Pirates of the Thailand Gulf

Kata Beach is the opposite to Patong.  Its a quiet town with fewer tourists and a laid back vibe.  The beach is beautiful featuring golden sands and a deep green ocean.  Our hotel room is perched on a cliff overlooking Kata beach.  We spend as much time in our suite as possible relaxing and then dining at the local Orchid restaurant where we enjoy three delicious meals & a fireworks display on our final night.  Geoff went OD on Tempura vegetables.  That crispy batter is highly addictive.

Which reminds us of the ridiculously huge line we saw outside Krispy-Kreme in Bangkok...

"They should call it Cracky-Kreme" - Chris Rock

My trousers don't fit no mo'

Mosquito tucker

After two days of chilling out and eating we move on to our next stop: Phuket town.

We board the local bus for 30 bhat each.  By bus we mean a truck with bench seats and a tin roof open air styles.  It was great apart from the diesel taste in our mouths when we arrived.  During the trip something dodgy happens.  On the outskirts of Phuket town the bus suddenly stops on the side of the road & a Tuk-tuk taxi appears out of nowhere,  the driver climbs into the bus & says "free tuk tuk to town I take you for free"

We said 'no thanks' but the French family accepts & everyone else on the bus keeps silent as they get out and board the Tuk-tuk.  Bec & I share a knowing look...Scam!  At the next set of traffic lights we pull up alongside the Tuk-tuk & can hear both drivers converse in Thai & laugh.

The bus keeps going & one of the Thai passengers tells us "Nothing free in Thailand you don't go with them, they take you to place & rip you off & that taxi get a commission".

You gotta watch out for the graft sometimes.

Fun times

Phuket town is a beautiful spot – on the opposite side of where the tsunami struck.  There are lush mountains all around covered in tropical goodness.  The streets are lined with two hundred year old houses.  The architecture is described as Sino-Portugese, and it rivals Napier’s Art Deco buildings.

We meet the hotel tour operator who is still lurking at 9pm. We haggle hard to get on a Phi-Phi Island tour.  Despite the weather warnings for thunder storms the tours are all fully booked.  After some bartering we are booked on a trip the following morning.  The tour operator laughs & compliments Rebecca's negotiation skills.

The tour starts early morning from Chalong and 'Boy' (tour operator) has organised a car to pick us up from the hotel.  After a free ride with Michael Schumacher we arrive at the pier & board the speed boat manned by a crew of swarthy pirates.

"You no smoke on boat, seven hundred litre benzine go boom"

Travelling at 50 knots (90 Kph) the boat's power cuts out & everyone gasps when we hit the wake of an aircraft carrier & become momentarily airborne.  Thankfully the rest of the journey is scream free.

Uniform: cammo & barefeet

Chillin' on the motor

Naval rescue vessel

We can tell something is wrong when the crew start talking in Thai & pointing at ominous grey clouds ahead. The burly driver maintains top speed as rain begins to sheet down. Sick bags are passed around.  We don’t mind as we are prepared to get wet, we are on a snorkeling trip after all…

Just as we enter the sheltered cove known as Phi Phi Lay / Maya bay & made famous by 'The Beach' movie, the sun comes out to cheer every one up.  Creamy sands & azure water greets us - it looks like a screensaver.  The cliffs are breath-taking and the water is tepid.  Pure heaven!  We observe boat loads of tourists taking photos then we happily join them.

Phi Phi Lay (Maya Bay)

Viking Cave - No photo shop required!

Our next stop is Viking Cave.  Farmers live here & harvest the ingredient used to make birds nest soup.  One kilogram of birds saliva is worth $3000 USD.  The cave gets its name from drawings of ships left by Vikings over five hundred years ago.

Monkey Bay

The crew call them the monkey mafia & warn us that our insurance does not cover monkey bites. “You be careful & don’t get too close or you go to hospital”.  We feed them bananas & a Russian bloke yells for help when one jumps on his back.

Schools of Tiger fish circle Rebecca as she goes snorkeling & checks out the coral reef of Phi-Phi Don.

Snorkeling times, YAY!!

Nom Nom Noming.....

After a buffet lunch everyone apart from Bec & the captain, falls asleep until we get to Kai Island for an hour of sunbathing in paradise.  People can sleep anywhere over here, we've seen a child sleeping whilst slumped over the handlebars of a moving scooter, I kid you not.

Phi Phi Don

Phi Phi Ley (Our Boat)

Tomorrow we are flying to Koh Samui.