The Beaches of Phuket

Tiring of the constant noise and commotion of the very large cities of Thailand and Malaysia and not wanting to pack up and move any more, we decided to spend the last couple of weeks of our trip relaxing on the beaches of Thailand.  We checked out Rayong and Khanom and Koh Samui, but thought they'd be too difficult to get to from where we were in Penang, Malaysia.  We were wrong, and these may be destinations for our next trip.  The flight from Penang to Phuket was short and painless, and the view from the plane of the volcanic islands in the south of Thailand is breathtakingly beautiful.

Our daily exercise - 165 steps straight up!

We had finally settled on a studio apartment at the Phuket Island beach of Patong as we heard that was a popular hot spot.  Big mistake!  Although the condo was lovely and the rooftop infinity pool was a delight, the apartment building was a tough 165 steps up a very steep hill. Once we made the trek to the bottom of the hill the road to the beach was almost impossible to navigate on foot.

The amazing view from our infinity pool.

There were no sidewalks and the little bit of easement on the side of the extremely busy road was used to park cars and by crazy tourists on scooters trying to pass the buses, tuk-tuks, cars, carts, delivery trucks, etc.  Going for lunch became a life-threatening adventure.  We decided once we were down the hill to pick up refreshments and dinner before making our way back.  We really did not want to climb that hill twice in one day.  Patong is definitely for the young and stupid (adventurous?).  We only lasted 2 days before deciding to move on.

Fortunately, we were able to find a one bedroom condo in the quieter beach community of Rawai.  It is owned by a family from Kitchener so communication was easy and the driver he sent, Cha and his wife Oyl, were delightful and full of helpful information.  This apartment 'The Title' has two swimming pools and a beach across the street.  They also offer a shuttle to Nai Harn beach, which is one of the nicest beaches we've ever seen.  We would float in the water for hours, just letting the tide gently move us in and out, and then go for lunch at one of the many restaurants at the top of the beach.

View from our balcony - the pond with waterfall, one of the pools and the beach just beyond.

One of the many food options just outside our door.

Lazy days at the beach.

A typical beach restaurant.  They cook the food in their kitchen across the street, then dodge traffic to bring it to your table.

A rainbow of fish, yellow, blue, green, red, pink.

On one of our daily walks along the beach in Rawai we stumbled on the Gypsy Market, full of strange and colourful fish for sale, fruit, clothing and Thai pearls.  I was standing by one of the stalls waiting for Ken to catch up, (I swear that man meanders along checking out every little thing like a dog deciding where to leave its mark) when I felt something wet on my feet.  I looked down to see if some animal was peeing on me, then noticed that I was standing next to a big bin of clams.

Buckets of huge colourful lobsters - but where are the claws?

Little streams of water were dancing across the surface looking like the fountains at a Vegas hotel.  
The fish stalls were on one side of the lane and a row of restaurants on the other side. You could pick your fish and then take it across to the restaurant of your choice where they would prepare it for you.


We managed to get in a couple of tours while we were in Rawai.  The one to Phi Phi (pronounced peepee, not fifi) is sold everywhere, but I didn't really find it worthwhile.  We were crammed into a speed boat with about 100 others then taken over to a beautiful beach, but it was so crowded you could hardly walk. Ken enjoyed the snorkling, although I'm sure all he saw was other people's feet under the water.

Phi Phi - not my favorite day at the beach.

The best tour was our day long trip to James Bond Island.  It was featured in the movie 'The Man With the Golden Gun'.  Terrible movie - but fast forward to the part where Roger Moore weaves his plane between islands and then lands on a beach, and you're there.  Then just imagine it with a row of souvenir stands.

The cave where the evil dude has his lair.

Ken looking very James Bondish in front of James Bond Island.

For this trip we were on a smaller speedboat with only 20 people and an entertaining guide. The highlight of the day was when we pulled into a cove and were surrounded by Thai guides paddling rubber canoes.  They loaded us in pairs onto a canoe, and then took us for a trip underneath the islands into caves and grottos that seemed to go on forever.  We would have to lie down in the canoe to get under a stalactite, then would explode out into a sun-filled lagoon in the centre of the island, then wend our way through a narrow passage and back into another cave.  I'm glad our guide knew where we were going or we'd still be trying to find our way out.  It was an amazing adventure!

So long from Thailand.  We're back to the cold of Canada to plan for our next adventure.