With Lan on the trip, half of our enjoyment came from trying out the various Thai food offered. We became the food testers for Gemma, trying out the food to see if it would be too spicy for her British tastebuds. hehe. I cannot forget the taste of the barbecued corn, loads of salt and butter rubbed on it. The 50 baht sticky mango rice we got on the streets of Patong was the best i've had ever - I don't understand why the Thai restaurants in KL need to be too creative with the bloody expensive sticky mango rice. Why can't they do it exactly like the Thai do? It's not very difficult, some sticky rice, coconut sauce concoction, and really good mango. I tell you it's very frustrating when you pay a premium and you don't even get close to the authentic thing.
Sticky mango rice in Phuket
See how juicy that prawn is? Seafood salad in Phuket
Lan and Gemma in conversation after dinner in Phi Phi
Phi Phi is awesome. Nice little village, but full of convenience. The locals were nice, except for the receptionist at the hotel we were staying at - she was just plain rude and lazy. hehe. There's free wi-fi if you know where to find it, cheap food and lovely beaches all round the island.
First day, Gemma and I decided to climb up the Phi Phi Viewpoint. It's actually the Tsunami escape route, but i don't know how many people would be able to make the climb if they had to. It starts of with some steps, then the steps got steeper and steeper. After the steps, we walked up a steep path to the first viewpoint. My mistake, i had my slr bag (with all the lenses) throughout the 186m climb. ugh. Gemma was a star, she encouraged me all the way up. And when we finally got there, wow...! The view was so beautiful, no wonder the place is called the Viewpoint. hehe...Lan came to join us about an hour later, and we sat there and enjoyed the view for as long as we could.
Phi Phi from the Viewpoint
Obviously, after that strenuous hike, the three of us were too tired to do anything else. So we packed our swimsuits and headed to the beach. Unfortunately the weather wasn't to kind on us that day, it started pouring shortly after we got into the water, forcing us to seek shelter at a resort restaurant nearby.
I can't really remember what we did all week. We rented a longtail boat one day, went to Phi Phi Lay (where they shot the Beach), then we headed off to Bamboo Island and spent most of the afternoon there. The water was choppy as hell, but the drama came as we were halfway back from Bamboo Island to Phi Phi Don, and suddenly the boat just died in the middle of the ocean. Kan, our boat guy did everything he could to start the boat. Another boat carrying some Spanish tourists stopped to see if they could help, but shortly after they went back on their way. I was hungry and scared, and the boat rocked as if it was going to turn over. After about 40 minutes (which felt like 3 hours to me), Kan managed to start the engine and we slowly treaded the water back to Phi Phi. Thank God.
I stopped carrying my SLR around, which was a huge relief. We spent two afternoons sleeping, snorkeling and swimming on Long Beach, a nice quiet beach on the south east side of the island. We took night strolls by the beach and watched the stars. One night Lan and Gemma had food poisoning, so we rented a DVD player, bought some DVDs and stayed in.
Sunset at Long Beach, Phi Phi
I didn't shop much. There's nothing there that you can't get in Krabi, Phuket, Bali or Bangkok, or even at the Flea Market at The Curve. The weather was mostly cloudy all week, bad for pictures, but absolutely perfect for swimming and snorkeling for someone who can't stand the hot sun like me.
The morning i was leaving back to Phuket, the weather turned out beautiful and sunny, as is always the case whenever i travel anywhere. I want to stay really badly, just one more day, but that was the end of my holiday, and i had to get back to work the next day. So i took whatever pictures I could from the ferry, took my shuttle to the airport, and flew home. :-(
The last and only beautiful morning in Phi Phi
Phi Phi is wonderful, and I will definitely come back here again whenever I need to chill out without losing the convenience of the city life when i need it (that means Internet to me, hehe).
