Koh Phi Phi, Koh Lanta & Patong Beach Phuket, Thailand 2020.
- V.Gray
- Mar 10, 2022
- 7 min read
There are several kinds of ferries in Thailand, big multilevel ferries that go a bit further away from the mainland; fast boats sometimes one or two levels that zips between the islands; and jet boats that are used for day trips to the islands.
Since the waves were a bit rough on our ferry ride, and I was feeling the effects of the prior night; I decided to join the group of people who took percussion bags. Okay, fine, it was a barf bag, but hey at least I wasn't out on the back deck feeding the fish like a few other people. When we docked, we took a short walk off the pier and across the hot beach to our hotel. The room was nothing to rave about but it was close to the markets, and had its own beach and chairs (otherwise you have to pay to use the beach chairs). Koh Phi Phi is a big tourist spot for day trips and overnight stays, as a result it's pretty dirty; there's trash all over the beach, in the water, and on the island.
As we wandered through the streets that evening, taking in the sunset, we found lots of dive shops, a few bars, restaurants, and other local shops. We stopped in at a few dive shops until we found one that Ryan liked (I was not certified at the time). They offered diving, snorkelling, or you could just be a passenger on the boat. Ryan, being enthusiastic to get under the water, booked in for the next morning.
Photo Credit: V. Gray
The next morning we got up and met the dive instructor at the Barrakuda Dive Shop, got all the gear and headed to the boat.
They gave me a mask, snorkel and flippers for snorkelling, however I did not use them. There was no one else going snorkelling and no guide for me. I am not the strongest swimmer, and I had a slight fear of losing track of the boat (the boat moves from the entry point to the exit point). Instead I sat on the boat in the sun, took in the views of the islands, and read my book while Ryan did his two dives.
During both his dives (at Bidanock and Mushroom Rock) Ryan saw black tipped reef sharks, which he was really excited about. He had never seen sharks on a dive before.
Photo Credit: V.Gray
During the break in-between dives the boat anchored in the Maya Bay, where the movie "The Beach" with Leonardo Dicaprio was filmed. This area is now closed to tourists due to the extreme damage that tourist traffic has had on the coral reefs and beaches. They are working on rebuilding it, but this is a very slow process.
Photo Credit: V.Gray
After Ryan finished his morning dives we went back to the hotel, spending the afternoon on the beach. The sunshine was wonderful and relaxing, just what we needed before our ferry ride over to Koh Lanta the next morning.
The ferry ride to Koh Lanta was much more enjoyable, the waters were smoother. We actually spent most of the time on the open deck watching the islands pass by, it was absolutely beautiful.
We enjoyed Koh Lanta much more than Koh Phi Phi. The island itself was quieter, less tourists, and much cleaner. The beaches and water were clean, any garbage lying around was immediately picked up by the hotel personnel or shop owners.
Photo Credit: V.Gray
We took Koh Lanta as our down time. We would be meeting Ryan's cousin Katie in Phuket, then heading to Koh Tao for Katie and I to do our diving certifications.
We rented a scooter for one day, with the intention of doing a waterfall hike. When we arrived at the hike we found it closed due to the dry season (no water in the waterfall). We continued on and just toured around the island, we found elephants in a couple different places. After Krabi Town/ Ao Nang, we had both done some reading on elephant sanctuaries in Thailand. I was uncomfortable
Photo Credit: V.Gray with some of the information I had read and
online reviews regarding the treatment of the animals. Animals that were drugged so tourists could interact with them; were tied up; or were beaten. I am sure there are some good places out there, however we choose not to support these attractions. As we continued on throughout the island we found an abandoned resort, which was really cool to walk around and had some beautiful views. We could not find any information on the resort, but it was a really neat stop.
Photo Credit: V. Gray
Otherwise the rest of our time on Koh Lanta was spent on the beach with a couple of beverages and sunscreen. Our trip from Koh Lanta to Phuket took the better part of the day leaving in the morning.
