Friday 27th - Phuket to KL

Today was the start of our journey home. We had our last Thai breakfast (well - bacon, scrambled eggs and toast if you can call that Thai) by the pool and again headed into Patong the fill the last crevices in our suitcases. The job was only half done, but we were due to check out at 12:00 so we duly headed back. A final swim and a short extension meant we ended up checking out at 1:00 and Michele and James finished (well sort of) what they had started earlier that morning and we caught a 'deluxe' cab to Phuket Airport, about 45 minutes away.

It seemed a quiet day at the airport and we moved through very quickly, leaving time for a snack at Subway and a last Thai meal :(

Our seat allocation split us up, so thanks to the kind lady next to Steve and James who let Michele join us. Steve took the window for the first time in 8 flights. It was a bit of a bumpy ride, but the sunset was glorious and the lights of KL worth seeing.

We were looking forward to staying at the Federal hotel in KL for our last night. Unfortunately, this place didn't live up to expectations - you could almost call it a disaster! It took 25 minues to check in (including two room changes), the TV had great sound, but only the occasional picture and the toilet didn't flush, which was no doubt unrelated to the mould in that bathroom.

We headed downtown. It was Friday night and the place was busy, vibrant and noisy. A spot of shopping preceded a street meal and a beer, but unfortunately Malaysian food has nothing on the food in Thailand or Vietnam. Burnt, tough and greasy are a couple of adjectives that come to mind.

Michele found a few market stalls on the way home, and after some light hearted negotiations, a few more things were added to the boot. Street vendors always have a few fun items for sale and tonight's collection included a dancing giraffe and a character that blew bubbles from very interesting places.

We tried to find a bar to celebrate Michele's 50th Long Island Iced Tea for the trip, but were unsuccessful and headed to bed. I say bed, but not sleep, as the Hotel had the loudest disco (I think they call them nightclubs these days) in KL so sleep was out of the question. It's now 3:05 AM and both Michele and Steve are still awake, but I'll sign of and see if the music stops before dawn. I can feel a letter coming on...

Last breakfast in Thailand

And last time spent by the pool at 7Q

Michele loves airports

Flight #8 - 1 to go

Street cafe menu's can be disconcerting

Sort of sums up the food

Thursday 26th - Rock'n'roll and elephants

The weather was overcast early, but the sun came out mid morning - which meant time by the pool early in the day. Breakfast here is served by the pool, so its a nice way to start the day. Steve blogged a bit, but couldn't  get the elephants he had seen the day prior out of his mind. He was torn between wanting to ride one and feeling guilty about the fact that these guys should be roaming in the wild.

The desire to try something different eventually won out, and after more than a little coaxing, we jumped in a tuk tuk mid afternoon and headed to the elephant rides. It's strange how wherever we stayed, we would finally get transport negotiations right just before we left, It's strange quibbling over a couple of dollars in a taxi fare, knowing that the same thing back home would cost 3 or 4 times the price.

About 9 or 10 elephants were housed in what were generally less than satisfactory conditions. I'm not sure whether it was altruistic motives or sheer fear, but Michele bailed out and armed herself with the camera. James and Steve parted with 800 baht (about $25) each, climbed the wooden tower and then into the steel framed saddle, two abreast. These animals are taller that you think. It would be a 10 or 12 foot drop from head to ground once in the saddle. As soon as we were on, we wished we'd put on the brown corduroys that morning.

The driver was probably about 50, with not many teeth and the compulsory 3/4 smoked fag hanging from his mouth. He pulled away from the launching pad and the terror set in. We had read the sign that said no refunds once in the saddle and understood why.These animals are huge and take a step every 2 seconds or so, rolling about what seems like 2 or 3 feet from side to side in the process.

We headed up a steep hill, perilously close the powerlines draped below us on the side of the road. Beyond the powerlines was a steep drop, and our elephant seemed to constantly be flirting with the edge. After about 10 minutes or so, the driver alighted and left us perched alone. He re-lit his fag and motioned for James to replace him behind the elephants ears with no saddle. Chicken Jim declined, but Big Brave Steve jumped on board and held on for dear life.

