Our time in Thailand is drawing to a close as we sit in a coffeeshop in Siam Square, Bangkok. Tomorrow morning we fly away onto Kathmandu where we will spend Christmas and join a small group tour.
Our past week or so has been spent exploring the beaten track of Bangkok and Southern Thai islands.
Phuket
We opted to stay in Karon beach on Phuket away from the madness of Patong beach. A wise choice. We hired a scooter for transportation and spent the next couple of days exploring the south of Phuket island, enjoying the wonderfully chilli soaked Thai food, wandering along the beaches, and dipping into the hotel pool.
Walking down the road, out of the corner of my eye I spied amongst a photo board in a tailor's window a familiar face. Lo and behold it was Nathan (Sarah's brother)! He'd been there a year earlier and shopped up large for custom made suits. The shop owner remembered him and his friends well.
Phi Phi Islands
The hype is true; the beaches are amazing, but you need to get away from the throngs of filthy tourists that flock to the islands every day. Having never seen the movie "The Beach", I didn't have any preconceived ideas of what Maya Bay should look like. I'm sure that if I had seen it, I would still have been wowed as the longtail boat entered the cove and I caught glimpse of the marvel. White sandy beaches and picture perfect vistas abound. Snorkelling amongst the tropical fish and furry purple starfishes was another highlight of the island.
Eating on the beaches of Koh Phi Phi Don would have been lovely, if the restaurants/bars were not catering to the tourist baht/dollar. We sought out where the locals ate and were rewarded with an "You like Thai hot, no tourist hot. You want 2 chilli or 3?" Glorious food and drinks for about 3GBP pp.
On a more sombre note, the isthmus that Phi Phi town resides on is wedged between two large hills. It's hard to imagine what it must have been like to be there about this time 6 years ago as the tsunami hit and people were caught unaware.
Phuket again
When booking places we stumbled upon a great deal on a 5 star resort in Northern Phuket. Luxurious and brand new at a fantastic price, but unfortunately for us it was isolated, tourist focused and boring. As great as the deal was, we've decided that we are not "resort people", but instead we prefer to get into the thick of things and local life. Needless to say we won't plan to stay at a resort again until we're ready to go somewhere and experience nothing of the culture.
Bangkok
Having been to Bangkok twice before on short stop overs my opinion was low. I was curious to see if 6 years and much travel experience had changed my view... thankfully it had. We've enjoyed a city of fewer than remembered smells and dirtiness. I guess my eyes are no longer fresh after being in several other big asian cities, and my stomach sturdier with the intense smells of Morroccan markets.
We've enjoyed the river more this time; riding the ferry all the way to the end of the line, eating, and wandering. We sought out a huge market where only locals seem to go. We were rewarded with no other white faces, stall upon stall of produce, and a very local experience.
After scammers tried to repeatedly tell us that the Grand Palace had closed for the day, we arrived at The Grand Palace to find it still open ;-) It's a wowey wowey place, full of gold and jewels. Wow.
Revisting Thailand has been good for me. I have come to appreciate the capital city of Bangkok as a vibrant Asian city, and have much enjoyed getting aquainted with the Islands. Thailand will go on the list of places for further exploration. Maybe the north next time?
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