So, it's only been 2 weeks or more since we got back from Thailand and I still haven't even sorted all the pics out yet or blogged about it. Oops! Let's see if I can remember all that happened - the condensed version. OK my version of condensed ;-) :
We set off for an epic travel-fest on Easter Sunday morning, flying from Melbourne, Australia to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for a 4 hour+ stopover. With time to kill we decided to take a taxi around the area to see what Malaysia was like and ended up just driving around and getting Domino's pizza! Highly cultural and enlightening ;-). Then on to Phuket, and a wild and scary high speed taxi trip to our hotel. Due to my lack of planning and ability to work out the time difference, we got there around midnight. The kids were troopers though and toughed out the all-day travel. Due to a ferry booking, we had to be out of the hotel at 7.50am so no long lazy sleep ins just yet. The ferry trip to Koh Phi Phi Don was uneventful, but took most of the morning. We finally got to our resort and checked in. Thank God for air con as it was around 38 degrees every day with sweat dripping down our backs. The next few days were spent lazing around the pool, ocean and hiring longtail boats from the local sea gypsies. For about $12 aussie dollars an hour, they'd take us - a family of 4 - wherever we wanted. We headed out to various beaches and locations in the Andaman sea to explore and swim/snorkel. We tried twice to see monkeys at Monkey Island but it wasn't meant to be. Although, we did have a pet monkey thrust upon DS in town for a money making photo op. Got a great pic of it on his head! We did see the cove where the movie "The Beach" was filmed. Very pretty area, but over run with tourists. We also headed to the main tourist area of Tonsai Bay (we stayed at Laem Tong - the opposite end of the island and much quieter and more peaceful) for shopping and supplies. Oh, and I had a massage which may or may not have resulted in a bruised arm - not quite the feeling I was hoping for.
Then it was time to head back to Phuket for our flight to Bangkok. Our ferry - a different company this time - was meant to depart at 5pm, but after several delays, and the ferry becoming a speed boat, we finally crammed 22 people - plus luggage - onto a small speedboat and left at 6.30pm. Thankfully our flight was another late one so it didn't change our plans too much. The trip back over was horrific. I was crammed into a corner with my knees up against my chest, with just a small ledge keeping me from the engines and the sea. Let's just say it certainly was a speed boat - a high speed speedboat. We flew across the water, getting airborne and being thrown around our seats. I braced myself the entire time and was constantly worried about my son who doesn't do open water or high speed. Thankfully none of us were sick as that would have been a nightmare, as the floor was covered in luggage. The girls next to us informed us that it got worse as they had already traveled over from another island and seriously considered staying where we were to avoid another hour on the open water! All 22 of us managed to keep our acts together and make it out alive the other side!
Another taxi trip - and airport - later, we were set for our late night flight to Bangkok. Thankfully we were on the ball and caught our flight, despite the gate change. We were meant to leave from one gate, but that got changed on the board to a different one, although there were no staff around in that area. I asked some flight crew from another airline in a different area where it would leave from and they said their gate. Turns out it was boarding in another area altogether and we managed to get through on the last call, only to be herded into a bus. Checking every step of the way, I made sure we boarded the correct flight and we made it to our hotel at something like 12.45am. Yep, I seem to have some sort of trouble with daytime travel.
Bangkok was not quite as busy and crazy as I thought it might be. We hit MBK the next day - a massive 7 story shopping centre. Although the prices were good, it wasn't quite the shop-'til-you-drop scenario I was hoping for. We did pick up some PC stuff, clothes, shoes and bits and pieces. The next day we decided to use or free skytrain tickets and brave the public transport system to go to Chatuchak - the biggest weekend market in the world! Bargains were more plentiful there and we snapped up some more goodies. Then off to the airport and a red-eye flight back home. Kinda hard to sleep sitting up but we all managed some. Although I admit to coming home and taking a much needed nana nap. Did someone mention a holiday? Yep, I think I need another one. No plans, no alarms, just a magazine, some cross stitch, a cocktail or 12, good food, a pool and/or ocean plus a deck chair and/or hammock would do quite nicely right now! Greedy much?
We set off for an epic travel-fest on Easter Sunday morning, flying from Melbourne, Australia to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for a 4 hour+ stopover. With time to kill we decided to take a taxi around the area to see what Malaysia was like and ended up just driving around and getting Domino's pizza! Highly cultural and enlightening ;-). Then on to Phuket, and a wild and scary high speed taxi trip to our hotel. Due to my lack of planning and ability to work out the time difference, we got there around midnight. The kids were troopers though and toughed out the all-day travel. Due to a ferry booking, we had to be out of the hotel at 7.50am so no long lazy sleep ins just yet. The ferry trip to Koh Phi Phi Don was uneventful, but took most of the morning. We finally got to our resort and checked in. Thank God for air con as it was around 38 degrees every day with sweat dripping down our backs. The next few days were spent lazing around the pool, ocean and hiring longtail boats from the local sea gypsies. For about $12 aussie dollars an hour, they'd take us - a family of 4 - wherever we wanted. We headed out to various beaches and locations in the Andaman sea to explore and swim/snorkel. We tried twice to see monkeys at Monkey Island but it wasn't meant to be. Although, we did have a pet monkey thrust upon DS in town for a money making photo op. Got a great pic of it on his head! We did see the cove where the movie "The Beach" was filmed. Very pretty area, but over run with tourists. We also headed to the main tourist area of Tonsai Bay (we stayed at Laem Tong - the opposite end of the island and much quieter and more peaceful) for shopping and supplies. Oh, and I had a massage which may or may not have resulted in a bruised arm - not quite the feeling I was hoping for.
Another taxi trip - and airport - later, we were set for our late night flight to Bangkok. Thankfully we were on the ball and caught our flight, despite the gate change. We were meant to leave from one gate, but that got changed on the board to a different one, although there were no staff around in that area. I asked some flight crew from another airline in a different area where it would leave from and they said their gate. Turns out it was boarding in another area altogether and we managed to get through on the last call, only to be herded into a bus. Checking every step of the way, I made sure we boarded the correct flight and we made it to our hotel at something like 12.45am. Yep, I seem to have some sort of trouble with daytime travel.
Bangkok was not quite as busy and crazy as I thought it might be. We hit MBK the next day - a massive 7 story shopping centre. Although the prices were good, it wasn't quite the shop-'til-you-drop scenario I was hoping for. We did pick up some PC stuff, clothes, shoes and bits and pieces. The next day we decided to use or free skytrain tickets and brave the public transport system to go to Chatuchak - the biggest weekend market in the world! Bargains were more plentiful there and we snapped up some more goodies. Then off to the airport and a red-eye flight back home. Kinda hard to sleep sitting up but we all managed some. Although I admit to coming home and taking a much needed nana nap. Did someone mention a holiday? Yep, I think I need another one. No plans, no alarms, just a magazine, some cross stitch, a cocktail or 12, good food, a pool and/or ocean plus a deck chair and/or hammock would do quite nicely right now! Greedy much?
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