought we would walk around the point to Longbeach and got three quarters of the way there and found the walkway stops and you have climb over rocks to get around the point so we doubled back and ended up getting a Longtail boat taxi, very expensive, so must be expensive for people staying at the resorts on the other beaches that have to catch longtail boat taxis whenever they want to come to the village to eat, shop or pick up supplies.
The taxi dropped us there and Rick and I spent the next hour or so swimming, the water was warm and refreshing and its been a long time since we have swum in the ocean and we both really enjoyed it. There was a good little restaurant on the beach so thought we may as well grab lunch while we were there, it was cheaper than where we have been eating but food not quite as good. We then caught a boat taxi back to Ton Sai Bay village and headed back to our bungalow.
We spent the rest of the arvo veging out at our bungalow, hanging out on the porch and having a bit of a nanny and poppy snooze. Phi Phi is a beautiful island and we are glad we came but the accommodation whilst good and the cost of food, shopping and transport is twice the price than the mainland which puts a bit of a damper on it. As nice as it is we probably wouldn't come to Phi Phi again, its more a young persons place where you can drink and party to your hearts content.
Our accommodation here is quite good although overpriced. Its on the side of a hill at the back of the village, the staff are friendly and the place nice and clean and big. There is no seaview but then there are not many places that have views of the ocean. There is still a lot of building going on and still a lot of left over debris from the Tsunami especially along the beachfront of Ton Sai Bay and in the gully behind the village, I guess you can't rebuild an entire island overnight after such a devastating act.
Tonight we walked down the village to have some dinner early hoping to eat at one of the popular restaurants the backbackers eat at but they were packed because the state of origin was on, so we ended up having dinner at a sports bar where the food and service was absolute shit. The Thai people here are so different to the ones up North and on Samui, they are not that friendly and everything is about the almighty dollar which is why everything in the shops is twice the price and believe me they won't bargain, and are even a little arogant. We are glad we are only staying the 5 days & 4 nights as for us that is more than adequate. We have had to increase our daily budget by almost half to cover the cost of accommodation, food and transport so thank god next weeks accommodation is free.
Anyway Phi Phi really is a beautiful place its a shame its so commercialised like Patong. Anyone thinking of holidaying here, bring lots of money or just do the day trip from Phuket it will be cheaper in the long run.
So until tomorrows blog, check out the photos I have added, scroll down after this blog and there are two pages of them., See Ya! Kob koon Chai!
Hello to one and all! Here we are our 3rd day on Phi Phi and we have had a good and relaxing day, still missing Pai.
We were both awake early this morning as we were asleep early last night. We decided to go to Longbeach for a swim and break away from the hustle and bustle of backpackers in the village here. Its low season and apparently quiet, I would hate to see the peak season because its overrun with young people, backpackers and yahoos which is a bit of a pain in the arse.
We thought we would walk around the point to Longbeach and got three quarters of the way there and found the walkway stops and you have climb over rocks to get around the point so we doubled back and ended up getting a Longtail boat taxi, very expensive, so must be expensive for people staying at the resorts on the other beaches that have to catch longtail boat taxis whenever they want to come to the village to eat, shop or pick up supplies.
The taxi dropped us there and Rick and I spent the next hour or so swimming, the water was warm and refreshing and its been a long time since we have swum in the ocean and we both really enjoyed it. There was a good little restaurant on the beach so thought we may as well grab lunch while we were there, it was cheaper than where we have been eating but food not quite as good. We then caught a boat taxi back to Ton Sai Bay village and headed back to our bungalow.
We spent the rest of the arvo veging out at our bungalow, hanging out on the porch and having a bit of a nanny and poppy snooze. Phi Phi is a beautiful island and we are glad we came but the accommodation whilst good and the cost of food, shopping and transport is twice the price than the mainland which puts a bit of a damper on it. As nice as it is we probably wouldn't come to Phi Phi again, its more a young persons place where you can drink and party to your hearts content.
