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Thailand

My travel experience and tips for this great destination

Koh Phi Phi Maya bay

Thailand 2009: Day 7 – Touring Koh Phi Phi (Maya Bay, Monkey Island & Bamboo Island)

Date: Dec 19th, 2009

Woke up 6am, checked out and kept my bags at the reception. I got picked up at around 7am and the tour vehicle went around collecting the other tourists from different hotels who were all part of some day tour or the other.

Ao Nang beach road
Ao Nang beach road early in the morning

The tour of Koh Phi Phi I had chosen was on a speedboat, thinking it would have been safer as supposed to taking a traditional longtail boat (the wooden ones commonly used as taxis and by fishermen).

Ao Nang beach speedboat tour
The first boat was our ride

Our tour group consisted of nearly 16 people and I walked rather hurriedly towards the boat in the hope of getting a spot right in front. Unfortunately, in that rush, I ended up dipping my camera bag in the water. (“Oh crap” moment #7).

Fortunately, the camera and lenses were safe. Only thing that got drenched was the manual and the battery charger (wasn’t too happy about that) which were placed in the front pouch. But because I had to stop a few seconds and assess the damage, a few managed to pass me by to get a spot right at front. Sucked.

Anyway, we set off after everyone put on their life-jackets. The tour boat had to pick up two more tourists from Railay which is a 5 minute boat ride from Ao Nang beach.

Railay West beach boat
Barracuda was the name of our tour company

Railay was another place in Krabi I planned on spending time at. It’s become a destination for rock-climbing enthusiasts…

Railay hill limestone rocks
… for obvious reasons.

Railay hills sea

Railay West beach
Railay West beach

Since we docked at the beach and the boat was stable for a few minutes, it gave me an opportunity to take out the Sigma 70-200 lens. Unfortunately, humidity had caused vapour on the filter and I made the mistake of trying to clean it with a wet towel — which only made it worse!

Railay hill, Thailand
It wasn’t misty that morning… the lens filter wasn’t clean
Railay beach rock hill
None the less, the “effect” still makes it look ‘heavenly’

Railay beach boats

We left Railay and headed off for our tour of the Phi Phi islands. On the way, we passed by Koh Kai (“koh” = “island”), famously called Chicken island.

Chicken island Koh Poda
Spot the ‘chicken’
Barracuda Phi Phi boat tour guide
The one in orange was our guide. I believe she was a woman.

A bumpy 30-minute ride later, we stopped at a quiet and less-crowded spot for snorkeling.

Koh phi phi snorkeling stop
Emerald green water… mmmmmmm 🙂

I had never tried snorkeling, so I put on the gear and got into the water (which was quite cold). I had my life jacket on so I just lay flat and put my head down under the water. My-GOD-the-water was so clear! It was an awesome feeling and wished I could have captured it on film — but I wasn’t going to risk my Canon 7D even though it was weather-sealed to a certain extent.

“Swimming with the fishes” was the only way to describe the feeling. There were so many in the water and the sun light making its way through the water and glistening off the fish scales made for a very pretty sight. I can’t wait to try out scuba diving!

Phi Phi may bay water fish
The fish… from above the water

After 30 mins or so, the tour boat moved on to our next stop — the famous Maya Bay. Like I mentioned in an earlier post,  I wanted to come to Krabi after watching The Beach. Even though the movie was mediocre (but the soundtrack awesome), I loved the fact there were beautiful paradise islands not too far away from India. In the film, the inhabitants of Ko Phi Phi Lee were only a few. The beaches were pristine, the waters clear and the sands were devoid of any litter. I was looking forward to visiting such places in this trip.

But…. things have changed since the release of The Beach apparently.

Ko Phi Phi Lee Maya bay crowd
This is Maya Bay now

Turns out I’m not the only one who watched The Beach and was inspired by it to visit Thailand. 🙂

The place was crowded! Most of the visitors are from Phuket and there were more than 20 boats at any given time docked on the shores. Our stop was for around 30 minutes, so I could wade through the hundreds of people and check out the place as much as possible.

Many Chinese/Taiwanese/Hong Kong/Japanese tourists were excitedly posing under these phallic stalactites.

