Farewell To Paradise: Phi Phi To Phuket

Our first week in Thailand was coming to an end with this being our last day on the stunningly beautiful island of Phi Phi as well as the final day of our tour group before heading out on our own to continue our adventures. We got up early to spend every possible moment enjoying the island. While the town was still quiet, we checked out of the hotel, left our bags at the front desk to be gathered with the rest of the tour group and explored some of the more residential area of Phi Phi off of the main tourist streets.

Looking hot and tired. At this point I’m in denial about how sick I am. That soup though…

We walked through some of the shops that were open that catered more to the locals with food staples and services. We watched as workers from small hostels and B&Bs hung laundry and work in their yards. The morning was peaceful and quiet. We got an early lunch at a small restaurant with a stunning view. On the way back to the hotel, we stopped for our first Thai massage. It was expensive, by Thai standards, but it the open air rooms right next to the beach were irresistible. For those that have never had a Thai massage, they are remarkably affordable and they are work- for your massage therapist- and you. There’s a lot of stretching, slapping, tapping and bending, in ways that sometimes you think you may not bend. Either way, I loved the experience and when we were done we headed back to the hotel to spend our remaining time on Koh Phi Phi at the beach.

Even an overpriced Thai massage is still a deal. Especially at the beach.

I’m a beachcomber; I’m fascinated by everything from the ocean and I love to find bits of old coral and interesting shells washed up and imagine what they might have been in life. I was was collecting some souvenir pieces when a hermit crab who’d been well hidden in his shell, objected to me moving him and gave me a bit of a scare when he poked his legs out. I inspected some of the other shells I’d collected, only to discover that a lot of them were in fact, occupied homes. I stood for a moment and scanned the area of the beach where I’d been collecting and suddenly noticed shells moving around all over the place. There were tiny hermit crabs EVERYWHERE. I lived my best life for an hour or so, collecting shells, followed hermit crabs, swimming in the sea and sunbathing until it was time to meet the group to catch the ferry and head back to Phuket. The same process of getting ourselves back onto the long-tail boats from two days earlier repeated itself and our luggage made it safely to the pier. The ferry ride back to Phuket was calm and peaceful and I spent it out on the sun deck getting last minute advice from our guide for the next two weeks of travel, soaking up some vitamin D in the sun, enjoying the salty sea air and the last moments of being on the ocean.

Ferry ride to Phuket

Enjoying the sea

Soaking up every minute of ocean time

We arrived back into Phuket at about 5:00 pm. Two vans took us back to the hotel we’d originally started the tour at a week earlier. It felt like a lifetime ago and also like a blink of an eye all at once. We said our farewell to the group and then Shawn and I boarded another van (arranged for us by our amazing tour leader the day before) to take us to our next destination, a hotel stay in the Karon area of Phuket for one night, before heading north to Bangkok. We were relieved to be finished with the group, as I’d found the difference in our ages to be challenging, but Shawn and I were both starting to get anxious about having to go it alone now with no more tour guide to protect or advise us. As daunting as it felt, I knew we’d done enough research that we’d somehow manage. Shawn and I are great partners in many things in life, including travel. Even though we’d already had a week of incredible sights, food and culture shock, it somehow felt like our adventure was only just beginning. For now, we had one more day to enjoy the beach.

Apartment building. A reality check that not everything is paradise in Thailand.

Mosque in Karon

We checked into a beautiful and surprisingly affordable Centara Karon Resort and found supper at a charming little restaurant just down the road. First thing in the morning, we had a gourmet breakfast (and found bacon for the first time since arriving in Thailand) and headed to see Karon beach, a short walk from our hotel.

town square

the Hong (swan), a symbol of love and immortality

Shrine to Ganesha

Ganesha’s mantra

Another of Ganesha’s mice

Ganesha’s mouse

Very, popular but not the cleanest, Karon beach is definitely overcrowded and not the ideal place to stay if you’re looking for paradise, however, it’s a bit more family oriented and you won’t find the frenetic party vibe here that you get in the Patong district of Phuket.

Spirit house on Karon beach

Trash on Karon beach

Another reminder that sometimes even paradise isn’t perfect

Thailand’s tourism industry is brutal on the environment and obviously more needs to be done

For lunch, we decided on Angus O’Tool’s Irish Pub near the hotel, as I could only stomach something a bit more familiar to my usual cuisine. At this point, I was feeling pretty ill (and if I’m honest, I’d been sick since day four). I was scarfing down anti-diarrhea and anti-nausea meds like candy. I had antibiotics with me, but I wasn’t sure if this was a bug or bacteria, or just my IBS flaring up from a change in diet and routine. In hindsight, taking the antibiotics would have made the next two weeks easier, but you live and you learn… I’d been very open to trying new foods and was loving all the Thai cuisine, but maybe hadn’t been cautious enough. Either way, at that point I was feeling pretty gross and Irish food in form of a plate of fries seemed the most palatable. After lunch we headed to the airport and waited for the next journey to begin. We were leaving the beautiful beaches and heading into the city…. the city songs and movies have been written about. BANGKOK.

Bangkok Bound

As always, thanks for taking the time to read about my travels. Feel free to comment, ask questions and share. Until next time, stay tuned for the next part of the adventure. Safe and happy travels!

-L