Our accommodation here is quite good although overpriced. Its on the side of a hill at the back of the village, the staff are friendly and the place nice and clean and big. There is no seaview but then there are not many places that have views of the ocean. There is still a lot of building going on and still a lot of left over debris from the Tsunami especially along the beachfront of Ton Sai Bay and in the gully behind the village, I guess you can't rebuild an entire island overnight after such a devastating act.
Tonight we walked down the village to have some dinner early hoping to eat at one of the popular restaurants the backbackers eat at but they were packed because the state of origin was on, so we ended up having dinner at a sports bar where the food and service was absolute shit. The Thai people here are so different to the ones up North and on Samui, they are not that friendly and everything is about the almighty dollar which is why everything in the shops is twice the price and believe me they won't bargain, and are even a little arogant. We are glad we are only staying the 5 days & 4 nights as for us that is more than adequate. We have had to increase our daily budget by almost half to cover the cost of accommodation, food and transport so thank god next weeks accommodation is free.
Anyway Phi Phi really is a beautiful place its a shame its so commercialised like Patong. Anyone thinking of holidaying here, bring lots of money or just do the day trip from Phuket it will be cheaper in the long run.
So until tomorrows blog, check out the photos I have added, scroll down after this blog and there are two pages of them., See Ya! Kob koon Chai!
Photos Day 2 - Phi Phi !!
Beautiful Ton Sai Bay - Phi Phi
Our Longtail boat taxi to Longbeach
Rick looking relaxed on the taxi ride to Longbeach
Excellent way to get to the other beaches
Arriving at Longbeach by longtail boat taxi for our swimEven More Photos Day 2 - Phi Phi!
Longtail boat taxi...
Long Beach where Rick and I went for a swim
Beautiful and quiet Long Beach - Phi Phi Don
Restaurant on Long Beach - Lunch for us
Phi Phi Lay IslandTuesday, July 1, 2008
Phi Phi Island - Day 1 !!
Tuesday - 1 July 08
Hello to everyone back home! Here we are on Phi Phi and its still not Pai, we are really missing Pai and have only been gone from there one day.
Today has been a long day, but good one. We were up at 5.30am to get ready and have breakfast before the mini bus picked us up at 7.30am to take us to the pier to catch the boat to Phi Phi.
We had a comfortable night at the Patong Beach Lodge after a long day of travel and waiting around, anyone thinking of travelling to Thailand for a holiday to Phuket I would highly recommend 'Patong Beach Lodge' for accommodation.
It was a good hours drive to the pier as it was peak hour and halfway there the cops stopped the mini bus and defected it, we all though, here we go again, we are going to miss the boat, but lucky we didn't. The trip over on the boat was excellent and Rick and I spent most of the trip standing on the back deck, the scenery was awsome. We arrived at the boat pier here at Phi Phi at 10am (90 min ride), we were met by our hotel staff who packed our luggage into a little trolly and walked us to our accommodation which is only 5 mins from the pier.
Our accommodation is quite good, huge bedroom, bathroom and large balcony, we are staying at 'J J Bungalows' in Ton Sai Bay. Rick is as happy as a pig in shit as our cable tv has every channel you could ask for including 'Bloomberg' which he didn't get while we were in Pai. We checked in, dumped our gear and got our Wi Fi internet card so we can use the laptop in our room. We then went for a walk through Phi Phi Don village to check the place out, for low season the place is packed with young party animal backpackers on the prowl, real yahoos. Great shops and market stalls but a hell of a lot more expensive than the mainland. Rick left his cap on the mini bus and I broke my sunglasses so we looked around to buy sunglasses and Rick another hat and found some cheap ones that Rick managed to bargain down a bit. That done we headed to the PP Hotel to have lunch and then back to our bungalow for a rest and some air con as it is quite humid here as the village is so congested with people.
