New Day New Place

Although Koh Phi Phi is amazing with it's endless array of tanning, clubbing, and meeting new people, some part of me couldn't wait to get away to a quite island. But of course before I did that I took an all day boat tour around the island and to some of the other islands around it just to make sure I wouldn't miss anything before I left. I joined a group of English girls I had met back in Phuket and we started our morning with a weird coleslaw sandwich and a fruit juice that tasted like cough medicine: 'breakfast' provided by the tour. Our boat was joined with 17 other people and after 30minutes of watching our motor fail to start, work and fail again, we were off. The first stop was at a coral reef not too far off from one of the southern part of Phi Phi, immediately you notice how clear the water is and you can see all of the fish swimming about even before you get into the water. Snorkeling there was definitely a whole other kind of experience, especially when people would throw bits of bread into the water next to you and all the fish would swarm around. After that we visited a few more swimming and snorkeling areas and even Maya Bay where The Beach was filmed. My favorite part of the tour was going to Monkey Beach, the monkeys are everywhere but you have to make sure to stay away from the big mamas because they are very scary. Besides them giving the little monkeys some food and water is absolutely delightful because they are so cute. At one point there was a girl who was feeding a baby monkey and he climbed on her head, the mom saw and started running at the girl, she was nearly bitten! I do think it takes some carelessness and stupidity to let yourself really get bitten though. While we were headed back we were able to slowly pass by some of the many towering limestone cliffs as the sun began to set. I was lucky enough to think to move from the back of the boat to the very front as the boat began to pick up speed to the pier. Everyone sitting in the main part of the boat were drenched with the spray from the ocean while I sat pretty and dry. When we reached land again I gathered my things and went off to meet a friend I had met the night before. Since most everyone I have met on this trip have been either German or English, of course my new friend David was a proper British boy. The next day David and I headed to Koh Lanta to relax and escape the chaos of Koh Phi Phi. Koh Lanta is a much bigger island compared to some and even though we didn't explore much of it, the feel of the island was quite sleepy. Eventually even the calm lull of the ocean wasn't enough to keep us there so we headed back to Phuket. This time I am staying in Old Town, which is all the way on the other side of Phuket from Patong. The area here is much less touristy and feels more like what everyday Thai local life would be. The Sino-Portugese architecture that dominates the streets coupled with modernized art studios adds a slightly quirky feeling to this town. Today we strolled around and discovered a cute second hand bookshop where I bought my second Game of Thrones book, wondered around a museum at the Thavorn Hotel, and took in the beauty of the Shrine of Serene Light. Tomorrow we get up early to fly to Singapore! I will be spending 5 days there until I fly back to Bangkok and David goes to Bali. Originally I was going to join him in Bali as well but it doesn't seem my budget can handle it... which just means I'll go some other time! Tonight will consist of packing our bags for the flight and me eating dinner at 7/11 again. Woohoo budgeting! Good thing I actually like toastys.