Hey everyone,
when I last updated you I was in the midst of my PADI dive course, so I'm sure you will all be please to hear that I passed and am now a qualified Open Water diver! Regan you will be most pleased to hear that I got 100% on the theory exam and as such you are still entitled to tease me for being a nerd :P The diving off Ko Phi Phi was fantastic and during my four dives I was lucky enough to see leopard sharks, sea turtles, eels, reef sharks, sea snakes, cuttlefish, starfish and an abundance of beautiful fish and coral. If you are in the area and you get the chance, go for a dive :)And I cannot speak highly enough of The Adventure Club who I did my course with!
After I finished my course I caught a ferry across to Phuket to meet my sister who was flying in from Perth to spend a week with me. I'd never been to Phuket before, and while it was ok to spend a day waiting for Sti... I won't be racing back. Although, perhaps I would see it differently if I had been staying in a resort ( although the Nid Nok Happy Time Friend House was an excellent establishment too). Anyway the sun was out so I spent the day on the beach and waited for Sti's flight to arrive.
Everything worked out perfectly. We hung out in Phuket for a night drinking some cocktails and eating some seafood, then bailed back to Phi Phi the next morning. Once back on Ko Phi Phi we made the most of the sunshine and spent our afternoon lazing on the beach and floating about in the bay. That night I took Sti to see the fire shows at the beach bars along the bay. Fire poi, fire sticks, fire ropes... basically lots of cool tricks with fire. Then, when the locals in the fire show are exhausted, they get out the LED skipping rope and the limbo stick and all the drunk tourists have a go at making fools of themselves. The whole things is very funny and I highly recomend it if you have a sense of humor.
We decided to do a days snorkeling trip because it gives the best chance to see some of the beaches and islands around Phi Phi The snorkeling is average... but the beaches are stunning so I think it is worth the time. Maya Bay is just off Ko Phi Phi and it is where they filmed the movie The Beach with Leonardo DiCaprio. Don't worry if you didn't know this, they will remind you every 3 seconds while you are there. Maya Bay is truly beautiful. To really appreciate it you have to be able to imagine that there are not a billion other tourists on the beach with you, but it is a very beautiful spot. I particularly enjoyed laughing at all the girls who were posing FHM style in the waves and against rocks. Sti and I tried to see if they were being ironic or sarcastic... but the truth is they were just posers. I know I am not a nice person but I found this very entertaining.
Had one more dive day with Stiena which was great. Didn't see as much marine life.. but it was still really great fun. Before we left the island, we decided to head up the mountainside to the viewpoint. Despite being told it was, ' very easy walk' by the woman at our guest house, it was actually not. Still, the view from the top was worth the effort. They also have some pictures at the top which show ou the view of the island after the tsunami. That was a bit of a spin out because it really showed how vulnerable everything on the island is.
Next up we headed off to Railey Bay in Krabi Krabi is surrounded by huge limestone cliffs and very spectacular coastline. Every second shop offers packages to go rock climbing and on our way in we saw tiny little people scaling the cliffs way above us. Since hauling myself up a cliff in the heat and humidity is not my idea of fun, I was very satisfied to just watch others climb to great heights. Most of the days we were in Krabi it rained and was pretty overcast, but the weather was still very warm and we got a great deal on a hotel with a pool so it was fine :) I am sure that in the high season, when the sun is out everyday, Krabi is a very very beautiful place.
After just a few days in Krabi it was time for Stiena to fly back to Perth and disappear back to the mines :( There is talk, very loose talk, of her coming back to see me in Vietnam She hopped on a longtail boat for Krabi/ Phuket amd I hopped on a longtail boat for Krabi/ Ko Pha Ngan. Mine seemed a total bargain at only 660B ... but that is a whole other story ;)
Feeling very lucky to have spent some time in this beautiful corner of ther world xox luv Nads
