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-   -   Truly Amazing Thailand: A trip to Phang Nga Bay & Phi Phi Islands (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travelogues/192000-truly-amazing-thailand-trip-phang-nga-bay-phi-phi-islands.html)

Background:
A successful trip will make you think about next trip. This happened to me several times and this time it was no exception. Me, wife and 6 year old son completed one week Dharmashala-Kullu-Manali trip in April 2017. We are very happy at the end of the trip and started thinking of next trip. Lakshadweep was on our list for quite some time and started planning. It was some time mid-June and I was about to freeze everything for a trip during Dashara school holidays. All of sudden home minister changed her mind and said next trip should be a foreign country.

Back to square one and research started all over again. After one week of thinking and discussions, agreed on South East Asia. Final short listed countries are Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. We have to select only one country, as we wanted a leisure vacation for 7 days. Finally Thailand wins the race and started detailed planning.


Trip Planning:
Ideal time to visit Thailand is October to December and I personally don’t prefer too much crowd. Hence planned to visit during middle of October, which also coincides with kid’s school Diwali vacations. Both me and wife applied for leave and started bookings of flights and hotels. All the flights and hotel bookings are done through www.makemytrip.com. By July end planning is complete, here is the brief plan:

Day-1: Reach Phuket and settle (Stay @Swissotel, Kamala beach, Phuket)
Day-2: Phang Nga Bay tour by speed or sail boat (Stay @Swissotel, Kamala beach, Phuket)
Day-3: Reach Phi Phi Island (Stay @Phi Phi Natural resort)
Day-4: Visit surrounding small islands (Stay @Phi Phi Natural resort)
Day-5: Return to Phuket by evening (Stay @Baan Laimai, Patong beach, Phuket)
Day-6: Visit nearby beaches or other interests (Stay @Baan Laimai, Patong beach, Phuket)
Day-7: Return to Bangalore (Stay @ sweet home)

We started our trip on 14/10/2017 and returned to Bangalore on 21/10/2017. We are glad that we executed our plan with 80% accuracy.


Preparation:
We are very poor in this aspect and this time also no exception, especially packing bags etc. All of sudden we had to make a visit to hometown (1000 km driven in 4 days) a week before our Thailand trip. This coupled with incessant rains in Bangalore made the office commuting very difficult in first two weeks of October. These two things have taken a toll on our preparations. However my son is always charged up for the trip. A day before the start of the trip we got a big jolt; kid is started showing cold & cough symptoms. We were very upset and cursing the last week trip to home town. We have prepared our self to face the challenge in coming days.

Purchased travel insurance from ICICI Lombard: Gold plan with sum insured of $1,00,000 per head (paid INR 2,171/- for all three).


Here is the teaser:


Stay tuned loads of pictures coming

Bring it on. We were in the same mood after the recent Valparai trip but decided it would be a foreign country for our next anniversary.

Your thread could determine if it would indeed be Thai's land :)

Day-1:
We arrived at Bangalore airport well in advance and completed the immigration formalities. Boarded Thai airways flight (Boeing 777-200) @00.30AM and landed after 4 hours flight in Bangkok @5.50AM (Thailand local time is ahead by 1.30 hrs). We had around 4 hours to kill before boarding a connecting flight to Phuket. First we went to immigration for entry stamping on our passports and then roamed around for 30 minutes.
We bought only USD currency with us, so exchanged $100 for 3,128THB (Thai currency, 1THB = ~2 INR). Also purchased a True Move H pre-paid sim card for 249 THB, which bundled with 2.5GB high speed 4G data with 8 days validity.

Bangkok Airport is very well designed, which needed minimum lighting during day time. Here is the view of domestic terminal


We started feeling hungry and searched for McDonald’s to have our breakfast. After spending some one hour, we headed for boarding the connecting flight. This time it was Airbus 330 aircraft, which is also on time. Finally @12.00PM we landed in Phuket and it started drizzling. Drizzle became downpour, by the time we came out of airport. We have hired a metered taxi to Swissotel Resort @Kamala beach for 700 THB. In less than one hour reached hotel and checked in without any issues. Rain subsided after 4 pm and I alone ventured out for a walk around.

