This Has Truly Been A Great Week

I’ve been traveling for a little over a month now and the desire to continue has not been subdued at all. The days even seem to fly by. Eight days ago Monica and I left the gulf of Thailand to hit the islands in, what I believe is, the Andaman Sea. That was when I made my last blog entry and it seems like that was the day before yesterday. 

We arrived to Phuket late after leaving Koh Samui. For those unfamiliar, Phuket is pronounced Poo-Ket not Fuck-et. I would be lying if I said didn’t giggle to myself a bit the first few times I saw the word. This is a place that seems to be a must visit destination for most travelers. Not necessarily for the views or the quaint and quiet rural scene or as an extreme party venue. Its main attraction, from what I took away, was shock and awe. While in Phuket, we met up with two guys we roomed with on Koh Tao and decided to finish out our time in Thailand traveling together since we all had to be back in Bangkok at the same time. We spent two nights in Phuket Town and one on Patong Beach which is the more lively part of Phuket. Patong featured crowded streets with travelers, tourists, and locals, a nice beach, lots of shops, bars and some more… adult attractions. 

From Phuket, we caught a ferry to the islands of Koh Phi Phi. These islands are most well-known because they were the venue for the movie, “The Beach”. The main island is Koh Phi Phi Don. It is a very small island that seems mostly uninhabited except for a portion between the two beaches. On the island, there are no cars or motorized scooters. The only transportation is by foot or bicycle (which really seemed like even more of a hassle since the roads were pretty much like sidewalks). The vibe here was much more like a younger tourist travel vacation destination. Like the full moon party, the venue promoted heavy drinking, loud music, lights, fire dancing, etc. 

 









 

 































































































































On one of our days there, we got a small boat to take us out to Maya Beach on Phi Phi Le which is the beach from “The Beach”. The beach is not actually fully enclosed like the movie portrays it but it does have a decently small opening. The boat driver was awesome. He catered to some of our special request and waited for us all day while we played at the beach.

After Phi Phi, we traveled to Krabi back on the mainland. Krabi seems to be well known for its daytime activities and less flashy not so party-party lifestyle. We stayed at the Pak-Up Hostel. Possibly the best hostel so far. All guests seem to be backpackers and the hostel has two bars in it. It is incredibly professionally run and the layout and bars promote lots of mingling.

We spent our days here kayaking, elephant trekking, and rock climbing. Each one was amazing in its own way. We kayaked through the mangrove forests visiting natural caves. For rock climbing we traveled to Railay Beach and spent the afternoon climbing steep cliff sides. 

 


















 













 

 
 


















 














 

 

 
 
















 


















 














 



















 







































Now, I sit in the lobby of the Pak-Up hostel waiting for our bus to Bangkok. We have two nights there before we leave to Vietnam. Thailand has been incredible and I am sad to leave it. I am hoping for an equally enjoyable experience in Vietnam.