We went out for dinner later tonight and back to the restaurant we had lunch at which is a little, but not much cheaper than most of the others and the food is good. We then walked home via the beach and then through the village which was alive with people. I have posted some more photos so if you scroll down after this blog you can see them.
Anyway long day, good day but we are tired. More photos tomorrow when we have explore the place. Until then! Kob Koon Chai!
Hello to everyone back home! Here we are on Phi Phi and its still not Pai, we are really missing Pai and have only been gone from there one day.
Today has been a long day, but good one. We were up at 5.30am to get ready and have breakfast before the mini bus picked us up at 7.30am to take us to the pier to catch the boat to Phi Phi.
We had a comfortable night at the Patong Beach Lodge after a long day of travel and waiting around, anyone thinking of travelling to Thailand for a holiday to Phuket I would highly recommend 'Patong Beach Lodge' for accommodation.
It was a good hours drive to the pier as it was peak hour and halfway there the cops stopped the mini bus and defected it, we all though, here we go again, we are going to miss the boat, but lucky we didn't. The trip over on the boat was excellent and Rick and I spent most of the trip standing on the back deck, the scenery was awsome. We arrived at the boat pier here at Phi Phi at 10am (90 min ride), we were met by our hotel staff who packed our luggage into a little trolly and walked us to our accommodation which is only 5 mins from the pier.
Our accommodation is quite good, huge bedroom, bathroom and large balcony, we are staying at 'J J Bungalows' in Ton Sai Bay. Rick is as happy as a pig in shit as our cable tv has every channel you could ask for including 'Bloomberg' which he didn't get while we were in Pai. We checked in, dumped our gear and got our Wi Fi internet card so we can use the laptop in our room. We then went for a walk through Phi Phi Don village to check the place out, for low season the place is packed with young party animal backpackers on the prowl, real yahoos. Great shops and market stalls but a hell of a lot more expensive than the mainland. Rick left his cap on the mini bus and I broke my sunglasses so we looked around to buy sunglasses and Rick another hat and found some cheap ones that Rick managed to bargain down a bit. That done we headed to the PP Hotel to have lunch and then back to our bungalow for a rest and some air con as it is quite humid here as the village is so congested with people.
We went out for dinner later tonight and back to the restaurant we had lunch at which is a little, but not much cheaper than most of the others and the food is good. We then walked home via the beach and then through the village which was alive with people. I have posted some more photos so if you scroll down after this blog you can see them.
Anyway long day, good day but we are tired. More photos tomorrow when we have explore the place. Until then! Kob Koon Chai!
Photos of Phi Phi !!!!!
Arriving at Phi Phi Island by boat. Ton Sai Bay.
Beautiful Island but very expensive compared to other places. Busy little village full of young 'party animal' backpackers......
GOODBYE PAI - LEAVING PAI !!!!!
Sunday 30 June 08
Well it was a sad day for us today having to leave Pai. Both Rick and I were a little depressed knowing that we had to say goodbye to Pai. We were up early and finalised our packing then walked up the street for the last time to the restaurant for breakfast of scrambled eggs, french toast and latte's. We had to hurry back to the bungalow to collect our backpacks and almost had to run to the bus station to get there in time for our 11am departure. The mini bus left on time and we had a quiet and scenic ride from Pai to Chiang Mai with a rest stop halfway. It took just under 3 hours and once we arrived in Chiang Mai noticed the difference in the weather, it was quite humid. We got a tuk tuk to the Chiang Mai international airport which cost us next to nothing and it was a wild ride.
We arrived at the airport and checked in our luggage and had 2 hours before our Thai airways flight was due to leave. We booked our return boat trip to Phi Phi island, and hotel pick ups at the airport to get that out of the way as well as our taxi from Phuket airport to Patong Beach Lodge where we are staying the night before the boat trip tomorrow. We then just grabbed something light to eat and sat outside the airport for the next hour or so as smoking is only allowed outside.