Kamala beach is just 5 minutes walk from resort. I had a quick walk on the beach and then walked further down to take a look at Phuket Fantasea:The Ultimate Nighttime Cultural Theme Park. This place certainly looked interesting and collected some information about it and walked back to hotel.

Kamala beach


Entrance of Fantasea:The Ultimate Nighttime Cultural Theme Park


another beautiful view @ Fantasea


I was skeptical about Day-2 weather after seeing heavy downpour. After looking at weather forecast, decided to go ahead with Phang Nga bay tour. Enquired about Phang Nga bay tour at nearby travel agents and booked a speed boat tour for 7000 THB, which includes everything like transfers to and from hotel, lunch, drinks, entry tickets etc. We had light dinner at restaurant and hit the bed early.

Day-2:
Even though we hit the bed early last night, had very little or no sleep. Son had slight fever and gave him Crocin syrup before the sleep. I was worried about upcoming boat tour and keep checking his condition all the through the night. Luckily there was no recurrence of fever. I woke up from the bed at 6.30 AM and started packing for the day tour. By 8 AM we are in restaurant and finished quick 15 minutes breakfast. In no time we are in the lobby waiting for tour pick-up.

Swissotel Lobby


Toyota van came at 8.15AM and headed for pier. After one hour drive we reached and waited for another 30 minutes for remaining tour participants to join us.
It was around 9.45 AM and we are ready for boarding.


Headed to Phang Nga bay


Our first stop was a Lawa island where we spent some 45 minutes playing on the pristine beach.



Second stop was the famous James bond island, where the movie “The Man with the Golden Gun” was shot.
I read lot of bad reviews about this place being untidy and crowded. Fortunately we were first batch of people to arrive on that day, another reason could be yesterday’s cloud burst.
We spent good 40 minutes roaming around the island and clicking pictures.


It was still cloudy and sun has not come out of the clouds yet. My pictures are not doing justice for the beautiful surroundings.
Departed from James bond island


There were lot of beautiful hills around.





Our next activity is canoeing. After couple of minutes drive, we started spotting huge island mountains.
Suddenly we spotted many little canoe's and my kid is super exited.




This is the canoe station/ship from where we are about to launch our adventure.



My son with our tour guide


We are going to pass through this natural tunnel


Here is the floating coconut shop. He would do good business on a hot sunny day.


Another view of the natural tunnel


We spent good 30 minutes in canoeing and returned to the base station. We started feeling really hungry due to fruits only breakfast.
Our guide announced that next stop is indeed lunch @ Koh Panyee: The floating village.

In less than 20 minutes we spotted the village, which is really on stilts.



Chain of restaurants serving lunch (we had lunch @ third building with blue color roof from left)


Having lunch @ Panyee Restaurant. Again I had just fruits for lunch. There is hardly anything for vegetarians.


My kids shoes gone kaput and he want new ones immediately. So bought new ones in shopping center, which is attached to the restaurant.
We three in the backdrop of Koh Panyee


Our next stop is ice cream cave. This is how it looked when approaching.


It’s completely dark inside and we were given torch lights to explore the cave. True to it’s name, this is what we spotted


There are lots of bats in the cave and this is other end of cave.


A parting shot of the cave with flash



Tour experience is very good and they served unlimited water, fresh cut fruits and bottled juices on board. We reached back pier by 3.30 PM. We said bye bye to fellow tourists and arrived back at hotel by 4.30 PM. It was an amazing day tour and strongly recommend.

We ventured out around 5.30 PM from hotel and took a tuk- tuk (Auto in Thailand with 4 wheels) to Patong beach for 300 THB. We roamed on famous Bangla road for some time and had dinner at Navarang Mahal. They served good Indian food at reasonable price and most importantly my son liked it. Purchased ferry ticket to Phi Phi Island for all @900 THB including pick-up from hotel. We reached back hotel around 9.30PM and hit the bed immediately.

Day-3:
Woke up around 7AM and kid is feeling much better, which is a great relief for us. Quickly packed the bags and we are ready by 8AM. Had quick breakfast and waiting in the lobby for the pick-up van after hotel check out. Again pick-up is on time and headed for Rasada pier from where Phi Phi Island ferry operates.

We arrived at pier around 10.15 AM and boarding already started. Our Ferry is having three decks and we settled at 1 st level. It is quite spacious and have facilities like wash rooms, coffee/snacks shop.
Our ferry headed for Phi Phi Island at 11.00 AM.