Going down was a lot scarier than going up, so there were a few closed eyes along the way. We couldn't see the driver and hoped that he was with us. It turned out he was, nonchalantly walking behind, smoking his cigarette. Michele was there with the camera half way down and was able to catch the grimaces and anguish on film. We arrived back safely, tipped the drive on request and reflected on what we had just experienced.

We tuk tukked back into town and got dropped off outside the local Hard Rock Cafe. Why not - we popped in for an overpriced beer, cocktail and juice and left with a Hard Rock Cafe swizzle stick and about $25 less in the wallet. In fairness, the Long Island Iced Tea was of high quality according to our LIIT connoisseur, Michele.

Then it was off to a new market we had discovered for some serious bulk shopping and bargaining. We were now experts at the latter, and filled the back-pack (known on this trip as 'the boot' as in 'chuck it in the boot') to the brim. We stopped for a very decent feed and a couple of cocktails for our connoisseur and found a 99 baht cocktail bar shortly after.

The cocktail intake was having an effect by this time and it was approaching 7 PM, so we caught another tuk tuk home. It started pelting with hail as we alighted, and somehow Michele and James collided in the dash between the tuk tuk and the hotel door. Both were nursing injuries, Michele's so severe that she needed a little sleep (or was that the cocktails?) Anyway, I have finally caught up on blogging and it's 1AM and she hasn't woken since.....

tuk tukking again

This is what they look like from the outside

Less than satisfactory conditions

James went first

Hanging on for dear life

Let's go

Michele couldn't resist

Those powerlines were close

Not sue who is fatter - the elephant or Steve

James gets the hang of it - first smile was about 20 minutes in

The swizzle stick

Veggie red curry - the food is consistently good

The arm injury (to go with the hip and bum one)

Wednesday 25th - Back to Patong Beach

Check out time at Koran View was midday, so most of the morning was spent packing, with a bit of skype Rocky III and facebook chucked in. Amazingly, everything fitted in, but some gift buying was planned at Patong the next day, so the little room left was likely to be at a premium.

We were ready to go on time and our transfer van (complete with the biggest sub-woofers we had ever seen) crawled in true Thai style to 7Q in Patong. We had stayed there a week prior. It had a great pool, friendly staff  and nice food. Only one of two rooms were ready (they had lost a guest who was meant to check out) so James had a room quite a bit away for the night. We spent the afternoon having a bite and lazing by the pool, then headed into town.

There was a fair bit of Patong we hadn't explored so spent a few hours wandering, having a drink on the beach , having a bite and, of course cruising the markets. On the walk back we discovered takeaway cocktails in plastic cups for 89 baht (about $2.80) and couldn't resist. It was a beautiful night with a nice breeze, so it was back to the rooftop pool for a swim and a sit. Part of being hassled for almost three weeks to buy DVDs had resulted in a few purchases, so we watched a movie and prepared for our last full day in Thailand

Bye Karon View

Elephants spotted on the way to Patong - maybe tomorrow

OK - Michele does have the smallest suitcase

Hi 7Q

Catching the sea breeze

and the view

Hey - 89 baht takeaway cocktails

Sunday 29th - reflections

Tuesday 24th - Day 2 at Karon Beach

We had booked one more day at Karon, but in all honesty, despite the nice place this was a little too quiet for the Werners, so booked back at Patong the day after. We ummed and Ahhed about our return journey, obviously paying the price booking late for the flight back to KL. We initially intended to return to KL on the 28th and continue on to Melbourne, but settles on returning the day before, just in case connections were cancelled.

We spent the day wandering into Karon township by day. swimming and watching a movie or two (such a waste when you're away, but the first part of the trip was so busy, we needed to chill out for a while) Michele and Steve had an early drink by the lake in Karon, whilst James watched a Harry Potter film. We decided not to tell him about the snake on the road when we returned, as he seemed scared of everything from skinks and geckos to the local dogs. After Michele soaked up as much sun as possible, about 5PM we headed in to the Karon Market, which was for the locals as much as the tourists.