Phi Phi Maya Bay penis shaped rockOur tour guide even asked if she/he could take a photo with me citing we were “matching-matching”.

Phi Phi Maya bay Mithun
I’m guessing it was because of the ‘orange’

Besides tourists, there really isn’t much on Maya Bay. Its a protected reserve and there is just one shack serving drinks and toilet way in the back.

Phi Phi Maya bay bar toiletPhi Phi Maya bay boats

A brief video (you may choose 720p or 1080p for Hi-Definition quality):

Despite the crowds, you could still make out how beautiful Maya Bay is. It would have been nice if I could come by private boat early in the morning or at sunset and spend some quite time alone here.

Koh Phi Phi Maya bayAfter half-an-hour, we moved just a bit away from all the boats for some more snorkeling.

Phi Phi Maya bay snorkeling
Lying flat and staring under water is fun

We left Maya Bay and moved on to our next stop — another location which was featured in The Beach. Seriously, half the tour was based on “how this is where Leonardo DiCaprio did this”, “here is where Leo jumped into the water” etc. What Dil Chahta Hai did for Goa, The Beach did for Ko Phi Phi.

Koh Phi Phi lagoon
Leonardo DiCaprio was here too

Koh Phi Phi lagoonKoh Phi Phi lagoon

A brief video of the lagoon:

After taking a round inside the lagoon, we then made our way to Tham Pya Nak, a.k.a Viking Cave.

Viking cave Koh Phi Phi
We were told a few people actually live in there

No, the vikings never made it to Thailand, but you can read about why it got that nickname here. Found inside are  swift’s nests which people collect to be used in Bird’s Nest Soup, a Chinese delicacy.

We couldn’t go inside as it is restricted to tourists mostly because of the disturbances caused by chatter and flash lights that annoy workers and the bats that reside in the cave.

So we moved on to our final stop before lunch — Monkey Island.

Koh Mak Monkey island
Monkeys inhabit this island… thus the name. Duh.

Koh Mak Monkey islandAt around 12:30, we headed for Phi Phi don, which is the only commercial region of the Phi Phi islands. All the hotels, stores, internet cafes and markets are located on this part of the island.

The buffet lunch was at some restaurant and it was… meh. Didn’t have much ‘cos it wasn’t really palatable. The lunch is included in the tour fare and there were dishes in both veg and non-veg (though, as with all of Thailand, more options in the latter).

Phi Phi Don view
Phi Phi Don: The view from the restaurant

We had around half-an-hour to kill after lunch to walk around Phi Phi Don, which is what I did.

Phi Phi Don streetPhi Phi Don panoramaPhi Phi Don beach

Phi Phi Don fisher men swordfish
Yummm… (yeah, yeah.. go away PETA!)
Phi Phi Don Finding Nemo restaurant
Poor Nemo. After all his father went through.

Phi Phi Don town

Phi Phi Don town store
Man with evil stare: “You better buy banana”

Phi Phi Don marketPhi Phi Don lady shoppingPhi Phi Don barPhi Phi Don boatsBy 2pm, we left Phi Phi Don and made our way through slightly rough seas (best not to eat much when taking a speedboat) and it for a bit, it looked like it was going to rain.

Koh Phi Phi dark cloudOur final destination on the tour was an hour-long stop at Bamboo Island.

Bamboo island beach
Now I know what it feels like to be on the set of LOST

Bamboo island beachAnother island view from Bamboo islandThis is what I wanted to see in Thailand. This is the kind of place I wanted to spend an entire day at. Sit on the beach under a shade and just stare into the sea.

But all I could think about was how sad I was in knowing I had only hour here. I didn’t even feel like walking a bit to explore the island and find the bamboo trees inside, which is where the island get its name. I wanted to soak in as much of the shore as I could. There weren’t many people on our beach too — the way I liked it.

Even the rocks looked unique.

Bamboo island panorama
(This is a panoramic photo comprised of 4 shots)

Bamboo island rock formationBamboo island rock islandBamboo island rocks waterAs it neared time for us to leave, I recorded some videos (which I didn’t even feel like setting up the tripod for) and then headed back to the boat.

