Thailand was an incredible unplanned side trip. We were convinced by some divers to go there and dive Richelieu Rock and some other places in the Andaman Sea. We looked into it and booked another live aboard dive trip since it was so inexpensive to fly to Thailand from Australia. We planned it out to go there right after our time in Bali which was a blessing since we had such a poor experience in Bali. Thailand was like a breath of fresh air after that trip!
Anyway, we arrived in Phuket early morning Tuesday February 7th. We spent the day in Karen Beach. The beach was beautiful, it was warm and sunny, and there were great restaurants all around.
The next morning our dive people picked us up and we started the long journey by van then boat to get to the dive location which was about two hours offshore. It was a bit hectic initially and we were feeling a bit uneasy about everything mostly because of the crazy way the whole operation was run. VERY different than anything else we’d experienced diving. We were a bit reassured when we realized that a personal dive guide was assigned to groups of two to four, however the other two in our group turned out to be a hot mess. The next day they switched us to join a new group. It was all a bit crazy, but overall we had an incredible diving experience and met some amazing people from all over the world.
The very first dive we saw a manta ray and they are HUGE! That was pretty awesome. And when we dived the Richelieu Rock site it was easily the best dive either of us have ever done. Absolutely incredible. The number and variety of fish and coral were endless! The sea was calm so we got to see even more than they usually do. Many of the dive guides who have dived there for years said it was possibly the best they’ve ever experienced that day because the weather was perfect, and the water was incredibly clear and calm. So we were very thankful that our timing there worked out so well.
Our last morning of the dive trip we got to spend an hour on one of the most gorgeous beaches. It looked like pure paradise. I loved it so much. They could have just left us there with our camping gear!
As usual, some of the new friends we made recommended other places to go and things to do the remainder of our time in Thailand. Normally people on the trip have a room booked to go to after the dive trip, but we forgot that part. Oops, but it was fine. We just had them drop us off in the middle of Patong. Dave sat with the luggage while I found a nearby room.
That night we thought we would get some meat on a stick because there were so many street vendors selling it. We tried it, but unfortunately got liver! Yuck!!!! So we politely walked out of sight before throwing them away. Ha! Then we found a sit down place to eat.
Ferry boat to Phi PhiI loved Thailand so much because the Thai food and lodging was so inexpensive- so that meant no tent camping or camp stove cooking for the entire stay! Seriously, a Thai meal that would cost approximately $15 at home only cost $2-3 there! And you could stay in a very nice room for $20 to $30! So anyway, while we were out walking around that evening we booked transportation to head to Phi Phi Island the next morning.
Getting to Phi Phi went surprisingly well. Seems Phuket really has the tourist thing down. A taxi picked us up right on time, helped with our bags, drove us about 30 minutes directly to the ferry and told us which boat to get on, and we rode the ferry while watching a movie for about two hours- all for $12 total.
View from ferry on way to Phi Phi
Phi Phi was beautiful, but very crowded- and it smelled pretty badly in some places. The first morning we were there we booked a long tail taxi boat to take us to the nearby islands, but unfortunately the water was so rough that we did not get to go to all the snorkel spots. Also, it was disheartening to see so much dead coral. (I am convinced after all this travel and everything we’ve seen, the the number one reason for the death of coral is humans.)
We ended up having him take us to a pretty beach instead and spent several hours there. That night I got a gel pedicure for $12!
Phi Phi was fun, but I think it caters more to the young partying crowd.
We stayed in Phi Phi for two nights then headed back to the mainland. We decided to rent a car for a few days and check out other parts. We drove up to Khao Lak and stayed there a night. It was such a great little area and much less populated or touristy than Phuket. It was one of the hardest hit places during the tsunami of 2004 and there was a small museum about it so we checked it out. It was so sad to look at the images of destruction and death. Later that night we went to a large street market and Dave bought some new “crocs.” We also checked out a little wine and art place.
We hung out at the beach for a few hours the next morning before driving east to the other coast. The drive was so beautiful through the Khao Sok National Park and we were amazed by their mountains. We stopped at Lake Ratchaprapha on the way and Dave tried to organize a fishing outing, but language barriers were a big struggle so it didn’t happen. The lake was one of the prettiest I’ve ever seen.
We continued on to the east coast and found a super cute place to stay with little beach bungalows where we ended up on Valentine’s Day. Nice timing. The staff were a bit surprised to see Americans and wondered what brought us there. We were excited to be somewhere that was rare for Americans to go. The beach was not near as nice as the other coast. It was very rough and not as clear.
The next day we were going to try to do some caving or waterfall exploring, but now I can’t remember why we didn’t other than we maybe just didn’t feel like it. We headed on down to Phang Nga Bay (supposed to be similar to Halong Bay in Vietnam) because I really wanted to do a boat trip in the bay the next day. We found a great little place to stay called The Sleep. We also found a great little restaurant that was so good we ate there twice. Every time we ate a meal out I ordered a different Thai dish because I wanted to enjoy as many as possible. Seriously soooo good! There wasn’t one dish I didn’t like.
The next morning we were picked up for the day trip and spent the day in a long tail boat exploring the bay. There were four others with us, all American, but two of them had spent the last four years living and working in Thailand so it was cool to hear their story. Their next plan is to move to Colombia and start a tourist business there. They have no intentions to move back to the States.
We explored an open air cave which was pretty cool. It was different to go to a cave and there not be restrictions about using a flash or touching anything. And later we went kayaking, sort of, which was not nearly as cool as I thought it would be. Then he took us to a small deserted beach to eat lunch and hang out for a couple of hours.
On the way back we stopped by “James Bond Island” which was clearly a tourist trap. Thankfully the stop there was short. At least we had fun people watching.
Then we went to a small over-the-water fishing village which would have been better enjoyed from the boat. It lost its quaint fishing village appeal and had turned into a tourist market with lots of overpriced poor quality souvenirs for sale- like the entire village was selling these! And up close we saw that they just dumped their trash under their houses so it smelled really bad. Otherwise we had a great day and enjoyed the outing. It was the perfect ending to our trip in Thailand.
I could have stayed in Thailand for weeks or even months. Great weather, great food and beautiful landscapes. We had been organizing our next stop to be Vietnam, but it seemed everything was going against us so we ate our flights and booked flights to return to Australia to finish up our adventures there. And we were so excited to get back. Something less stressful about being in a country that speaks your language and just all around feels more like home. Anyway, I hope to go back to Thailand some day.
