We left Surfer's Paradise at 5:00am and didn't arrive in Bangkok until 11:00pm. It was a long day!! We had a second boost of energy however as we exited a taxi onto Ko San Road. The lights were shining, the music blaring and people were everywhere. We got checked in to the D&D hotel which was nicer and cheaper than any Australian hostel. Our first priority was to find a way out of Bangkok. So the next morning we made our way over to the train station. It turned out to be an epic bus ride, all the while we had no clue where we were really going. Eventually we made it and booked a night train to Surratthani and a boat to Ko Phangan. The rest of our time in Bangkok was spent wandering China town, shopping on Ko San Road, and our first Thai massage. Not a bad way to spend a day!
The night train was pretty crazy. We were both pretty exhausted and had no trouble falling asleep. We woke up in the morning and had a bit of a panic moment as Allie looked at her clock and it was half past 6 - the time when our boat was suppose to leave. Eventually we figured out that her clock was on Australia time and went back to bed.
As we got off the boat at Ko Phangan the sky, which had been blaring sun at us on the boat ride turned dark, the wind picked up, and within minutes we were stuck in the middle of monsoon rain. With no real idea of where we were going we relied on our trusty lonely planet and headed for the recommended cookies bungalow. It was a really quiet place and we were right on the beach, which was stunning. I fell asleep in our hammock and opened my eyes to the perfect view - sun, beach, and palm trees!
The next day we headed to the other side of the island to a beach which we would soon discover as being perfection. Hadd Juan was a much more secluded beach than the bustling area of Hadd Rin (the location of the infamous Full Moon Party. Within a few hours of being there I ran into a friend from back home. She took us up to her bungalow which was on the side of the mountain and the view was stunning! We chilled up there and then headed to Bamboo for diner. Bamboo has the most amazing food. My mouth is watering right now just thinking about it! Then we made the trek over to Eden Garden. The most relaxing bar I have ever been to. Turns out another friend was there as well. What a small world!
After enjoying ourselves too much in this amazing part of the world, we headed back to Hadd Rin and off to the night boat to Krabi. All I will say is that it stunk, it poured and had I not taken gravol I would have been very sea-sick. When we made it to Krabi we were very ecstatic to be off the boat, but it wasn't until after 2 more taxis, 2 buses and a boat that we finally made it to Ko Phi Phi.
It was well worth the trip! The limestone cliffs and lush mountains that jetted up from the turquoise water was the picture-perfect scene of Thailand. This is where the movie the Beach was filmed and although the scenery was recognizable it was by no means a secluded area. Quite the opposite, it was teaming with tour shops, bars, stores and restaurants. All if it was a touch overwhelming especially after over 20 hours of travelling. We were so happy when we finally made it to a bungalow. Although it rained almost the entire afternoon we managed to get ourselves booked on a dive for the next day. We also had diner at one of the many restaurants that play movies while you eat.
Up early the next morning we headed out for our dive. We waited around for ages until we were finally told that our dive instructor was dead to the world, passed out in his room naked. There would be no dive today. Eventually we talked the owner into a complimentary snorkel to amuse ourselves that day. It was quite different from the Great Barrier Reef, and we saw many a cool fish, including a lion fish, and pie fish. Unfortunately my water proof camera gave out whilst diving down perhaps a bit too deep. Luckily it still takes pictures, but without the use of the screen its hard to know what your taking photos of. Before we headed back we stoped at a beach that was filled with monkeys. It was unreal how close we got. One guy was testing the boundaries by letting the monkeys crawl all over him. It looked pretty cool, but I don't think it was worth the massive bite he ended up getting. I freaked out a bit when they came charging at me as I was holding a banana. Our guide thought it was pretty funny though.
Finally we got to do out dive the next day and it was definitely worth it!!!!!! We were much more comfortable on this dive than the last which probably helped, but we saw so much more than on the Whitsundays. Here's a small list of what we saw: black tipped reef shark, sea turtles, moray eels, and a sea snake which is 8 times deadlier than the king cobra - didn't find that out until we were back on dry land. We did two dives and in between had lunch on Ko Phi Lay. For part of the time we were the only people on this little beach with just a run down shack on it. It was pretty unreal to swim off this beach where limestone cliffs rose up so high on either side of you.
Once we returned to Ko Phi Phi we hit up the beach for a bit. Although it was a bit crowded it wasn't a bad way to spend the afternoon. The only complaint was the wind which would blow the sand so hard up against you that it felt like millions of tiny pin pricks. As it was our last night on Ko Phi Phi we did a bit of wandering around the little shops and then treated ourselves to a Manicure and Pedicure.
Diving, Beaching, Shopping, Spa-ing = a day in paradise. We're excited to head north, but it's going to be hard to leave this place!!!
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