Phi Phi Island Cruise

We had  booked a 7.15am pick up for the day cruise to Kho Phi Phi Island.
This meant a hearty breakfast yes bacon and eggs. The mini bus picked us up on time for the transfer to the port at Phuket City.
We had not been recommended this trip only that a big boat was more comfortable than a speed boat as the sea can have a bit of a swell which it did.
We arrived and were transferred onto the ship probably about 8:15 found some seats or rather some white plastic garden chairs after 10 minutes we realized why they were vacant was because they were in the sun. 45 minutes later when the boat departed we were already over sitting in the sun but the tarpaulin sunshade did not cover the whole deck area but was was positioned perfectly to stop any breeze cooling you off.
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Spent the next 1 1/2 hours watching the speed boats wizz past and trying to cover up under a sarong.

The trip was to take in "The Beach" made famous by Leonardo De Caprio Movie but due to the size of the vessel it could not get closer than about 500 m but you could not see much of the beach any way as it was full of the 10 min day trippers and their speed boats. Soon after we docked at Kho Phi Phi and as we had booked the snorkeling part of this trip we transferred to a smaller boat which took us of to a part of the harbour probably no more than 500 metres away.

 we had a bout 45 minutes of snorkeling which was quite good as it was the kids first real snorkeling despite the sea snake and Emily panicking a bit this went well.
Back to the big boat and then off to lunch which was at the Phi Phi Island Hotel which was more than adequate for lunch and was a lazy susan affair and about 10 dishes which were replenished several times.

We did not realize that Phi Phi Island was so developed but much would have been after the Tsunami as many shops and restaurants  appeared to be in newer buildings. With little time before departure we headed to the beach and a quick swim between the long tail boats and a mess around with some under water photos.

We got aback to the boat a found no seats left and realized that this was the reason for other people constantly wandering about on our outward journey. We found some space on the lower deck to sit in the floor but this area was pretty good as it was air conditioned.

Patong Saturday

The morning was spent having a buffet breakfast at the Salathai with the usual bacon and eggs, juice and cereal etc not by any means as big a spread as Club Med but perfectly adequate.

The first challenge was to organise activities for the next few days. I had seen some ads as we walked around on the previous evening for cheep boat trips to James Bond island and Koh Phi Phi island for around 700 Baht which was much less than the leaflets and research we had done earlier.
Money Changers
A quick note here. There are plenty around but they do tend to open up late around 10 am on wards and some not until 12:00. The rates are better than banks by about 6%.

I set of on my own to find out more.
I found a very nice helpful local lady running a little kiosk at the end of the street
49 Soi Loma Taweewong  Rd she gave me some prices for the trip to James Bond Island with Kayaking etc. 850Baht / adult and 550 Baht for Kids that about $27 and $17 each. This is about a 40% discount
This means an early start with a pick up at 8:15am we booked and then headed of to the local beach.

Patong beach is very disappointing especially with the tide in.
We search for the red and yellow safe area flags which are not too far away.
We hire a couple of lounges and umbrellas.

It not until you look around and notice all the rubbish the packing case lid up turned with nails poking out and a raft of rubbish in the surf as it floats back and forth with the current along the beach.
It appear the red and yellow flags stay put and the rips come and go. On this day the rip was right there bang in the middle.
I had gone out for a bit of a cool down and started to go a bit deeper in order to get past the breaking waves that when I notices the rip trying to take me out so with some urgency but no panic headed straight back in to tell the kids don't go past waist deep.

Lunch was a budget affair and Mum went off to find some street food acceptable to the kids more than anybody. She returned with some very acceptable chicken rice and some Chinese style noodles.


As the tide retreats the beach does get better but after 2 or 3 hours it was back to the very nice hotel pool a shower and a siesta.

We headed out in the evening to find a restaurant called The Irish Times Pub

We found it quite easily despite poor directions once in the Jung Ceylon Shopping complex. We were met by a rather nice young lady at the door who I hoped would be joining us for dinner but alas no such luck.

The kids loved their fish and chips prompting our six year old to let the waitress know how good it was.