Days 34 and 35 - Ko Phi Phi/Ao Nang
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
My last morning on Ko Phi Phi I woke up late again and ran downstairs for breakfast and to swap the 'Pop Babylon' book which I had just finished for a new Twilight book. Then it was check-out at 11am, but my ferry ride wasn't until 3:30pm so I had time to kill.
I walked up the look-out at the top of Ko Phi Phi - in the humidity and the heat, this was a sweat-inducing walk, with the steps bringing back memories of Mt Kinabalu. The island was badly affected in the tsunami, and although the damage isn't evident, there is still much re-building going on on the island. There is also a tsunami village which provides a memorial and overview of the tsunami.
I filled in the next couple of hours with some time on the internet and reading - it is not uncommon for backpackers to sit down in a restaurant or bar for hours at a time, sipping on a drink and reading their books. As I was at the restaurant underneath our guesthouse, I bumped into Matthew and Ashley again when they returned to grab their gear. They had decided to leave Ko Phi Phi as well today, and we were on the same ferry. Well, I thought we were - I'd pre-booked my ticket back in Phuket and it said the departure time was 3pm, but I'd walked down to the pier earlier and all the boards said the departure time was 3:30pm, so I assumed it was 3:30 ....
Walking up to the pier, we were indeed all on the 3:30pm boat. It was only an hour and a half and did a first stop at Railay Beach, where Matthew and Ashley alighted. Although it didn't actually stop at a pier - the boat stopped in the middle of the ocean and the passengers had to hop onto a long tail boat, which took them the remainder of their journey. I continued on with only a few passengers to Ao Nang, where the boat did a very funky manoeuver to park next to another cruiser, and we made our way to the pier by climbing onto the adjacent boat and up an extremely steep piece of wood.
A free transfer to our accommodation was included in the ferry price, and I boarded a sangtheaw (kind of like a boxed in ute with seats at the back) to my hotel, Buri Tara. I'd found the hotel online at an amazing rate, considering it was a 4* hotel - I was paying almost exactly the same for it as I had for the dingy guesthouse in Ko Phi Phi. The room was amazing - even bigger than Le Meridien, especiall the bathroom - the towels were even folded into the shape of an elephant!
A free transfer to our accommodation was included in the ferry price, and I boarded a sangtheaw (kind of like a boxed in ute with seats at the back) to my hotel, Buri Tara. I'd found the hotel online at an amazing rate, considering it was a 4* hotel - I was paying almost exactly the same for it as I had for the dingy guesthouse in Ko Phi Phi. The room was amazing - even bigger than Le Meridien, especiall the bathroom - the towels were even folded into the shape of an elephant!
As the footy was on (c'mon Swans!), I flicked the TV on to watch it. However ... there was no Australia channel! So I quickly ran down to the main street of town to find a pub where I could watch it. I checked in every single pub or anything that had a TV in it, but I could not find anywhere to watch the footy. Every bar and restaurant in Phuket and Ko Phi Phi had been showing the AFL, of course Ao Nang doesn't!
As I was being picked up at the hotel at 8:30am, I woke early and headed down the main drag for breakfast first. The tour was to consist of several parts:
1. Long tail boat to James Bond Island
2. Canoeing around mangrove forest and limestone clifts
3. Lunch on a floating fishing village
4. Village to the 'Reclining Buddha'
5. Excursion to waterfall
Our small group was first taken by shuttle van to Phangnga (about an hour), where we boarded a long-tail boat to James Bond Island. That's not it's real name, but it's known as James Bond Island because it is where 'The Man With the Golden Gun' was filmed, and has thus become a real tourist attraction. It consists of a beautiful island in the middle of the ocean, with 'shell' beaches and large rock formations, and a small, uninhabitable piece of rock standing 40 metres in the air close by. Our tour guide presented herself as the official group photographer, so I have some amazing photos form here, pretending to be a Bond girl even!
Next up was canoeing. The canoeing started at a boat which was anchored in the middle of the ocean. Our longtail boat docked alongside it, and then we all jumped into a canoe, paddled by a Thai guide. Mine was really cool, he told me I was a VIP and I was Miss Australia, and kept stopped to take really picturesque photos. At one point we paddled into this tiny pool of water that was completely surrounded by rock - I had to lie flat in the boat in order for us to reach it. He pointed out ocean animals, shells, and funny rock formations as well.
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| What a view at the sporting courts of the school at the floating village |
Back onto dry land we headed to 'Monkey Cave'. After the experience at Monkey Bay neat Koh Phi Phi I wasn't too keen on seeing monkeys, but these ones seemed to be quite tame comparatively, just swinging through the trees and looking in rubbish bins for food. We were actually there to see a large reclining golden Buddha, which was about 20 metres or so in length. It had quite a history, having been visited by a King over 200 years ago, and each member of royalty that passed through had imprinted their visit on the surrounding cave wall. Being a Buddhist shrine, we all had to be 'properly' dressed - meaning closed shoes and no bare shoulders.
We had a final stop at a nearby waterfall (I just worked on my tan and read my book) and were then dropped back at our hotels. I was absolutely starving - it was a big day and a serving of vegetables at lunch hadn't satisfied my appetite! I treated myself to a Thai pancake to dull the ache and then, craving a salad sandwich, headed for Subway. I felt a bit guilty eating at a Western chain when the Thai restaurants were struggling, but I really didn't want a heavy, cooked meal.
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