Day 24 Hello Paradise
We get picked up at 11.30 in a truck and taken to the ferry port.
We booked the 1pm ferry, Thai time, so it leaves at 1.30 and takes 1.5 hours… not 1 hour as advertised.
The trip is smooth and when Ton Sai Beach comes in to view, we spot our hotel peeking above the other buildings!
The hotel broke our budget but even a hostel is £50 a night here when you book late!
We managed to get a sea view room, breakfast and a pool right in the centre, a few streets back from the sea.
It’s amazing!
We dump our stuff and I have a swim before finding food.
The nearest beach isn’t too crowded and we have a lovely meal under the trees in a posher resort.
We then head into the centre to see what’s changed.
It takes a while to get familiar.
The port front building work is almost done with new shops and cafes.
The centre is still a warren but many more dive shops and upper end restaurants.
We walk thru and along the road to where we stayed last year.
Last year it was a building site with monkeys running around and not much going on but our hotel and a set of dusty bungalows.
Now the roads paved, there’s a new school. A big bar dominates.
There is still a lot of rubbish but they have spruced up the bungalows.
I reckon one more year and the place will be finished – gentrification is coming.
We are delighted to find our local smoothie bar is still there. Again they’ve upped their game.
Perfect!
We walk to the other end of the promenade and all the sailfish lamp posts are toppling and the walkway is falling down. Not sure if erosion or humans to blame!
It’s a quiet night for us, back to our cool quiet room!
Day 25 Snorkling
Breakfast is included so we have usual eggs, yoghurt and fruit. Typical tourists filling up.
We decide to walk to Long Beach. Its a good trek and in the heat, hard work!
On the plus side we get our steps up, meet some cats
and cross some nice bays.
On the downside the monkeys are not around anymore. Or they are hiding.
We rent snorkels and OMG it’s brilliant. Soooo many fish. The biggest parrot fish we’ve ever seen – 2 ft maybe.
Bright yellow and neon blue fish, butterfly fish, angel fish, big pink and black groupers, snowflake eels and an andaman grouper that has the pattern of a giraffe.
Plus a million sergeant major fish, they follow Pete cause of his top.
No pics ????
At night we queue for Garlic, a Thai restaurant we went to last year. It’s good but not any better than other places. ????
Day 26 The Mighty Greens
We head back to Long Beach for more snorkling.
Same long walk.
Took pics of some of the building rubble and other crap that litters the place.
Siting on the swing you have a view of…
And forgotten buildings.
This time we snorkle a bit farther along where there are a lot more rocks.
The sea is crammed with fish, it is literally like being in an aquarium.
I’m hooked and can’t get out. Pete says his boredom limit is 15 mins!!! He sits it out with a smoothie.
When I come back in I hear the girl next to me say she swam out to Black Tip Reef Shark point. It’s just off the beach.
You have to swim across a boat lane.. so I wasn’t up for it.
But she’s talking about sharks.
I find just enough courage to grab Pete and decide to swim it.
It’s a easy swim and once there, there are a good number of fish. But fewer than we see just on the corals and rocks off the beach.
So we swim around looking for the elusive sharks. I see the first one, quite small. Pete doesn’t.
With nothing happening we swim back but I hear a girl scream shark and pop under in time to see a proper sized shark swimming past us!! Pete missed it. Again.
Once back on dry land loads of boats arrive. So we think we probably missed the “shark window”.
We will try again in a couple of days.
My burnt bum needs to die down first.
We eat in Anna’s Restaurant, again a fav from last year. Again it was just fine. I did have a brilliant carrot smoothie.
We grab a kip because Plymouth Argyle and playing Liverpool at 10pm. And Scotland is playing Ireland in the Six Nations.
We are in the Irish bar – there is a small collective of Scots and an even smaller group of Plymouth Argyle fans – Pete and 1 other guy!!
We get great seats and beers. We are only have a small beer.
But then Plymouth score.. the next beer is a big one… still winning.. so the next beer is also a big one..
Well Plymouth won… unbelievable!!!
and Scotland lost.
we meet a Glaswegian liverpool fan. Not his night!
And celebrate with our new Plymouth pals.
Pete orders sambucas for the us and the Plymouth couple. They bring us Tequila…
It’s 2am when we stagger home.
After 2am we get a cryptic message from the Plymouth couple that seems to suggest they thought we might be swingers…. and “it wasn’t their bag… even though I’m lovely.”
We talked football and retiring and travel…but pretty sure there was no mention of wife swapping.
<Next day they couldn’t remember why he’d sent the message either, blootered>
Day 27 Indigo Hotel
We had to move hotels today. Our new one is in the centre of the party mayhem street.
No pool.
So we spend the day at the Phi Phi Hotel. Pete hungover.
For the first time in a week I dont have the trigeminal nerve pain which has been bothering me!
Drinking shots is obviously the key!
We check in and find it quieter in the room than we imagined. But man that bed!!!! Solid.
And we used up all our “view” points… today we get this.
Same price as our previous hotel… but no breakfast! That’s the balcony!! £75 a night.
This is what happens when you don’t have a route and have to book late!
Shite. The resident fat cat is the highlight.
We laze around at the local beach and the PP Princess resort. Good drinks and nice food.
And a tree shrine.
Night time we have fabulous food at a Chinese for a change.
Avoid the crispy frog on the menu.
Day 28 Sharks!
We have our free coffee and biscuits from the hotel after an uncomfortable night sleep on the block bed.
Then off to Long Beach for snorkling again.
Spot a friendly face on the way.
I see a lot of sharks and finally Pete see one. Turns out with no contacts in and a misty mask he can’t see feck all. He does spot a starfish!
I love it and we spend the whole day in and out the sea.
Snorkling kit is only 50baht from here.. about £1.25
Late afternoon we eat at Paradise cafe and read.
So far I’ve finished 5 books!
A Jeffery Archer one, first of a series. Bit too old boys club, coppers cheering and clapping each other’s backs.. like its boarding school.
The Wrong Sister, by Clare someone. Too much of a character shift for me. But good read.
The Appeal by John Grisham, great but disappointing ending.
Snowblind by P.J. Tracey which I loved, grieved the characters when I finished.
Murder in the Lake District by John Bude written in 1930s.
Didn’t know that crime was solved back then by breaking and entering, contaminating crime scenes and persuading the public to put themselves at risk.
Interesting read given the world today.
Just about to start Sanctum.. by Denise Mine. Stolen from my last hotel.
Way back we finally see monkeys!!
Nighttime with hit Good Days restaurant – western looking place. Lots of fresh veg. It’s okay. Bland again.
We walk along the beach where the Ibiza hostel and other’s have the pool parties.
Crazy fire shows and LOUD dance music. Fire games with drunk people (and 1 chinese kid!) limbo-ing under the ???? bar.
Honestly bonkers. Sign saying ‘free shot’ for doing it. It’s packed!
We grab 2 cans of beer and a packet of nuts from the 7-11 and sit outside our hotel people watching instead.
Alcohol is no longer cheap in Thailand. £1.80 for a large can of local beer in supermarket. £3- £3.50 for a large bottle in a bar. £5+ for a small wine.
Long gone are the £1 pints and cocktails.
They still sell cocktail buckets of God knows what in the street for 150baht.
But we notice tonight there really aren’t drunken people here. More couples and families, lots of posing with fake lips.
Which given the vibe is surprising.
Maybe the party people are ALL on the beach or maybe it’s more mellow because of all the weed bars!