There was plenty of food on offer, and Steve tried some purple and green dumpling looking thigs for 5 baht each (about 15c) and they were delicious. In retrospect, he decided he should have tried far more street food than he did, biut you get so many wanrings about Asia belly, you tend to be a bit hestiant at first.

On our return, James and Steve did some bombs in the diving pool, much to the amusement of the local guests, but less so to the security guards. Michele was pooped after staying awake from Steve's snoring the night before and gave it a miss. I think this had more to do with her fear of deep water than anything else. We did some late night blogging and facebooking and hit the hay.

 The pools at Karon View

The kitchen at Karon View

and the lounge

Brekky by the pool

Happy toast at breakfast

Master bedromm on ensuite

A drink by the lake at Karon

Monday 23rd - Phi Phi back to Phulet and an almost teary goodbye

Michele, Sarah and Steve had their early morning coffee and doughnuts at our little place in the laneway at Phi Phi. James again slept until almost 10 (what is it with these teenagers!), but we all managed breakfast as soon as he rose. Most places in Asia have an 'egg man' who cooks your scrambled or fried eggs or an omelette. At Banyon, this was by the beach and very pleasant indeed.

We were due to catch the ferry back to Phuket at 2:30, so had time for a swim, a sit by the beach (James went Kayaking again and even Michele had a go), a bit of last minute shopping and packing our ever increasing loot into our suitcases. We walked our lot to the ferry at about 2:00 and were on board in no time. This ferry was a little more modern than the previous one, and the mob assembled on the bow for a couple of hours of sunbaking (except of course for Steve who found some shade in the cabin and tried to catch up on the blog, which was now almost a week behind). It takes about an hour to upload 10 photos or a 15 second video, so it continued to be a challenge!!

The weather was fine all the way back to Phuket and Steve's predictions of 5 future lobsters later turned out to be partly true.

Sarah & co were due to fly back to KL to complete an assignment due on the Wednesday at 9:30 , so went straight to Patong Beach on landing to catch up on supplies. Michele Steve and James had booked a two bedroom apartment at Karon Beach and were to check in and meet the S F & J in Patong at 6 PM for tea and goodbyes. Unfortunately, the van to Karon took an eternity and after reviewing our rather speccie apartment for 90 seconds and waiting for Michele to have a lightning shower, took at tuk tuk into Patong, arriving at about 6:20.

The 3 travellers had already ordered dinner, so Michele Steve & James joined them for a drink only, but 10 minutes later it was time for goodbyes. Michele held herself together reasonably well, but was silent for a couple of hours after, even though we knew we would see Sarah in 6 weeks time. We had hugs all round and a quick photo and they were gone.

We caught another tuk tuk back to Karon and wandered around the apartment in awe. This was more like  Gold Coast accommodation than Thailand, but the place, despite being beautiful, was strangely silent (we could only see one other group of guests) We missed a swim, but headed into Karon township for a look and some dinner. Found a nice place, ordered  dinner and the usual rounds and wandered through the local stalls. Karon is much smaller than Patong, more family oriented and no dancing girls. It also had significantly less shopping opportunities, so we were home by about 10:30, watched a movie and turned in. It seems Steve had a bit of a snoring problem, but he swears he didn't hear a thing - so it must be a myth.

On the ferry back to Phuket

A bit of local flora at Banyan

One last Kayak

and a bit of a relax

Sarah and her new toy

Food food and more food

James on the ferry back

Mother & Daughter

Last time together until July

Sunday 22nd - Birthdays and Maya Bay

Sunday was the first real sunny day at Phi Phi. We were up pretty early holiday time as John was turning 20. Sarah had gone to her usual extraordinary efforts in preparation, complete with candles, doughnuts and lollies. We woke the Birthday boy just before 9, had breakfast by the beach and assembled about 10 for a long boat ride to Maya Bay.

