South Thailand Islands - Ko Phi Phi Don, Thailand
Ko Phi Phi Don, Thailand
So the first island was koh phangan for the full moon party. Flight arrived fine and we had accommodation booked for our time here. Caught up on sleep on the first night and then we had another night before the full moon party. There was a jungle party in the middle of the island that we went too. Completely in the jungle, with just a cleared area to create a party. Really cool experience and setting and met some people from our hotel who we then joined up with the next day. The water festival was still going on so during the day on route to the beach, it's just a massive water fight in the streets! You can't avoid it so best to embrace it! When we got to the beach we got a jet ski for a blast around which was great then just relaxed before the night. The full moon party is on the beach, bars and stalls full of booze and up to 30,000 people! Quite a big beach party! Everyone gets painted up in uv paint and heads to the beach. There was 7 in our group, 4 girls and 3 boys. As expected, the boys lost the girls within half an hour! No surprise with so many people. Then after about an hour I lost the other 2 guys whilst chatting to people so I had new friends! That's how the night continued and I bumped into someone we met in Laos so stayed with them! Never saw my group again until the following day! A crazy party and atmosphere, just to easy to get detached due to the scale of it! Rocked home at 6.30am and had a complete chill out day which was needed. We had a relaxed evening with the people we'd met and got some food and a drink at the beach before we were all departing the following morning. Next island, koh Tao. This is famous for it's scuba diving, we only planned a couple nights here, a really small island. Arrived in the afternoon and hit the beach and booked scuba diving for the following day. The dive master gave us permission to drink, but not too much so I thought it'd be rude not to! Met some Canadian girls at our place and spent the night drinking with them and watching a fire show at a beach bar! They offer free shots for people doing the limbo under a rope on fire! So of course a lot of people went for it! A really fun night at the beach. Then scuba diving in the morning, we got taught the basics and then took two dives. Couldn't figure out breathing and very basics to begin with but once I got the hang of it I was fine! Two dives down to 12m depth, great experience to be down underwater swimming around the fish and coral. Saw lots of different fish but unfortunately nothing else, which was unfortunate but had such a good time doing it! All knackered out we had a really chilled evening on the beach with the Canadians and then departed in the morning for the next island, koh samui. This is the biggest island and probably most touristy and westernised. We did a trip to ang thong national marine park, a cluster of 40 islands off the coast, similar to a mini ha long bay. Great scenery and views, we did some kayaking around and alex snorkelled whilst I took a long trek up a mountain to a view point. It was over 500m to trek, extremely steep and unbelievably tough work. Haven't really been keeping on top of my fitness out here.... Quite a dangerous trek stepping and climbing up the rocks which was guided by a rope. And then about 50m from the top it turned into sharp mountain rock without trees etc, even more dangerous and you think to yourself 'what the hell am I doing', especially as there is only one way down too! After about half an hour I got to the top and was sweating more than id ever done so in my life, didn't expect the trek to be so demanding! But I was rewarded with a really stunning view which made it all worthwhile. Looking out over the sea and islands was stunning. Then the downhill part... Very scary to begin with until I hit the point with trees etc, but still a huge workout, got to the bottom and I was in bits! Relaxed for a while then visited a lagoon on one of the islands which was also an amazing setting. But I wasn't enjoying the ridiculously steep stairs to reach out after such a workout! Returned home and had a rest, got chatting to two English guys in our room who were basically on or route, just the opposite way around. Got plenty of tips and advice from them and had a night out on the beers and buckets together. A beach day followed and we departed early the next morning to meet two of the Canadian girls from koh Tao, in koh phi phi, another tiny island, and spend a day with them. So we got to phi phi in the evening, and immediately it's different to anywhere, as there are no motor vehicles allowed on the island! Makes it quite unique and dodging cyclists is something to be aware of!! A chap meets you off the pier, puts your luggage into a trolley style wagon thing that he then pushes along! Good job as we were up a hill! Met up with the Canadians and then went for drinks in the bars then down to the beach bars where everyone finishes the night! Packed everywhere, great atmosphere too! Far far too much to drink, rather groggy when I woke up let's say! Then we booked a boat tour for the day to see some sights. Firstly monkey island, a small area of an island off phi phi with trees where dozens of monkeys live! Lots of people gather there feeding them and giving them drinks! Although they can be quite aggressive it was awesome to see them eating and drinking as we do! Next up we did some snorkelling around in the sea, really bright fish and things to see where we were which was so cool. Then we went to maya bay, which was the setting of the film 'the beach' that Leonardo dicaprio was in. Absolutely stunning view out on to the ocean, just a shame there was so many people and boats, but I guess it's something everyone wants to see! And finally we sat in our long boat in the ocean and watched the sun set, not a bad day all in all! As I expected the scenery lived up to what everyone had told us about phi phi and the surroundings! An early night was earned, I was zonked! Got up in the morning and took a trek up to a viewpoint on phi phi island, which you will see from the pictures is just incredible. Looking out onto paradise, absolutely awesome. For just 40p, it was well worth the 15 minute stair climb and opportunity to see. This was the last thing in phi phi, but what a view to keep in mind. We then got a ferry to Phuket, known to be a bit of a dive but a good party town and this is our last stop in Thailand before Malaysia! Arrived, got some dinner from the good markets, really tasty and so cheap, makes me really hate western prices now! Took a guy out from our dorm room, and met two guys we've met before as well. Then we headed to a 'ping pong' show! This was a real shock! Let's just say there are certain things that should never be associated with women's genitals that was used for displays and fun tricks... Very odd and shocking but something that had to be seen! Phuket nightlife was crazy, just like a European holiday resort that young Brits go to, with an unbelievable amount of Thai dancers and working girls at the bars also, very different from what we are use to! The following day was our final day in Thailand, didn't really do much other than a wonder and eat, then had my final massage in the evening before getting a flight to Kuala Lumpur in the morning! Great experience visiting Thailand and the other countries, I'll be coming back for sure at some point to explore more as there is so much to see and do, you could spend months on end seeing all the sights.