Hello there,
All day today the chorus from The Little Mermaid's "Under The Sea" was playing through my head. You might think that this would have been annoying, and typically I would think so as well, however if you're snorkelling through the coral reefs of Koh Phi Phi, embracing your inner mermaid, the song becomes quite fitting.
Our morning started with a pick up at 6:30 and we headed to the tour company for breakfast and where we eventually made our way to the speed boat that would take us to the Phi Phi Islands (just for your information, "Phi Phi", is pronounced "pee pee"). The boat ride from Phuket island to Phi Phi was about an hour and twenty minutes. Half of which consisted of boating over relatively choppy water.
Our first stop of the day was at Bamboo Island where we spent 45 minutes wandering the shores of the white sand beaches and turquoise sea, reveling in the gorgeous creation surrounding us.
There's little pieces of coral all over the beaches in the Phi Phi islands.
Our next stop was at Phi Phi's main island where we partook in some snorkelling. Snorkelling has got to be one of my favourite pastimes and if I didn't live in Canada I would probably snorkel more than once every 5-10 years. There was an assortment of different fish ranging in colours from purple to yellow to leopard spotted. It's amazing how you can be out in the water for nearly an hour and it feels like 5 minutes. Sea life is so facing ring to observe.
Sidenote: not all the photos we took could be uploaded with wifi so once we get back I'll share the photos Alicia took underwater.
After snorkelling we went to lunch and were treated to authentic Thai cuisine (it was delicious, as it always is in Thailand). And after lunch we made our way to Monkey Island. Monkey island gets its name from, you guessed it, being entirely inhabited by monkeys. There isn't much beach there and the monkeys can be quite aggressive (I'm no monkey expert but they looked like they possibly belonged to the baboon family). Nevertheless is was SO COOL to see monkeys in the wild and not in a zoo (also I think I forgot to mention it but on Panyee Island a pet monkey jumped on my shoulder and strokes my head, it was one of the greatest moments of my life).
The monkeys of Monkey Island climb the cliffs and swim in the water. They provide unlimited entertainment
I have a video of the monkeys fighting and pushing each other into the water, I might get around to posting it some day.
After watching the monkeys we headed to another island to do some swimming.
The water is the colour of cool aid and the temperature of a soothing bath. The islands wrap around you like a typical hug. It's breathtaking and utterly blissful. We spent the entire 45 minutes just floating in the water.
The last stop of the tour was at another part of the island where we had one last snorkelling session. This one provided an even broader display of marine life. Both snorkelling sessions Alicia and I were the annoying people who were too mezermised by the scenery (and too submerged under water) to notice that everyone else on our tour was on the boat and we were being summoned by our guide.
From their we boated around the island and looked at the caves which had once been inhabited by Vikings and now were home to local Thai people.
Back in Phuket we were brought to our hotel where we freshened up and went for dinner. Tonight I opted for bruschetta and French fries (random I know). While we were eating dinner it started to sprinkle rain. We had sort of dreamed of experiencing just one Thai monsoon rain and thunder storm. Within moments of the rain starting, it began to pour and pour and pour. We even saw a lightning flash.
All the snorkelling and swimming we did today had clearly built up our appetite because after dinner we were still hungry. So logically we went two shops down to "Pancake Corner" and treated ourselves to Thai Milk Tea and pancakes (I got pancakes with banana, caramel sauce, ice cream, whipped cream, and almonds; ridiculous, I know). Also, Thai Milk Tea is the greatest beverage and I need it to be available in Canada. I don't know what it is but it was delicious (probably all cause of the sweetened condensed milk they out in all beverages).
After overindulging in sugar we headed back to our hotel which was about 50 feet away. We basically had a second shower by the time we got there.
Tonight is technically our last night in Asia. I cannot believe it's come to an end and I am constantly pondering where the time has gone. I'm sure tomorrow's post will be sappy and reflective of our time. But for now I'm going to get ready for bed and pack for our long journey home.
Tomorrow we will leave Phuket Old Town and make our way to a beach for a couple hours before heading to our last hotel where we will freshen up and nap before catching a 3am red eye to Shanghai. From there is a one way ticket to Vancouver.
As always, thanks for following along and prayers for safety and health are always appreciated.
-mo