Mithun at Bamboo island
The lack of smile is due to: a) very sunny b) very sad to leave

With that, the one day tour of the Phi Phi islands came to an end. It really is a beautiful place and it was exactly how I pictured it to be. (Minus the crowds). But the next time, and there will be a next time, I’m just going to come here on a longtail boat. It may be slower, but it will be a lot less bumpy than the speedboat.

Koh Phi Phi speedboat ride
Word of advice: Speedboat not recommended for photography

Koh Phi Phi sea rock

Koh Phi Phi sun seaOn the way back, I sat there all glum and told myself I didn’t want this to end. And so, on the way back to Ao Nang, I decided not to end it.

When it came time to drop the tourists from Railay… I got down along with them.


Other posts in this series:

Getting ready for my trip

The day I left for Thailand

Day 1 – Suvarnabhumi, Pantip Plaza, Fotofile & MBK

Day 2 – Bridge over the River Kwai and Tiger Temple (Wat Pa Luangta Bua) in Kanchanaburi

Taking the bus to Chiang Mai from Bangkok

Day 3 – Maesa elephant camp, ‘long-neck’ tribe village near Chiang Mai

Day 3 (Part 2) – Chiang Mai Night Market

Day 4 – Doi Suthep, Chiang Mai… and back in town

Day 5 – Leaving Chiang Mai for Phuket

Day 5 (Part 2) – One night in Phuket

Day 6 – Leaving Phuket for Ao Nang by bus (via Phang Nga)

Day 7 (Part 2) – Exploring Railay, Krabi

Day 8 – Flying from Phuket to Bangkok

Day 8 (Part 2) – Chatuchak Weekend Market, Bangkok

Day 9 – MBK, Siam Paragon… and ‘little Arabia’?

Day 10 – Grand Palace and the Emerald Buddha

Day 10 – Wat Pho (the Temple of the Reclining Buddha) and finally leaving Thailand

Figures, lessons learned, and things I couldn’t do

Phuket to Ao Nang bus journey

Thailand 2009: Day 6 – Leaving Phuket for Ao Nang by bus (via Phang Nga)

Date: Dec 18th, 2009

I woke up at around 8am, headed out for breakfast and went back to JungCeylon at around 10am. I went back to the camera store I had picked up my Slik F630 tripod and asked them if they had the part which had fallen off  the night before. They checked their store room and they didn’t have it. To get a new part, they would have had to order it and it would cost me 300 baht (!) just for that screw!

I pleaded with the salesman I dealt with yesterday if he could give me the part from the unit they had display. I know it was a long shot and not right of me to ask for it but I was desperate. After half-an-hour or so of pleading, he actually gave me the part from the display unit and I handed him the 300 baht. I was really grateful to him — but I just hope he didn’t get into any trouble because of it.

As it was already past 11am, I dashed back to my room, collected my bags, checked out of my hotel and walked towards Beach Road where I boarded a local bus heading to Phuket bus terminal. I had already wasted precious day time and wanted to be in Ao Nang before sunset.

Taking the Patong bus to Phuket bus terminal
The ride took around 30mins; cost 35 baht (Rs. 50) (Camera: Nokia E72)

I bought a ticket to Krabi which is where one needs to disembark first before heading to Ao Nang. The ticket cost 115 baht (Rs. 160) for a regular A/C bus. The journey would take two and half hours but I was hoping  to get there at least by 4:30pm.

The bus set off at around 1:30pm and slooowly made its way out of Phuket town (which really is worlds apart from the Patong area).

Phuket to Ao Nang by bus

Phuket to Ao Nang by busI stared out the window throughout the bus ride and clicked quite a bit en route to Phang Nga.

Phuket to Ao Nang by busPhuket to Ao Nang by busPhuket to Ao Nang bus journeyI knew Phang Nga was near the Andaman Sea but even though we never could see the sea proper, the hilly landscape was equally picturesque.

Phuket to Ao Nang bus journeyPhuket to Ao Nang bus journeyPhuket to Ao Nang bus journeyBy around 4pm, we arrived at Phang Nga town.

Phang Nga townPhang Nga was on my on tour itinerary as well — mostly for the James Bond Island (you can read about it here) but I was starting to get worried about if I would be able to see it all in the time I now had in Ao Nang.

