Day 30 - Patong Beach, Phuket, Thailand
Trip Start
Dec 04, 2007
1
30
33
Trip End
Jan 05, 2008
Patong,
Thailand
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Got picked up at 7.30am then off to the Royal Phuket Marina to catch our speedboat. The ride out was fast, albeit a bit bumpy and wet from the spray.
Got to Phi Phi Don and Maya Bay where "The Beach" was filmed. This area is beautiful but won't stay that way as it was over run with tourists who have no idea about being eco-friendly; dropping rubbish and standing all over the coral is spelling disaster for this otherwise idyllic area.
From there to another spot for some snorkling where there was some excellent coral and abundant sea life but again under threat from ignorant tourists
Eli shooting the breeze on our boat
. I even went up to some Chinese people and told them not to stand on the coral but that was only effective until I swam off and even more disappointing is that their tour leaders were doing nothing about it. Time for my rant, the Thai Government really needs to put some controls around who can operate tours and also some thought to implementing some Park Rangers with power to fine tour operators who let their tourists endanger the natural environment. OK, rant over.
After snorkling it was lunchtime at Phi Phi Lay. A nice spread with more than enough to go round. After lunch we had an hour or so to relax which was nice but again, tourists who are ignorant to Thai customs frustrate me.
After lunch we had a brief photo stop at a picturesque rock (I don't do it justice, check the photos) then onto our last stop of Khai Island. Apparently there were some reef sharks to see but by the time I got out far enough to see them the current was stronger and I was encountering one or two too many jellyfish for my liking so I headed back in.
Again, a very nice spot but it will be ruined in a few years due to ignorant tourists
Silla & Eli at Maya Bay
. From here it was a 30 min boat ride to Phuket Island and then a further 30 mins to the hotel.Overall it was a good day but if I was to do it again I would do a dive charter as that would be alot more eco-friendly. Our tour guides were OK on that count as they issued alot of reminders about how to effectively trat the coral.
After a shower it was out to dinner for our second to last night here. Silla and Eli got their hair done and look very nice.
Second to last night. Really do not want to go home.