As usual our Thai flight was late leaving, happens everytime we fly Thai airways, it left finally at 5.40pm. It left half an hour late as was an almost full flight as its the only direct flight from Chiang Mai to Phuket. The flight took 2 hours and was ok, it went quickly and we arrived at Phuket airport at 7.30pm and our driver was there waiting for us to take us to the Patong Beach Lodge in Patong. Another stuff up as they told him the wrong hotel and he headed toward Kamala instead of Patong and thank god we know our way around Patong and had to tell him to take us to the right hotel. We finally arrived at 9pm, checked in, dumped our backpacks and headed out for a quick bite at KFC.
Patong Beach is so opposite to Pai, its even busier now and overcrowded than when we were here last November. We are looking forward to heading to Phi Phi tomorrow. Our accommodation in Patong is nice as we stayed here the first time we ever came to Thailand 2 years ago, but a lot more expensive than back then. We are glad that when we return to Phuket next week that we are not staying at Patong but at Kamala Beach which is quieter.
IF YOU SCROLL DOWN HAVE POSTED SOME PHOTOS OF OUR LAST DAY IN PAI!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well it has been a busy and long day and we are still totally devastated and depressed at having to leave Pai. Hope everyone is well in Oz. Until Tomorrow from Phi Phi.
Kob koon chai
Well it was a sad day for us today having to leave Pai. Both Rick and I were a little depressed knowing that we had to say goodbye to Pai. We were up early and finalised our packing then walked up the street for the last time to the restaurant for breakfast of scrambled eggs, french toast and latte's. We had to hurry back to the bungalow to collect our backpacks and almost had to run to the bus station to get there in time for our 11am departure. The mini bus left on time and we had a quiet and scenic ride from Pai to Chiang Mai with a rest stop halfway. It took just under 3 hours and once we arrived in Chiang Mai noticed the difference in the weather, it was quite humid. We got a tuk tuk to the Chiang Mai international airport which cost us next to nothing and it was a wild ride.
We arrived at the airport and checked in our luggage and had 2 hours before our Thai airways flight was due to leave. We booked our return boat trip to Phi Phi island, and hotel pick ups at the airport to get that out of the way as well as our taxi from Phuket airport to Patong Beach Lodge where we are staying the night before the boat trip tomorrow. We then just grabbed something light to eat and sat outside the airport for the next hour or so as smoking is only allowed outside.
As usual our Thai flight was late leaving, happens everytime we fly Thai airways, it left finally at 5.40pm. It left half an hour late as was an almost full flight as its the only direct flight from Chiang Mai to Phuket. The flight took 2 hours and was ok, it went quickly and we arrived at Phuket airport at 7.30pm and our driver was there waiting for us to take us to the Patong Beach Lodge in Patong. Another stuff up as they told him the wrong hotel and he headed toward Kamala instead of Patong and thank god we know our way around Patong and had to tell him to take us to the right hotel. We finally arrived at 9pm, checked in, dumped our backpacks and headed out for a quick bite at KFC.
Patong Beach is so opposite to Pai, its even busier now and overcrowded than when we were here last November. We are looking forward to heading to Phi Phi tomorrow. Our accommodation in Patong is nice as we stayed here the first time we ever came to Thailand 2 years ago, but a lot more expensive than back then. We are glad that when we return to Phuket next week that we are not staying at Patong but at Kamala Beach which is quieter.
IF YOU SCROLL DOWN HAVE POSTED SOME PHOTOS OF OUR LAST DAY IN PAI!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well it has been a busy and long day and we are still totally devastated and depressed at having to leave Pai. Hope everyone is well in Oz. Until Tomorrow from Phi Phi.
Kob koon chai
Photos of Last Day in Pai !!!!!!!!1
Rick at shop at the Chinese Village
Entrance to Chinese Village (Pai)
Rice Paddy field in Pai Valley
Hilltribe market stall in Pai - everything hand woven by women
Ricks last walk up the street in Pai to breakfast.
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