We woke up early the next morning after a long night, only able to manage Pandan bread we bought the night before for breakfast in the arranged mini bus - for a day tour of the islands around. We went to Phi phi island, Maya bay, Monkey island, Viking's cave and many other attractions around. For a place so widely publicized for ecotourism and holidaying, the beaches and bays we visited were stunningly beautiful and seemingly untouched! Except for the waves of tourist visitors they receive, it would have been a gem if they were more secluded. It's pretty picturesque for landscape shots as well, with high cliffs on the sides.
Maya bay was the location where The Beach (1999) was filmed, which starred Leonardo DiCaprio (our guide was prompt to emphasize this point repeatedly). The bay had really soft sand, which was a refreshing change compared to Singapore public beaches. If you enter it on your own, you're required to pay a National Park entry fee of THB200, however this was included in the price of our booked day tour. The best time to visit Maya Bay is between November and April where the seas are calm.
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| Favourite group picture of the trip! |
We also made a pit stop at Khai island to chill around for 90 minutes (which was way too long in our opinion, felt a bit gimmicky) While the rest slumbered into siesta, YM and I went on our little adventure around the island and snapping shots. The tall rocks were really fun to climb to feast upon a panoramic view of the vicinity. While the rows of colourful umbrellas and beach chairs were a visual delight against the blue horizon of the sky, and perfect to go with a beer and possibly an afternoon siesta in the heat. The beach, however, was a disappointment because it was way too crowded and strewn with bone dry corals that were really painful to step on barefooted.
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| Beer drinking monkeys |
It seemed like there were a few designated areas where drivers of the speedboats moored for us to get into the waters, snorkel or canonball onself into the waters. The water here was pretty deep, but the coastal waters at Khai island were clearer and we enjoyed it more because the fishes were more visible to feed. Unfortunately, because the waters were really shallow near the beach, I got many deep cuts from the barnacles in the area which kept bleeding :(
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| Delvin's somersault into the water won us hands down hahaha |
Washed up and headed to the Phuket weekend night market, located along Chao Fa West Road opposite the temple Wat Naka. Chicken rice for dinner before Xiner and I walked around the non-food section while the guys went off in pursuit of more snacks. Caught a Tuk tuk to Phuket Town and roamed around.
That's all the pictures I have for Day 2, Ciao!
Phuket part III