Our ferry is approximately of this size and easily accommodates 350 people.


After one hour or so we were able to spot Phi Phi Islands.


It offered amazing views. Here are few pictures while approaching Island.







We spotted noticing many colorful boats/ferries.




Some more good views while approaching pier




Finally we arrived at Tonsai pier after two hours of exciting ferry ride.


By the time we got down the ferry, clock is ticking 1.10 PM and it was quite hot and humid. We hired a water taxi (nothing but long tail boat) for 1000 THB and left for Phi Phi Natural Resort, which is located at other extreme end. There no road taxi's in the Island as there are no motorable roads. Water taxi's are the only option for mobility.

The beach visible in this pic is called long beach, Initially I planned to stay here. Later I changed my mind and booked Phi Phi Natural resort.


It was low tide time when we arrived at the resort; hence boat will not come till the coast. So we have to step into water and walk few meters to reach the resort. No complaints about it, infact we enjoyed that experience. Water is crystal clear and no muddy at all.
We were welcomed in traditional style with cold face tissue and fresh juice. We completed check-in formalities and arrived at cottage in a tuk tuk. Resort is so big and our room located in middle of the resort but close to beach. Resort is awesome and maintenance is just impeccable. This is what we can see after less than a minute walk from cottage.


Here is our cottage


View of resort from cottage


Here is the pool, quite small for the resort of this size but we have complete privacy. Reason, only 7-8 cottages are occupied during our stay. So we hardly spotted anybody in that huge resort.


Here is the private beach


It was around 2.30PM by the time we settled in the cottage. We started feeling hungry so ventured out and settled for pizza and some French fries. We were initially little worried about stepping into water, as there is nobody around us. There are hardly any waves in the sea and it is almost like a lake. We played on the beach for an hour or so and stepped into pool. Son allowed us to head back room only after sun set. We relaxed in cottage for a while and stepped out for dinner.

This is what we saw in front of restaurant, beautiful way of displaying what they serve inside..

Day-4:
Woke up at 6.13 and immediately ventured out to watch sunrise. I am just 2 minutes late and this is what I spotted.


Very pleasant surroundings and beautiful beach: one should experience to believe this heavenly feeling. The one below is one of my all-time favorite pics


After spending one hour beach side, headed back room. After good breakfast we headed for private beach again.
Resort is neatly maintained and there are quite a few interesting things around the reception area (reception area in the background)


Kid enjoying the swing (it is quite humid by 10AM)


Few pics of surroundings



Amazing views from private beach



We spotted couple of colour fishes in the private beach; typically we found those in aquariums. I initially planned to take a boat tour of nearby islands, but son wanted to play in the pool. As per the information I gathered from locals, Maya beach and Mosquito Island are worth visiting but I don’t want to spoil his mood. We played for some time in beach and finally settled in pool.

We returned to the room around 2PM and I alone ventured out to explore surroundings.
Phi Phi Natural Resort from other end of the beach


Mosquito Island


Here are some more pics (notice the low tide)


This is the end point of beach


While returning to cottage, I have booked a long tail boat for Tomorrow's return @ 700 THB. I have also purchased mineral water and few soft drinks from nearby shop. It is quite economical compared to resort. Both resort and adjacent restaurants are over charging, almost double the price. Around 4PM we ventured out for late lunch cum snacks. We had some French fries and chicken nuggets. As a norm we got wet in the beach and then settled in the pool. We played till sunset and returned to cottage.

Around 7.30 PM we stepped out and had vegetarian pizza for dinner. We spent some one hour at restaurant enjoying the food and pleasant ambience. By 9 PM we crashed into bed.

Day-5:
Woke up around 7 AM and as usual after breakfast headed to private beach and played till 10AM. We packed the bags and planned to checkout around 12PM.

We are glad that there were no rains except the day we arrived. Except the limited food options (lunch/dinner) there are no complaints to extend our stay in Phi Phi Island. But we promised ourselves to comeback to Phii Phi in near future.

Resort people are very strict about check-out @11AM. So we checked @11.15AM and headed for Tonsai pier in long tail boat. Luckily our boat took different route than the one we arrived at resort.
Here are few pictures taken during return journey




We reached pier in some 30 minutes and spent sometime @ Italian Pizza corner. We boarded our return ferry to Phuket around 1.30 PM.
Maya bay in the back drop (Phi Phi island is just bang opposite).


