Hello readers! Our second day at Phuket and we started our day as early as 6.30am! We went to have our breakfast at clubhouse first before heading to the lobby for our pickup at 7.30am to depart to the Pier for our Phi Phi island tour.
They have a decent spread of food for breakfast but what i love the most and looking forward every morning is their ala carte menu breakfast. i ordered this egg benedict and this is so good!
After our hearty breakfast, the buggy service drop us at the lobby, just in time when the driver has reached to pick us. We passed him the receipt slip and board the van, ready to depart to the pier!
Upon arrival, we was given a orange sticker to differentiate us from the different group of tourists arriving at the waiting area. At the waiting area, we paid for our national park fee first, there were some light refreshment for tourists to consume while waiting, but we were so full from our breakfast. Haha, we reached there around 8plus in the morning, but we waited until it was close to 9.30am as many other tourists started to gather in the same waiting area before the staff conduct a safety briefing. The briefing were conducted in two languages, english and chinese.
Taking a selfie while waiting for further instructions from the guide, i bought a new swimsuit and change it while waiting, i would recommend to put on your swimwear/trunks before going out to the sea because the toilet in the boat seems to be very small to change out.
Some basic items to pack for island tour such as a waterproof bag, towels, sungglasses, swimming goggles, mineral water.
We were ready to depart from the pier! Phi Phi island tour have several stopover, from the pier, it was an hour journey to Phi Phi area, the weather started out as gloomy and was drizzling as we depart from the pier, but as we left the pier and moving towards Phi Phi island, the big sun is out!
A wefie while the boat is on the move~
Our first stop was Phi Phi Ley island, before we went down for our first snorkeling session. You can decide if you want to put on a life jacket, and both of us decided to put on one just for safety because even though i can swim, but i am not a good swimmer. The waves were pretty big and Jeremy went down first before it's my turn. I didn't really know how to snorkel, so the first time when i went down into the sea, i thought i was suffocating because i didn't know how to breathe using my mouth, and had a few gulps of the saltwater.
Fortunately, i was wearing a life jacket because the waves was pretty strong and was pushing me away as i tried to go near to Jeremy, it was the staff who assist me and encourage me to go under the water to spot those beautiful fishes. Eventually the staff passed me a float so i can hold while putting my face under the sea and first time i could open my eyes under the water and look at nemo fish!
We passed by a cave where we could see some baby monkey hanging around, but we didn't really go near them as they told us these monkeys can get aggressive so we only look at them from a safe distance before moving on for our lunch at Phi Phi Don.
We stop at Phi Phi Don for our lunch and we have some time for sightseeing nearby. Though we generally stay around this beach.
After boarding back the boat, the guide brought us for more sightseeing at Pileh Cove lagoon, popular for swimming as there are lesser waves here and we had our second attempt to snorkel in this area.This time round, i asked Jeremy beforehand the proper way to use the snorkeling mask and how to breathe using the mouth while putting the mask.
Second attempt to snorkel was a success, it wasn't that scary anymore putting on the snorkel mask to go under the sea and taking a clearer look at the colorful fishes, this time round they were very near, literally just in front my face and i was able to breathe through the mouth instead of the nose. (Though i had to spit out the salty water when it gets into my mouth).
As Maya bay is closed for repairs, our next brief stopover was at Viking cake, the guide was explaining that the cave was used previously for hunting/harvesting bird nest, but they are closed now and doesn't allow any entry to the tourists anymore.
Next, we went to our last stopover, Khai island before we return back to the Pier.There were many jet ski on standby, i love the beach, but i don't like the sun that will barbecue me.
At this beach, the prices of the food/drinks has been marked up, for eg, a 50baht coconut will cost 150 baht here, icecream that cost 50 baht will cost 120 baht here. If you like to sit in the shade, it will cost 100 baht, so eventually we bought a coconut just to hide inside the shade. Despite us trying to stay away from the sun under the long hours, we were sun-burnt, so just imagine if i didn't stay away, i will be black. HAHA
By the time we are at this stopover, both of us were pretty tired already, so we were waiting for the time to pass before gathering back at the speedboat.
We try to take some photos under the sun, all photos is taken using my S9 and i love the selfie-focus function.