Phuket to Ao Nang by bus passing through Phang NgaPhuket to Ao Nang by bus passing through Phang NgaPhuket to Ao Nang by bus passing through Phang NgaPhuket to Ao Nang by bus passing through Phang NgaPhuket to Ao Nang by busPhuket to Ao nang mopedsPhuket to Ao Nang by busPhuket to Ao Nang bus journey

Phuket to Ao Nang bus journey
Krabi is predominantly Muslim populated
Phuket to Ao Nang bus journey
The white “ghost” is my reflection on the bus window
Phuket to Ao Nang bus journey
It was nearing 6pm by the time I reached Krabi province

I got down at Krabi bus terminal and was approached by a travel agent who asked me the usual barrage of questions: “where you go?,” “you have room?,” “you need tour?” etc.  Since I really wasn’t in the mood, I caved in, got a room booked and bought a boat tour to Koh Phi Phi from the agent. He then led me to the pick up taxi which was heading to Ao Nang.

As I sat inside and waited for the driver, I felt glum. I kept thinking about all the places I had planned on seeing and what I wanted to do in Krabi: Phang Nga bay, Wat Tham Suea (Tiger Cave Temple, where you have to climb up 1,200 steps and they say you get one heck of a view of the Andaman sea on one side and the hills on the other), Phi Phi islands, rock-climbing in Railay, kayaking to Pranang Cave Beach…

And now I had just one full day in Krabi province — and there was no way I could do it all.

Finally arriving at Ao Nang

It took nearly half-an-hour for the taxi driver to leave the Krabi bus terminal as they normally wait for a few more passengers to fill up the taxi before it sets off. It then sloooowly made it’s way through Krabi town to pick up some more passengers before finally shifting gears and speeding up. I would definitely not recommend taking a pick up taxi like this.

It was past 7pm when I finally reached Ao Nang (its supposed to just take 30 minutes). My hotel was Ao Nang Grand Inn, opposite the McDonalds at Ao Nang and a 5min walk from the beach. The room I got was supposed to be an A/C room but the A/C wasn’t working. I got a make-shift fan instead and the two beds were apart from each other. I had asked the agent for a single room but for 600 baht (Rs. 830), this wasn’t a bad deal. The agent at the bus terminal told me this was the cheapest room available but as you’ll read in the next post — it wasn’t 🙂

Anyway, I was only going to be in the room for a few hours. I had to check out early in the morning itself (12 noon is the standard check out time) because the Phi Phi islands boat ride was going to be a full day tour.

Ao Nang at night
The road Ao Nang Grand Inn is located

After freshening up, I walked down to the beach side road and checked out whatever Ao Nang had to offer.

Ao Nang at night

Ao Nang beach lantern
This guy was struggling to get his lantern up in the air
Ao Nang beach at night
Which these small girls found very amusing!
Ao Nang night stores
Plenty of shops and a variety of food options along beach road

Ao Nang at night wooden bridgeAo Nang night streetAo Nang night streetAo Nang night traffic

Thai Barbeque chicken
Dinner: Thai barbeque chicken — I was hooked on this!

Ao Nang is a quaint little town, and a lot less noisy compared to Phuket. I would suggest Ao Nang over Phuket to any honeymooner or anyone looking for a quieter, less crowded town to base yourself to see the tourist sights South Thailand is famous for. In fact, they are closer from Ao Nang.

Just because it’s small, doesn’t mean you’ll have a tough time with shopping and other services. Ao Nang has enough ATMs, foreign exchange centers, fast food chains and other essential services tourists need. There are enough bars to service the crowd seeking them and a few night clubs. But if you did your research, you’ll know Ao Nang isn’t a place famous for a night life, compared to say, the likes of Phuket or Pattaya.


Other posts in this series:

Getting ready for my trip

The day I left for Thailand

Day 1 – Suvarnabhumi, Pantip Plaza, Fotofile & MBK

Day 2 – Bridge over the River Kwai and Tiger Temple (Wat Pa Luangta Bua) in Kanchanaburi

Taking the bus to Chiang Mai from Bangkok

Day 3 – Maesa elephant camp, ‘long-neck’ tribe village near Chiang Mai

Day 3 (Part 2) – Chiang Mai Night Market

Day 4 – Doi Suthep, Chiang Mai… and back in town

Day 5 – Leaving Chiang Mai for Phuket

Day 5 (Part 2) – One night in Phuket

Day 7 – Touring Koh Phi Phi (Maya Bay, Monkey Island & Bamboo Island)

Day 7 (Part 2) – Exploring Railay, Krabi

Day 8 – Flying from Phuket to Bangkok

Day 8 (Part 2) – Chatuchak Weekend Market, Bangkok

Day 9 – MBK, Siam Paragon… and ‘little Arabia’?