We also enjoyed the return journey and reached Baan LaiMai resort @ Patong beach around 5PM. My son liked the hotel very much, especially the pool and open aquarium. There were few hundreds of fishes freely roaming in the open aquariums (if I can call them one).


We headed for Bangla road around 6 PM. We landed at Navarang Mahal again after two days. We enjoyed our dinner especially after two days of struggle with pizza’s.

Day-6:
We initially planned to visit nearby beaches but we ended up spending whole day in either Patong beach or swimming pool. Baan Laimai resort is located at perfect location and has huge swimming pool. In the evening we headed to Bangla road and did some shopping. We also visited Jungceylon shopping mall in search of a toy truck for kid. Which is really huge and has quite a few food joints. Booked a taxi for next day airport drop @700 THB at nearby travel agent on Bangla road. We finally settled at Indian Curry Club restaurant for dinner and returned to room around 11PM.

Day-7:
Finally time to say good bye to Phuket
We woke-up around 6AM and had very good breakfast. We didn't feel like playing in beach after seeing the beautiful Phi Phi beach. For some reason waves in the Patong beach are high on that day. Kid played in the pool till 10.30 AM. We checkout at 12 PM and went out for roaming around till 2 PM. This time taxi is late by 30 minutes and we have a flight take off @4.25PM. It was my mistake of not keeping enough buffer time and I paid the price. Finally taxi came at 2.35 and dropped us at airport @3.30PM. Luckily we were allowed to check-in. Flight take-off on time but landed at Bangkok 45 minutes late, but no worries as we have 3 hours to catch connecting Bangalore flight. Our connecting flight arrived in Bangalore on time and we reached sweet home safely.

Except last day taxi delay everything went smooth and safe. I really like Thai culture and people because they are very pleasant to interact with. Do we comeback to Thailand again, big YES from wife and son.
This concludes our maiden family foreign trip to "Amazing Thailand" clap:

Few points I missed earlier:
1. I did not notice a single flyover in Phuket, still traffic flow is smooth. There are hardly any vehicles with dents/scratches. In Bangalore it's opposite, difficult to find one with no dents/scratches.
2. All religiously follow traffic rules.
3. Never book tours/ferry's/taxi's online, one can bargain for a much better price with travel/tour agents.
4. Don't purchase mineral water in restaurants, they charge 2/3 times the actual cost.
5. For local site seeing and transfers cab's are pretty comfortable and punctual.
6. We spent 60K for flights and 23K for hotel bookings (out of this 11K for 2 days @ Phi Phi).
7. Yes, I need to clean my Nikon D5100 camera (images are having some blind spots due to dust particles inside).

Wonderfully narrated. Some beautiful pictures. You gave a virtual tour of the place. Keep traveling and sharing such wonderful and detailed blogs.

Nice photos, Thanks for sharing.

Hillsandrains,
Thankyou for the detailed writeup and interesting photographs. Infact, even I was thinking of taking the family to some foreign destination as holiday. Your post was timely.

Beautiful photographs and nice narration. Seems like you all had a lovely time. We were in Phuket around Oct 19 and in Phi-Phi on the 21st. Wonder if you were there at that time. Ours was a hasty, short trip 18-22 oct.

Here is a photo of Phi phi :

Thanks!
We arrived at Phi Phi on 16th and returned to Phuket on 18th October. We both were in Phuket during 19-20 Oct :)

That's a nice picture, I guess you have taken this picture @ long beach. We simply loved the Phi Phi beaches and determined to visit again in next couple of years.

Thanks for sharing your experience and the great pictures!.cpics:

I have been to Thailand twice, once with my better half and other time for business, but on both times did not get to venture farther than Bangkok and Pattaya. Although we did get to see a fair bit, I suppose the islands are where the real relaxing leisure Thailand lies.

The turquoise waters look amazing!. Planning my next trip - to Phuket and Khoi Phi Phi.:)

Cheerio!

Awesome Thread hillsnrains. This would help me very much in planning my trip next year. The pictures look amazing and i almost felt my excitement levels go up just at the thought of being there. Link's going straight to my home department for approval lol:.