I have heard a lot about the good times people have had over the years in Thailand and wanted to experience it first hand. After a lot of planning and rescheduling we finally decided to go and booked our tickets. Booking our flights from Mum to BKK through Air India was probably the biggest and the only mistake we made during our trip. Due to some internal clashes between the Aviation ministry and the employees over payments all Air India flight got canceled and I was stranded at the airport. Eventually, all the passengers got tickets for Thai airways and we reached Bangkok at 830 AM (BKK time). I had missed my connecting flight to Phuket from Bangkok, thanks to Air India. So, I had to book/reschedule my Air Asia flight from Bangkok to Phuket to 130 in the afternoon. I met Shyam at the Phuket airport and had made another friend, Shane, at the Phuket airport.
In order to save on the fare (600 Baht),the 3 of us decided to share a cab from the airport to Leelawadee Boutique Hotel. Early morning showers in Phuket had brought down the temperature and the cloud cover and strong winds made a perfect weather for us to enjoy. We hired a couple of bikes and decided to go to Karon beach for a swim. The beach is quite far from the hotel. It took us half an hour to reach the beach. On our way we crossed the Karon Beach view point which offers the most amazing view of the entire Phuket city and the coast line. We hurried towards the beach so as to reach there before sunset. The clear water and pristine surroundings made for a brilliant spectacle. Our efforts to ride the wave were shortened by the frequency and the force with which the waves were hitting the shore. We decided to enjoy a chilled beer on our way back. This was the first time I tried a San Miguel and got addicted to it for the next 4 days.:)
Shane, being a regular at the night clubs in Thailand decided to take us around. We reached Bangla road, the most notorious place in Phuket. Bangla road is famous for Go Go Bars, where beautiful Thai girls dance on top of bars and are more than keen to have a good time with you.
We went to a pub called Margaritas, which is popular for the live rock show. The band did cover of most of the popular Rock songs from GNR, Mettalica etc.For some reason we ordered pitchers of Jack Daniels and had a tough time finishing our drinks.
After roaming around for a while we reached one of the Go Go Bars, sat down around the bar and enjoyed a few drinks.
The next day was probably the most exciting day of the entire trip, for me. We went to the Phi Phi islands. The late night party and the travel from Mumbai to Phuket made the early morning travel plan to Phi Phi a little painful. Shane, due to some reason decided to stay back at the hotel :). We reached the port and boarded the speed boat. The speed boat had a front and a rear section. The front part takes a lot of hit and goes up and down as the boat hits the seas. It goes 'rock n roll', as the locals would put it. We were somehow brave enough to take seats in the front. The ride from the port to the Maya Bay was exhilarating.
Maya Bay, a U shaped bay with mountains surrounding the clear blue waters was a place that I had never imagined. None of my pictures could do any justice to the beauty that I had witnessed. The small beach at Maya Bay was teeming with tourists. The blend of colors from the sky, ocean, mountains and the tourists painted a perfect picture.After a small halt at Maya Bay, we set sail. We saw a few more similar looking bay's on the way and reached for the Monkey Beach for the next halt. This was just a small beach known for presence of monkeys on the beach - an attraction for few tourists but certainly something funny for Indians. We decided to stay back in the boat and 'mingled' with the other tourists on the boat. These set of islands and bays are part of the Phi Phi Leh islands.
We decided to stop in the middle of nowhere and were asked to step down with our life jackets for snorkeling. This was probably the most scary part of the while experience. After clinging on to the edge of the boat for a while, I managed to venture into the ocean and explore the flora and fauna. The equipment used for snorkeling worked after a few attempts. The variety in size and color of fishes offered the most amazing breathtaking view and an experience which I will remember forever. A trip to Phi Phi islands is incomplete without the snorkeling experience.
A little tired after the snorkeling experience, we visited the Phi Phi Don islands, spending a little over half an hour we left again to a secluded island for a lunch buffet. The lunch was not really very appetizing but everybody was really hungry and hogged on whatever was available.
It was time for another round of snorkeling, this time at a beach.We had over an hour to ourselves to play around in the water and experience the flora from close quarters for the last time. A beer at the beach was much needed after a hard days work and brought an end to an eventful sojourn.
