| Around the World | ||
|
Phuket and Phi Phi | |
We got our flight to Phuket, which is about 2/3 down the length of the Country, on the west
coast. It's a popular holiday resort, and definitely has a warmer climate than the north. We only spent one night there.
The next morning, we grabbed the first ferry to Phi Phi, an island between Phuket and the mainland.Phi Phi is very picturesque. Rumour has it that much of the filming of "The Beach" (starring Leo Di Caprio) was done around here. It's a lot of crystal clear water, and white sand beaches. I was able to get a full body massage by one of the local women on the beach. It's times like that when you are glad you took a break from work. On our second day, we signed up for one of the boat tours around the islands. The weather was terrific. Our tour was in one of the traditional long tail boats that you can see in the picture. One of the stops involved having a look at some caves. To get off, we had to tie up our boat along side all the others, and hop across them to get to the pier. This involved considerable risk to life and limb, as the water was very choppy, and the boats were rocking severely. Luckily, we all escaped without injury. The highlight of the day was definitely the snorkelling. The water was teaming with tropical fish. Whole shoals would swim right by you. The colours were amazing. There was also coral of every hue. It was breath-taking. Later in the day, we got another chance to go snorkelling. I didn't bother, because it was starting to get a little cold. But the two that did said that they were swimming right beside a few sharks! They are the harmless variety - leopard sharks I think. I regretted missing that experience. | ||