This is a beautiful secluded beach on the second largest of the Phi Phi islands (Phi Phi Leh) and featured in the movie The Beach. It was portrayed as a remote secluded place, so we looked forward to a quiet day on our own soaking up the beauty.

We negotiated a price for the long boat trip (1600 baht or about $50 for the 6 of us) and piled in. Long boats are the main form of water transport on the islands. They are all wooden, have rusty diesel engines, a long propeller out the back and a driver with a 3/4 smoked cigarette hanging out of his mouth that has always gone out.

We took our traditional places, Steve in the shade and everyone else sunbaking and putt putted off. The water was amazingly green, the breeze welcome and the scenery awe inspiring. It was about a half hour trip, with the only danger being riding the wake of the huge speedboats passing full of people who paid too much. The cliffs at Phi Phi Leh were towering and beautiful (see photos). The only sound was the chugging drone of the engine and the lapping of water against bow.

We rounded to corner about half way around the island and into Maya Bay. It seems many hundreds of people had also planned a quiet day on a secluded beach, as we discovered what was nearly a metropolis - dozens of speed boats, a few long boats, hundreds of people, about the same number of cameras and tour guides running everywhere. Many had loud hailers and were barking things like "Blue group leaves in 5 minutes" as they walked up and down the beach.

Maya Bay is part of a national park, so we had to pay 200 baht apiece for the privilege of landing, about as much as we had paid to get there. We disembarked with just under 2 hours up our sleeve to swim, sun bake (except for Steve) and explore. We realised just how inconsiderate some tourists are, as although the water was crystal clear, it was littered with cups, straws and the odd plastic bag. Still, it was a naturally beautiful place and one one the highlights of the trip.

It was a 10 minute walk (past the Tsunami assembly point) through a heavily vegetated area to a rear inlet. John & James took a dip there and we all took photos of the idyllic islands and longboats waiting for the return trip. A few more photos of 6 happy campers taking a dip and we headed back to the hotel. All we have now are memories and a few hundred photos of our 3 hour tour.

We had a very quick swim in the hotel's blue water on our return and  whiled away the afternoon wandering shopping and sorting through photos.

We assembled for dinner at the seafood place straight across from the resort. As it was a special occasion, Michele ordered a glass of white wine, something she had not had done since leaving Melbourne, Let's just say South African chardonnay no doubt transported in the sun and stored upright in the sun just doesn't cut the mustard. Luckily it was the $8 glass and not the $40 bottle.

Dinner was excellent, especially John's crab and Sarah and Michele's vegetarian green curry. But the night was young and there is a tradition in Thailand called buckets. These are buckets of cocktails, and the Sunday  night special at the fish n chip restaurant was 2 buckets for 500 baht - about $16 (about $160 worth in Melbourne) Mojito was poison of choice, accompanied by a couple of baskets of chips. The oldies left after the first two buckets and left the young ones to it.

Sarah and James appeared briefly justr after midnight, but everyone retired soon after and slept VERY soundly. Apologies for all the photos, but it was a very big day

The birthday plate

The View from Flick and Nohj's balcony

Mmm which one will we pick?

Another perfect island on the way to Maya Bay

The Werners at Maya Bay

Breakfast in a plastic bag - a local tradition

On the way to the bay

The rusted out diesel

5 sun bunnies up the front

Approaching PP Leh - just stunning

The blue waters of Maya Bay

Almost on the beach

A bit of frivolity

Mr Cool and his big sister

Mr Cools Mum cooling off

One of many Tsunami signs

The view out the back of Maya Bay

Heading home

Put your top back on! (It was :))

Back at Banyan Villas

Another Long island Tea

How you record the next night's accommodation when you don't have a printer

The one sip wine

Green vegetable curry

A bucket og Mojito

The second one

In her element

...and even more so. This counted as five!

Let's pop in and see Mum & Dad

 

Getting there