Phuket, Patong Beach is a party hub for backpackers and tourists. Patong Beach has Bangla Road which is full of restaurant's, bars, night club's, strippers, and prostitution/ladyboys. It also has some high end resorts, spas, and restaurants; these are more on the pricier side. There are lots of tourist attractions offered, day trips out, parasailing, banana boat rides, etc. You will get hassled here.
Video Credit: Ryan C.
We arrived mid afternoon in Patong Beach, the day before Katie was due to land (flying over from Canada). We took it easy the rest of the afternoon, walked around and scouted out a few different places for tomorrow, and then hung out by the pool for the rest of the evening.
I will tell you right now Katie is a trooper, she made the flight and then came out with us that night. She isn’t much of a drinker, but she stayed out with us till around 1am. When Katie arrived we wandered down the boardwalk looking at the vendors, shops and some of the local attractions we may want to do the next day.
That’s when we ran into a surf bar, which had a flow rider inside (a wave simulator used for surfing on a constant wave). We found a seat, a cocktail, and watched. Some people were really good, some were taking lessons, and some were just pure entertainment - these ones were hilarious. I have tried a flow rider before, so I know how hard it is, and after a few drinks none of us were willing to try.
Something we had realised throughout our travels is that you do not necessarily have to stay at a Hostel to join the party. You could bar hop from Hostel to Hostel, which is a great way to meet people and the drinks tend to be cheaper. We started walking until we found LobD, a hostel that Ryan had stayed at a few years back. It had a pool and the party was going strong at 3:30 in the afternoon. We grabbed a few drinks, put our towels and backpacks at a table, and claimed a spot in the pool.
After a few hours of socialising and taking part in games, we packed up and headed back to our AirBnb. It was getting close to dinner time and we wanted to introduce Katie to authentic Thai food.
Photo Credit: Ryan C.
After dinner, we all felt pretty good and continued the night down Bangla Road. There was so much going on, you could hear the music thumping and the bars were busy. The first bar we went to was pretty quiet; no one was dancing, just hanging out at their tables. I can tell you at this point, I was thoroughly enjoying myself. Katie will tell you I started the dance party and convinced the other tables to get up. I do not remember this part of the night, but it must have been a good time.
Photo Credit: Ryan C.
We continued down the strip, checking out a few bars before settling into "The Tiger Bar”, for 600. baht ($22 CAD) which gave you entry and unlimited mixed drinks for the night. We ended up spending the rest of the night there.
As what usually happens when drinking we made all sorts of new friends (people from India and Europe). Ryan also made friends with the security guard. This was a good thing, because even though our table was right next to the dance floor, the security guard had to ask Ryan multiple times to use the dance floor for dancing (not the area around the tables).
Photo Credit: Katie D.
Katie ditched us somewhere around midnight/ 1 am, heading back to the AirBnB and catching up on some sleep. Some time after 2 am we headed back to the Air BnB, which turned into us hitting a few more bars along the strip on our way. Somewhere around 3 am we got a Grab bike (a taxi but instead of a car it’s a scooter) back. The driver had to keep stopping and asking Ryan to pick up his feet (he was wearing running shoes, and thankfully the driver was driving really slow), eventually dropping us at the bottom of our road to the AirBnB.
Photo Credit: Katie D.
As can be expected we all slept the next day, originally we thought we were going to go see the sights. That opinion changed pretty quickly with everyone being tired, so we grabbed some snacks and headed for a day on the beach, and an early night. We were taking a bus to the pier the next day to catch the ferry to Koh Tao, it was going to be a full day of travelling.
Next stop, Koh Tao! Cheers!
A map of Thailand and places we have travelled.
**Please note that all opinions and views expressed in this post are my own, from my own experiences. If you would like to see more pictures follow me on Instagram vikki.gray
This post is edited by E.Gray Editing. (https://www.egrayediting.com )**
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