Day 19
Neither of us seem to be able to wake today and snooze till we can take our hunger no longer. Due to the need for beaches and Ben's electricity leg we hadn't explore the island that much, only seeing our quiet little area so we venue a little further in to see what it can offer us for breakfast. Pastry is our weakness and breakfast this morning is bakery style. I go healthy with croissant and fruit and it's perfect.
Today is canoe day and we are going off to explore the area Ben swam to yesterday in his epic outing. The canoe hire place is right next to our hotel so we grab one for 300, about £6, and we set off. Man I am unfit, I'm so lucky Ben doesn't mind doing most of the paddling as I would have had to turn back after about 100 metres due to the pain in my arms. As we (he) paddles around the corner, Ben remarks how much faster we are going than he did yesterday, plonker. Our first stop is Monkey Beach, where Ben swam yesterday and saw about 50 monkeys all chilling on the sand. Today however it's packed full of tourists and not a monkey in sight, so once we've pulled the canoe on the beach, we get snorkelling. Armed with the go pro we set off but after only seeing a few fishes but many other humans, we decide his bay isn't for us.
On a whim, after we leave Monkey Beach we decide to turn left to see what we can find. No the best plan we've ever had as, as soon as we turn the corner, the waters become a lot rougher, paddling becomes near impossible and I'm starting to get very nervous. It's one of my reoccurring nightmares being lost out at sea on a canoe and suddenly it seemed a reality. Even Ben got a bit nervous as the waves got bigger and we decided to turn back and go right instead. We spot a secluded looking bay in the distance and make our way over to it, after stopping off to take some snaps inside a lagoon. I've been given official photographer duties at this point so I lay back and relax whilst Ben (willingly I might add) takes over. The bay is about a mile away but it doesn't take too long when I start paddling too. The beach is empty ounces we arrive and it looks perfect, so with snorkels on we go straight in the water to check out the wildlife that's around the rocks. And wow, it was worth the arm ache. We saw so many fishes, all different shapes and sizes, feeding off the rocks and ground. It was just what I imagined our Thailand adventures would be like.
The tide is starting to go out at this point and not wanting to drag the canoe down the beach, we come back, smug with our mornings finds. After a quick change we go off to find some lunch, and I start to crash, badly after our days adventures, shows how unfit I am. I zone out for a couple of hours once we get back and wake up to the weird sun burn patches on my legs. Canoeing and tanning do not mix, as the splashed water washed off half my lotion. Peckish again, I cover up my mismatch lobster legs and we go off in search of food and find a brilliant European/Thai place where I have the best niscoise salad of my life with a caper dressing that I literally could have licked to plate clean and still not had my fill.
We want to explore again so set off further into Phi Phi and suddenly start to realise why so many reviews online of this island are so bad and why our friends said we wouldn't enjoy it. I couldn't have imagine that anywhere would have wanted to relicate Kho San road but Phi Phi had rose to the challenge and was full of tattoo shops, cheap drinks deals, bad music and the biggest bunch of prats I'd ever seen. Great for them, rubbish for us. We wander the artificial maze for a bit until it throws us out at the pier and I breath a sigh of happiness as we enter the calm, quite walk back to our hotel.
Day 20
We both sleep fitfully last night, a mixture of my nap mid afternoon and an epic argument between the Russian couple next door that went on till the early hours. We are also leaving lovely Koi Phi Phi today so with that and our 7am start and my weird sun burn, we both are a tiny bit grumpy. Breakfast cheers both of us up as its pancakes and Nutella and we potter onto the boat to Phuket a lot perkier. The trip was fine, smooth and quick but not without its usual Thai organisational skills that the end. Our bags were stacked at the end of the boat, with about 50 others in a huge pile and it's just a mad free for all to them out. I can't make my way through the crowd so Ben dives in and saves the day.
We waddle to find a taxi and it's a mini bus that is air conned and will take us straight to the bus station. Perfect. It's calm and relaxed at the bus terminal and we get our tickets to Phang Nga, another beach place, and pig out on lobster crisps and fizzy drinks. Our bus taking us on our onward jounery is actually just another little mini bus and it's only me, Ben and a tiny old lady getting so. Our drive takes us further into the mountains when we both get a sinking feeling this isn't taking us to the sea. We stop in a little, hot town in the middle of breath taking mountains and both realise we've got the wrong place. Ben was thinking not of Phang Nga but of Phra Nga and beaches this places has not. But ever the adventurers, we go find our hotel and see what Phang Nga has to offer.
Our hotel is over 100 years old but perfect, the rooms are big and there is a great open lobby area with large chunks of wooden furniture, a breeze and a great view on to the tiny town. We set up camp and book a boat trip tomorrow down the river to see caves and movie sets. We also work out where the beaches actually are and book boat tickets, to celebrate we have the yummiest pad thai for only £1 for the whole meal including drinks and we tip them the same again as it was so good. Pudding is 7/11 candy then Facetimes and sleep.
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