Day 10 – Grand Palace and the Emerald Buddha

Day 10 – Wat Pho (the Temple of the Reclining Buddha) and finally leaving Thailand

Figures, lessons learned, and things I couldn’t do

Thailand 2009: Day 5 (Part 2) – One night in Phuket

Date: Dec 17th, 2009

Phuket airport
Taken on the Nokia E72

I landed in Phuket International Airport by around 3pm, collected my bags, got some dollars exchanged and took the airport taxi (an A/C van) heading to Patong (150 baht/Rs. 200). As per my original plan, after I picked up my camera in Bangkok, I wanted to come straight to South Thailand. But that changed after the weather forecast indicated rain showers for the coming days.

I was hoping after spending three days in North Thailand, the rains down south would have subsided.

Nope.

Phuket rain
Taken from inside the van

It rained quite heavily for a few minutes after I boarded the van. I was upset thinking this is how the weather would be like for the next few days. Fortunately, by the time I got to Patong, the rain stopped.

I checked in to my hotel room, which I got for 800 baht (Rs. 1000)  from an agent the van taxi stopped at. She said it would be very hard to find cheaper rooms in Patong at this time of the year. But as I found out later that evening, there were decent rooms available for less than 800 baht. Oh well.

Not that mine was bad or anything. It was a twin-bed A/C room with the standard amenities but I wouldn’t really recommend the room I got (it barely had any ventilation). You could probably find better on the road I was on (which was parallel to the Patong Beach road).

First thing I did was freshen up and soon after, I headed straight for Patong beach.

Patong beach panorama
Patong beach: A merged photo from 8 or so shots

The place was fairly crowded (the photo may not imply the same) but that was expected given how popular Phuket is. Since all I had was the cold ‘lunch’ on the flight, and since I hadn’t eaten a proper beef burger in ages*, I walked into the Burger King on Thaweewong Road (popularly called Beach Road).

Burger King, Patong beach*[In India, the international fast food joints are too chicken (pun intended) to serve beef burgers because of politics and religious sentiments]

Plus, it felt good not to pay for mayonnaise at a fast food joint! (The international chains in India do that. It’s a crime.)

After my evening ‘snack’ (which except for the burger, I couldn’t finish) I walked down Beach road…

Patong beach road
Left: Superbikes for rent; Right: Muay Thai matches being publicized
Patong, Phuket
Thaweewong Road, Patong, Phuket

… checked out the food stalls set up on Patong Beach…

Patong beach, PhuketStreet food Patong, PhuketStreet food Patong, PhuketStreet food Patong, Phuket… watched the sun set…

Chairs stacked up on Patong beach, Phuket
It was raining far away in the distance

… took a turn at Bangla road…

Bangla road, Phuket… and then finally went to JungCeylon mall to see if I could find a decent tripod.

JungCeylon is Phuket’s largest shopping mall (I believe South Thailand too). It houses a Carrefour, a Bayshore hotel (its not by the ‘bay’ or the ‘shore’ — trust me) and several other brands. It had two camera equipment stores too. After picking up some supllies on the cheap at Carrefour and looking around the mall, I bought a lightweight (though, better quality) tripod — a Slik F630 — for 1500 baht/Rs. 2000 (it was 1590 but I bargained) from .

Jungceylon Mall, Phuket
They had a lot of sporting goods on sale there
JungCeylon gaming arcade Phuket
The ‘arcade’ at JungCeylon, Phuket

On the way out, I watched a bit of the fountain show JungCeylon puts on every night before closing time.

JungCeylon fountain showJungCeylon fountain showJungCeylon fountain showIt’s no Bellagio but it’s still pretty good.