I guess i make the right decision not to dye my hair first before visiting Phuket because it got pretty frizzy and damaged after soaking in the big sea of salty seawater!
Most of the time, expectations and reality are really different. No way will you look like this after your water sport activities. Hahaha. Posing is also a challenge, the sun is too glaring and it's a huge challenge trying to open up your eyes.
Finally Jeremy was able to take a decent OOTD for me! Hahaha, he takes bad picture but this one was not too bad!
Those that i posted above are original pictures while the ones below are edited filter photos, i couldn't decide which one is better so i post up both. Haha
We ended about 3.30pm and reaching the pier around 4pm, nearing the end of this trip, the staff will asked if we enjoyed ourselves or find that their services is good, we can tip them as one of them put a container in the centre of the boat. There is no pressure and it's up to individual to decide if they want to give tipping. For us, we enjoyed our trip especially when they were really entertaining and i feel that we were really being well taken care of out in the sea so we give the tip before we left the boat.
Everyone is different, some might argue that when you sign up for the tour, you are already paying them and no reason for you to pay them extra. Yes, this is not wrong, however to me, what is that extra few dollars to show your appreciation that they have done their best in providing good services to encourage them to continue to do so for other subsequent tourists?
With/without tipping, they will continue to do their job since they are drawing a salary from their boss, but a small gesture can make them more than happy and motivated. Why not? Sometimes i think i am blessed because of what we did, the act that comes from your inner heart without expecting to get anything back in return. Joy of giving. I don't know about others,but this is my point of view. Those who understand will understand the law of giving. :) But i also understand there are those who refused to give tips because they don't think the staff deserve it and it's part of their job to give you the services because you paid for it. Well, this will kindly balance the tipping act to make sure it's not compulsory the next time you go on such island tour.
Anyway, we were one of the few that alight from the boat first, cold towels were handed to us and drinks provided as we walked back to the waiting area. By then, there were many drivers holding different number signage. We went to the counter to check for our van number and waited for the driver to pick us up and send us back to the hotel. It was close to 5pm when we reached our hotel, we went for a shower and just in time for our second day of cocktail reception!
When night sets in, Bangla street is one of the most happening streets, for those who love drinking, partying and womens. This is the place to go! Almost every bar will have scantily clad Thai girls, (well up to you to decide if they are girls or ladyboys). There will be some that dressed super sexy standing along the streets, do take note you have to paid if you want to take photos with them.
You will see many holding a signage to solicit interest in their ping pong shows, to their bars and it's a normal sight to see girls dancing on poles as you walked through the streets. Bangla road is not for families especially those with kids. I went with colleagues before during my first trip, merely bringing Jeremy to check out the place and as an eye-opener for him. I was teasing if he want to go for the shows since i have never seen one before, but he say no thanks. Haha anyway i heard of reviews of russian girls in those bars that are well-trained thieves, and pickpocket can be common since you are high on alcohol, you might be an easier prey for theft. So just beware if you are looking to party at this area.
We didn't really go in any bars since we had our fill of drinks at the hotel liao, plus the hotel has such a conducive environment to chill, i don't see a need to squeeze with others at the pubs. Satisfied my tom yum soup craving!
Since we have been eating so much, we thought of walking back to Amari instead of taking the tuk tuk. I think we walked at least 10-15mins from junceylon mall to Amari Phuket, it's near if you take the tuk tuk, but walking is pretty far. After we passed by Patong beach, we have to walk up the slope to Amari Phuket.
So overall, i think if you are planning to visit Phuket, you can consider to add Phi Phi island tour in your itinerary. As mentioned in my earlier post, they have different pricing, when we check at the hotel concierge, it was selling 3500 baht for adult and 1800 for child.
As we walked along the Patong beach, some of the vendors were charging for phi phi island tour at 2800 baht per adult, 1600 for kid, and i checked with one that was charging as low as 1000 baht! When i tried to ask if there were any other additional cost, the staff simply say no. Which was impossible because they didn't even indicate the national park fee, which is required, so it makes me skeptical when a cheap deal might not be so cheap as they might secure your initial payment first before asking you to top up for other items that require top up. Just be careful before you book. You wouldn't want to feel cheated because you was attracted by the cheap price offer at the start but ended up paying so much more than if you had bought closer at the market rate.
Shall end this post for now.
Till then!