Back at the hotel, Shane also had a few exciting experiences to share with us. The trip in the speed boat had taken a toll on the back and it was time for a traditional Thai massage. The back massage was very soothing but didn't really ease the pain. Sea food at a local Thai restaurant (more of a Dhaba) was ordinary, if anything else. A few games of bowling and we were ready for a night out at Bangla Road. The discotheques were quite good - cheap drinks, beautiful Thai girls and good music is all we asked for..:)
Back at the hotel at 430 AM, sloshed and tired from the previous days trip, we had to catch a flight back to Bangkok at 630 AM. Sleeping through this journey, we reached Bangkok and took a bus to Pattaya (127 Baht/person cheaper than a 1300 Baht Taxi). After looking for a cheap hotel room, we decided to live comfortably and not compromise for a few bucks. We took a room at Lek Hotel near Beach Road, Pattaya. Pattaya turned out to be a cheap version of Phuket with a lot of night clubs, strip clubs and Go Go Bars at the Walking street. After a few drinks in the night around all the pubs and clubs we decided to head back to our room and relax. We woke up next day to the breaking news of the decade. A ride to the view point to catch a bird eyes view of the Pattaya city was worth the effort. Lack of time and money forced us back to our hotel and the Thai experience came to an end. Two surprises of the trip - First, people in Thailand dont honk at all. No matter how bad the traffic is people dont honk. A lesson for us to learn. Second, you need to pay in restaurants and pubs to use the restroom. A lesson Thai's should learn from India, we pee anywhere and everywhere...:)
In order to save on the fare (600 Baht),the 3 of us decided to share a cab from the airport to Leelawadee Boutique Hotel. Early morning showers in Phuket had brought down the temperature and the cloud cover and strong winds made a perfect weather for us to enjoy. We hired a couple of bikes and decided to go to Karon beach for a swim. The beach is quite far from the hotel. It took us half an hour to reach the beach. On our way we crossed the Karon Beach view point which offers the most amazing view of the entire Phuket city and the coast line. We hurried towards the beach so as to reach there before sunset. The clear water and pristine surroundings made for a brilliant spectacle. Our efforts to ride the wave were shortened by the frequency and the force with which the waves were hitting the shore. We decided to enjoy a chilled beer on our way back. This was the first time I tried a San Miguel and got addicted to it for the next 4 days.:)
After roaming around for a while we reached one of the Go Go Bars, sat down around the bar and enjoyed a few drinks.
The next day was probably the most exciting day of the entire trip, for me. We went to the Phi Phi islands. The late night party and the travel from Mumbai to Phuket made the early morning travel plan to Phi Phi a little painful. Shane, due to some reason decided to stay back at the hotel :). We reached the port and boarded the speed boat. The speed boat had a front and a rear section. The front part takes a lot of hit and goes up and down as the boat hits the seas. It goes 'rock n roll', as the locals would put it. We were somehow brave enough to take seats in the front. The ride from the port to the Maya Bay was exhilarating.
A little tired after the snorkeling experience, we visited the Phi Phi Don islands, spending a little over half an hour we left again to a secluded island for a lunch buffet. The lunch was not really very appetizing but everybody was really hungry and hogged on whatever was available.
It was time for another round of snorkeling, this time at a beach.We had over an hour to ourselves to play around in the water and experience the flora from close quarters for the last time. A beer at the beach was much needed after a hard days work and brought an end to an eventful sojourn.
Back at the hotel, Shane also had a few exciting experiences to share with us. The trip in the speed boat had taken a toll on the back and it was time for a traditional Thai massage. The back massage was very soothing but didn't really ease the pain. Sea food at a local Thai restaurant (more of a Dhaba) was ordinary, if anything else. A few games of bowling and we were ready for a night out at Bangla Road. The discotheques were quite good - cheap drinks, beautiful Thai girls and good music is all we asked for..:)
Back at the hotel at 430 AM, sloshed and tired from the previous days trip, we had to catch a flight back to Bangkok at 630 AM. Sleeping through this journey, we reached Bangkok and took a bus to Pattaya (127 Baht/person cheaper than a 1300 Baht Taxi). After looking for a cheap hotel room, we decided to live comfortably and not compromise for a few bucks. We took a room at Lek Hotel near Beach Road, Pattaya. Pattaya turned out to be a cheap version of Phuket with a lot of night clubs, strip clubs and Go Go Bars at the Walking street. After a few drinks in the night around all the pubs and clubs we decided to head back to our room and relax. We woke up next day to the breaking news of the decade. A ride to the view point to catch a bird eyes view of the Pattaya city was worth the effort. Lack of time and money forced us back to our hotel and the Thai experience came to an end. Two surprises of the trip - First, people in Thailand dont honk at all. No matter how bad the traffic is people dont honk. A lesson for us to learn. Second, you need to pay in restaurants and pubs to use the restroom. A lesson Thai's should learn from India, we pee anywhere and everywhere...:)
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