We were joined by Janie & Rick, Karen, Julie & Jeff,
Bob & Phyllis, Diane & Rich & Joel. What a great group!
Mark of Phuket Sail Tours was always prompt and informative
with emails setting everything up.
We met the group at 6:45, but we didn’t get off the ship
until 7:15 or so. We were told to meet the driver across the street from the
pier at a hotel. It took a while to walk out of the pier, but we weren’t seeing
a hotel close by. We kept walking and asked a taxi where that hotel was and he
said it was the white one ahead. We all trooped out there and that was not the
name of the hotel. There are 2 ports in Phuket and the driver was waiting at
the other one. We were across the street from a hotel at a fire station and
many phone calls ensued to straighten out the mess. Many taxi drivers stopped
to see if they could take us somewhere, but we had to wait for the correct one
that that Mark set up. Eventually we got it worked out and made it to the
snorkel office where we were greeted with refreshments and freshly made
doughnuts.
sunrise from the balcony
walking to find our driver
the group waiting while we try to sort out where our driver was
we waited next to the fire station
break area for the fire station?
We actually didn’t lose too much time since the office was
really between both ports and either way it would have been over an hour drive,
but we lost a bit of time waiting for the taxi to come get us. We then headed
to the large speedboat (holds 20 and we were 12) and went on the hour long ride
out to Phi Phi Don Island. It was bumpy and was like riding a mechanical bull.
Yee haw! Beautiful weather and even more beautiful scenery took our minds off
the bumps. (well, maybe not…it was “ride ‘em cowboy!”)
walking down to our boat - Rich & Diane, Jeff & Julie
Joel behind me & Karen almost at the boat
Joel, Rick & Janie
and we're off!
Phyllis & guide
Bob
Janie & Rick
yee haw & ride 'em cowboy!
Our first stop was a beautiful beach with a cave that some
went into near Phi Phi Don. (The largest Phi Phi Island) The snorkeling was pretty good with lots of colorful clams and
pretty fish. It was mainly a beach stop so we didn’t expect much for the
snorkeling there, but it was good. Back on the boat there were tons of snacks
and refreshments including soft drinks, juices and beer and there was chicken
satay and lots of fruits and more doughnuts.
getting ready to snorkel
Greg handing Joel something, me, Jeff
The whole area was just gorgeous with huge tree covered rocks jutting out of the water high into the air. It reminded me a bit of Ha Long Bay in Viet Nam. (with the karsts that jut out of the water in beautiful formations.) The water was brilliant shades of blues and greens. We went around the rocks and into bays with beautiful vistas.
Back on the boat we went a short ways to snorkel off the boat
at Phi Phi Le. Here it was like snorkeling in a fish
bowl. They gave us bananas to feed the fish and they just swarmed us. They
bumped into us, swam into our masks and nibbled on us. There were also lots of
other fishes, corals and clams there. The most interesting thing Greg saw
(you’ll see it when after he edits the Go Pro video to post) was quite a few very
small Seahorses. He wasn’t sure what they were since they were stretched out
and not in seahorse shape, but they moved like them and were really small like
a worm. He asked Mark what they were and he said seahorses.
sea horses
Here is the video Greg shot here: Phi Phi Le Phuket Snorkel
On our way to lunch we passed the famous Viking Cave, once
inhabited by seafarers, fishermen and maybe even pirates. We can no longer go
inside the cave as it is now preserved for the bird’s nest collection industry,
but we can see the cave from outside. Bird’s nests are an age-old ingredient of
Chinese medicine and cuisine. The nests, made from the saliva of swallows, are
believed by many to increase longevity, promote beauty and help Dad to make
babies, if you know what I mean.
We then waded to shore from the boat to have lunch is at Phi
Phi restaurant at the quiet end of a white sand beach on the main Phi Phi Don
Island. We arrived and 2 large tables of food awaited us. OMG was the Thai food
yummy! There were 2 kinds of soup (coconut curry and green curry chicken). Main
dishes were massaman curry, green chicken curry, stir-fried mixed vegetables,
seafood cashew nut, chicken and cashew nuts, white rice, fried rice, French
fries and fried chicken with a sauce. It was a pity we left so much food. We
all said we wished we could bring it back on the ship.
Phi Phi Don beach
we rinsed the sand from our feet before going in the restaurant
the restaurant
massage anyone?
Then, a bit of token shopping to find a magnet and or Christmas ornament. The shop didn’t take USD, but Bob had some baht and we paid him back in USD.
did we take a wrong turn to Jamaica?
Back on the boat we went to a small beach where we hoped to see
monkeys, the crab eating macaques. The monkeys were not home today. The beach
was packed with people and we opted for longer snorkeling rather than beach
time with a crowd.
We stopped for photo ops of Maya Bay the beautiful location
of the movie "The Beach" with Leonardo DiCaprio.
Julie
We also went to a spot where they do cliff diving off the
rocks. It was a beautiful area, but no divers today.
Our last snorkel stop was off the boat at Phi Phi Viking Cave area.
This spot had a lot of interesting fish and coral as well. There was a family
of clown fish in an anemone that were quite captivating. Greg had clown fish in
our reef tank years ago when we lived in Florida.
Here is the video Greg shot here: Viking Cave Phi Phi Phuket Snorkel
these huts are for those that collect the bird's nests
relaxed after a great day
back on land
shuttle to the tour office
low tide
the tour office
It was an hour drive and it’s
always interesting to see the locals going about life and the countryside. We
made it back with about 45 minutes to spare. Some of us stopped to shop at the
stalls set up by the locals. I did find a very cute top for $8.00. I love
Thailand, I could live there!
from the van
shopping at the port
sail away at dusk
We showered and rinsed our snorkel stuff well since it’s out
last snorkel of the trip. It turned out to be a wonderful day despite our rocky
start. Again, I thank my patient tour mates for taking things in stride, understanding
that “sometimes ship happens”. Captain Mark treated us like friends and family
and made for a great relaxing day once we were on the boat.
We ate upstairs at the buffet since it was well past our
dinner time. Our waiter Tommy is from Thailand and his wife flew from the
Bangkok area to spend some time with him. I’m sure he will have a big smile on
his face tomorrow when we see him for lunch or dinner.
The evening entertainment was another performance by David
Crathorne. He is always entertaining, but we were tired and wanted to go
through photos of the past few days. I also was waiting for it to get late
enough in the morning to call Dad. He’s home from the hospital now and Scott
will be leaving tomorrow. Home health care is set to come in and continue some
home care.
We were rewarded today with a beautiful sunrise and an even more beautiful sunset!
Now for 3 much needed Sea Days before we reach Cochin,
India. I hope to get caught up on photos! Picasa has quit working again. I’m
looking into using Flikr and using that for the duration of the trip, if Picasa
doesn’t start working again. ARGH!!!
Still don't have the videos done of the snorkeling and that's where most of the snorkel shots are.
Jim & Jennifer, I hope you are having a great time on
your cruise! Say Hi to everyone for us. We miss you all…….
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