Island life

After our adventures in Northern Thailand we landed in the southern town of Trang, from where we continued the journey to the first island of many, Koh Mook (or Ko Muk). Trang is a simple town with not much worth mentioning except a few fruit stalls packed to the rim with watermelons. The ride to the boat was an experience in itself. We traveled to the harbor in a minivan and at some point it got completely filled with stuff, so much so that we had a feeling it might fall on our heads if the ride is too bumpy. Felt strange to be carrying so much stufff, what were they smuggling...?

Well we safely made it to the harbor, where we found out they weren't smuggling anything, it was just one of many cargoes that get shipped to the island from the mainland. Things like vegetables, drinks, food items and even bicycles. On the boat ride we saw the first glimpses of the beautiful archipelago of Southern Thailand that we would be enjoying for the next two weeks.

In Ko Muk we had a very cosy room in a small accommodation of four rooms in total. The life on the island was very simple and peaceful. Along the main street a few restaurants and bars, many many tour agencies and the occasional laundry service. Overall a very quiet and relaxed atmosphere. In total we spent a week on the island after deciding to extend our stay for another two nights because of how much we liked it.

Most of our time we spent on Charlie beach on the western side of the island (our accommodation was on the eastern side) where we were transported on little tuktuks in 10 minutes (or around a 30 minute walk). Apart from the beach I (Peter) also went diving for the first time in my life... and I fell in love. Before the dive I was very excited but also a bit scared because of all the potential dangers that are involved with it. I had to fill out an extensive medical history survey beforehand and also watch an introductory video that highlighted many of the dangers, but also the fact that it's completely safe if instructions are followed.

There were two dives of 50 minutes each, with the highlights being surrounded by huge schools of fish, multiple underwater mermaid statues and swimming through a dimly lit underwater cave (where the instructors don't usually take first-timers). Safe to say, my appetite for diving has been awakened and now I'm waiting for the next opportunity to enroll myself on a diving license course (suggestions accepted :P).

The other trip we did was to the Emerald cave on the other side of the island. There is a small cave only accessible by boat that you need to swim through (with a flashlight because it's completely dark in the middle) that leads to a majestic little bay with a small beach surrounded by towering cliffs and greenery. We even saw a few monkeys. The cove in only accessible through the cave and it gets very very busy during the day, which is why we went early in the morning (and also avoided the park ranger fee hehe).

After our last day with a heavy heart we hopped on a ferry to Ko Lanta. It's a significantly bigger island with multiple beaches and much more infrastructure than the tiny island we came from. Since we only had one day on Lanta we made our way to the nearby Long Beach after a quick lunch. It was scorching hot out in the sun, and the only sliver of shade on the whole beach was a lone tree. Luckily the shade was unpopular amongst the beach-enjoyers and I managed to escape getting toasted under its shade. Still got a bit burnt in the few minutes out in the sun.

The evening and the following morning we spent on the patio of our cosy bungalow. It was a very nice accommodation and we would've gladly stayed another night, but at that point the schedule was already set. It was time to head to the famous Phi Phi islands.

Phi Phi was the exact opposite of the previous islands we had been to. As soon as we stepped off the boat we were struck by crowds and crowds of mostly young travelers (as opposed to families and retired couples before). It was packed with street stalls, restaurants (both large chains and local food stalls) and tattoo studios. So many tattoo studios. However due to the small size of the island there were no cars or motorbikes. People used two-wheeled push-trollies for transporting goods and luggage.

The first day we explored the crowded side of the island, browsed through some souvenir stalls and spent some time on a close-by beach. In the evening we paid a visit to a local beach club that we could see and hear from our hostel on the other side of the bay. It was actually so close we even had access to the hostel WiFi. There was obviously music and dancing but also a cool fire show consisting of various equipment followed by activities including the crowd such as fire-limbo and fire rope skipping.

On the second day we went on a small trek to the viewpoints on top of the nearby hills. The effort was definitely worth it for the views. And also worth it for improving our condition. Once it started raining we decided to head back and after a short rest we made our way to the eastern side of the island where the more picturesque beaches can be found. The trek was truly awesome, an adventure through the jungle, peeking into the hidden beaches here and there. We ended up on a small beach called the Viking beach and spent a few hours relaxing on the beach and swimming in the sea. The weather was glorious, the clouds nowhere to be found, longtail boats floating by the shore. When it was time to go back, we decided to walk in the sea because the tide was low. Not only was it faster but we also managed to spot crabs and a starfish.

We planned two days on Phi Phi, which was completely enough for us. The next and final Thai destination was another tourist favorite, Phuket. The first two days we spent in Phuket town which was less crowded than the beaches on the western side. We really appreciated the authenticity and calmness even though it was clearly a destination for tourists. We mostly explored the old town, found some temples, museums and statues. The highlight for us was a little bar with live music. The first evening there was a band playing classic oldies, including Pink Floyd, Gary Moore and the Blues Brothers. We had such a good time we went there the next evening to listen to a different band who were playing different kinds hits such as Whitney Houston, Bryan Adams and Queen.

The "beachy" part of Phuket didn't disappoint either. As expected, most of our time was spent relaxing on the beach. The first day we managed to spend a few hours of the afternoon on the beach after taking care of other duties such as checking in and eating lunch. The second day we dedicated completely to the beach. It was a day filled with bittersweet emotions as it was our last day in Thailand and our last day enjoying the island beach life for a long time. We made sure to enjoy it to the fullest.

The previous day we had found a lovely and slightly hidden restaurant that provided us with an excellent dinner (pad thai and basil rice). We were so happy with our experience we decided to frequent the same establishment for lunch and dinner again. To finish our Thai adventures we ordered our favorite juicy mango shake with a simple, authentic and delicious Pad thai. And with that it was time to say goodbye to Thailand... :(

The next morning we flew to Singapore as our final destination to head back home. More on that later... :)