It only took about two days in the Khao San Road area to become pretty overwhelmed, so I saw as much of the nearby "old town" as I could before heading off to a different area near the embassies to arrange some visas and see a different part of Bangkok. I found a guesthouse with good internet and hit the books to find the next place. Despite it being the rainy season, it turned out that there was to be a rare week long weather window for the southern islands...so I began trying to pick which one to visit (terrible problem, I know...but there are lots to choose from). Phi Phi Island was looking good for a first stop, so I boarded an overnight bus (12 hours) with a Norwegian guy from the guesthouse who was headed the same direction. He is also traveling alone, so we figured we would stick together for a while (and no, Krista has not been replaced by a harry nordic guy... just to head off that question). The only notable experiences from the bus ride were the very stylized curtains on the inside of the bus (as seen in photos) and the television program that everyone else seemed to be enjoying that made me want to throw myself out the emergency exit window. The following morning we arrived in Phuket, took a look around, and decided the town was best experienced as a bus station. There was a boat leaving for Phi Phi at 10am...and I was on it!
The first thing you see after the hour long crossing are the jungle covered limestone formations that give these islands their unique appearance. With cameras clicking away, the boat pulled up to the dock at Phi Phi and I got ready to run the usual gauntlet of hotel, taxi, and attraction touts that always collect in an area that regularly pushes out fresh tourists. The competition among hotels is high in the low season here, so I did some price shopping around town until I had sweat away every last drop of water in my body...but at the last minute found an amazing deal that just got the day off to the right start...
From there it was a good mix of off the map exploring, relaxing at the infinity pool included with the room, and enjoying some cheap (served in a bucket) beach-side drinks. An interesting side note about the bucket drinks is that if you find 25 buckets that others have abandoned (or drink 25 yourself), you get a free bucket drink. I decided this was the greatest thing since sliced bread, gave it a shot, and indeed did get a free bucket of drink. The only problem with combing the beach for abandoned plastic buckets when you are already living out of a bag is the feeling of walking that seemingly finer and finer line between traveler and homelessness.
Anyhow, Evan (the Norwegian guy) is obsessed with photodocumenting (word?) every grain of sand along the way...so I have plenty of photos to highlight the island...
Next we are headed to Ko Lanta, which is supposed to be much further off the tourist map, and on the way back to the mainland... :)
The first thing you see after the hour long crossing are the jungle covered limestone formations that give these islands their unique appearance. With cameras clicking away, the boat pulled up to the dock at Phi Phi and I got ready to run the usual gauntlet of hotel, taxi, and attraction touts that always collect in an area that regularly pushes out fresh tourists. The competition among hotels is high in the low season here, so I did some price shopping around town until I had sweat away every last drop of water in my body...but at the last minute found an amazing deal that just got the day off to the right start...
From there it was a good mix of off the map exploring, relaxing at the infinity pool included with the room, and enjoying some cheap (served in a bucket) beach-side drinks. An interesting side note about the bucket drinks is that if you find 25 buckets that others have abandoned (or drink 25 yourself), you get a free bucket drink. I decided this was the greatest thing since sliced bread, gave it a shot, and indeed did get a free bucket of drink. The only problem with combing the beach for abandoned plastic buckets when you are already living out of a bag is the feeling of walking that seemingly finer and finer line between traveler and homelessness.
Anyhow, Evan (the Norwegian guy) is obsessed with photodocumenting (word?) every grain of sand along the way...so I have plenty of photos to highlight the island...
Next we are headed to Ko Lanta, which is supposed to be much further off the tourist map, and on the way back to the mainland... :)
No comments:
Post a Comment