Southern Thailand

I arrived in Phuket on the 15th of April and was pleasantly surprised with the hotel I had booked on the internet which is in a great location right accross the road from Patong Beach and really close to the main nightstrip at Bangla Road

Bangla Road

I was a bit sick for the few days with a cold I picked up in KL which I am convinced is mostly due to constantly moving between tropical heat and airconditioning. It has worked out OK though as it rained for the first few days so I didn't feel too bad about lying low and recovering. 

This is my first time in Phuket I can now understand why so many people come here for holidays.  It has really nice beaches, great food, and cheap drinks!  I have noticed a real change in the travellers here compared to Malaysia.  As you can imagine most people are on package holidays and are only here for a week or two and not too worried about watching there budgets.   Obviously there are lots of Australians too which were noticeably absent in Malaysia! 

I couldn't resist this photo opportunity.

Yesterday I went on the obligatory day trip to Phi Phi Island and was absolutely blown away! Originally I had thought that the limestone cliffs and translucent water you see on the postcards were only in one area of the island but there is amazing scenery everywhere.

We stopped at a few different bays around the island to swim and check out the scenery and finished by stopping off at an amazing tiny little island for a couple of hours of relaxing and snorkelling (see photos).  There were tonnes of fish, beautiful corals and a nice sandy beach to relax on (oh and beer and cocktails). There were apparently reef sharks around as well bit I didn't manage to see any.  I'm not sure if I am happy about that or not really.   

Today I booked my transport over to Ko Samui over the other side of the Thai Mainland for Sunday morning. I have no real burning desire to leave here really but it is always exciting to move on.  Speaking of moving it is incredibly cheap and easy to get anywhere here, just as in Malaysia.  You generally just decide where you want to go and what day you want to leave then go to one of the many travel stalls and they organise eveything for you for what has been without exception much cheaper than I had expected.  The trip to Ko Samui which involves a minibus transfer to the ferry, ferry to the mainland, bus accross the Peninsula then Ferry to Ko Samui costs about $20 Australian!

Last stop on the Phi Phi Island Tour

I have to say I have now acheived a level of relaxation that I had forgotten was possible.  This afternoon I layed on a sun lounge on Patong Beach all afternoon and drifted in and out of a state of consciousness.  I can honestly say I am now at least 1 or two shades off brilliant white!  Tonight I am off to watch the kickboxing at the local stadium which apparently has a pretty good standard of fighters with guys from all over the world that come to Patong o be trained and compete.

I will be in touch from Ko Samui.  Sorry I haven't added photos to the text but I have been having a few troubles with the blog site.  You can see them all in the photo Album.

Looking out from the beach to the snorkelling Area

Phi Phi Island

Sunset at Patomg Beach Phuket