Patong street
Rat-U-Thit Road: Where Jungceylon is on and the area my hotel was located

I walked back to my room, read up on the new tripod, re-packed and set out with my gear in the hope of shooting some videos. I headed back to Patong Beach to check out the Phuket Carnival 2009 — and to savour the deep-fried sea food I had seen earlier.

Patong beach batter fried seafood
My ‘more-batter-than-prawns’ mini-dinner

As I had dinner, I could hear the sounds of thumping basslines in the distance and figured there was some open house party going on. I walked towards it as it grew louder and then walked faster as Daft Punk’s “One More Time” came on.

It was an open beach party as part of the Phuket Carnival 2009. I took a lot of HD videos — but since I haven’t figured out how to edit videos properly yet, please make do with a few screen grabs from those videos.

Phuket Carnival 2009
There were two DJs on set; the white dude played better tracks; the Thai dude’s mixing wasn’t all that great

Phuket Carnival 2009Phuket Carnival 2009Phuket Carnival 2009Phuket Carnival 2009Phuket Carnival 2009One moment I regret not capturing was when a young chubby flower girl came to me asking me if I wanted to buy a rose from her. Our interaction went exactly like this:

Flower girl: Hello! You want rose?

Me: How much?

Flower girl: 100 baht!

Me: 100 baht!? That’s too much. I’ll give you 20! (I wasn’t angry… it’s just that the music was loud & we had to shout)

Flower girl: OK! (with a big smile on her face)

Me: (hands over the money)

Flower girl: (gives me one rose)

Me: (gives back the rose and lets her know she can keep it)

Flower girl: (points to herself as if to say “For me?”) … smiles and says “Kob Khun Ka” (‘Thank you”) in the traditional Thai way (hands folded), says bye and hops away (she actually did hop)

Patong beach rose girl
All that I could capture of the girl selling roses as she hopped away

She was really adorable and I just felt like giving her some money. I really wished I had captured more of her because she running all over the place with a huge smile on her face trying to sell flowers. She seemed happy despite her plight.

Someone whose night turned from happy to sour a bit later was none other than mine. A few minutes after my interaction with the young girl, I noticed one of the knobs/screws used to adjust the tripod was missing. (“Oh crap” moment #6). I had moved from one spot to another in the 2 hours or so that I was at the beach party. I figured it would have fallen off when I carried the tripod around to take videos from different angles. I re-traced my steps and tried looking for it in the sand but in vain. It was hard trying to look for something so small at night with ever-changing stage lights and hundreds of feet reshaping the sand every second.

Disappointed and upset over yet another screw-up, I decided to call it a night and headed back to my room.

Patong beach at night
Lanterns on Thaweewong road
Patong beach sign
Patong beach pavement

I really wasn’t happy (with my bad luck) and now I pondered about what to do next. I wanted to leave for Ao Nang the next morning itself. But now I had to waste precious time (again) to go back to the store & see if I could get just that piece of the tripod.

I knew that wasn’t going to be easy.


Other posts in this series:

Getting ready for my trip

The day I left for Thailand

Day 1 – Suvarnabhumi, Pantip Plaza, Fotofile & MBK

Day 2 – Bridge over the River Kwai and Tiger Temple (Wat Pa Luangta Bua) in Kanchanaburi

Taking the bus to Chiang Mai from Bangkok

Day 3 – Maesa elephant camp, ‘long-neck’ tribe village near Chiang Mai

Day 3 (Part 2) – Chiang Mai Night Market

Day 4 – Doi Suthep, Chiang Mai… and back in town

Day 5 – Leaving Chiang Mai for Phuket

Day 6 – Leaving Phuket for Ao Nang by bus (via Phang Nga)

Day 7 – Touring Koh Phi Phi (Maya Bay, Monkey Island & Bamboo Island)

Day 7 (Part 2) – Exploring Railay, Krabi

Day 8 – Flying from Phuket to Bangkok

Day 8 (Part 2) – Chatuchak Weekend Market, Bangkok

Day 9 – MBK, Siam Paragon… and ‘little Arabia’?

Day 10 – Grand Palace and the Emerald Buddha

Day 10 – Wat Pho (the Temple of the Reclining Buddha) and finally leaving Thailand

Figures, lessons learned, and things I couldn’t do

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