Author: Molly
From Bangkok we flew to southern Thailand, with the goal of relaxing for a few days and enjoying the beach.
We spent two nights at Karon beach in Phuket, where the water was the temperature of bathwater. Although we had a nice day alternating between the beach and our hotel pool, overall this area of Phuket was pretty touristy and a little rowdy for us.
Our next goal was to get to Phi Phi island which did not seem straightforward but with a quick stop at a little stand in town it was all arranged with ease. This gave us much more confidence in getting around and was a big relief.
When the ferry landed on Phi Phi we were immediately in swarms of very sweaty people (we were also very sweaty). The main downtown is absolutely packed, mostly with young backpackers. Luckily I had researched this, and instead we stayed on Long Beach, about a half hour walk or short boat ride from the main town.
Long Beach ended up being a fantastic place to stay, because we could snorkel right from the beach at our hotel. We spent all day in the water and saw tons of colorful fish, especially parrot fish, eels, coral and stingrays. Unfortunately this also meant we have less photos as our phones were mostly in the room.
On the first day there we walked to town to buy food, only to find the whole town was out of power and the stores were closed. The trip wasn’t a waste though, because we also found out that private three longtail boat rides were only $50. We seized the opportunity and went out twice, each time right at dawn. The first one we did a tour of nearby islands with some snorkeling, and the next we just did a snorkeling tour where we were lucky enough to spot a sea turtle!
Our last day we took the ferry back to Phuket, and about 20 minutes into the ride another ferry pulled up beside us. The employees somehow lashed the massive boats together enough to hustle passengers onto our ferry, which was a spectacle to watch. Once we reached our hotel near the Phuket airport, we walked to the beach to stand directly under the landing planes.
Not Sew Fancy Travels 