Let's face it...Thailand's beaches are the reason everyone dreams of going to this beautiful country. We've all seen the postcard images of white sand, blue waters, longtail boats, and limestone karsts. The search for paradise lured us in and with a blink of an eye, a few days in the islands turned into two weeks! Breathtaking views, tasty Thai cuisine, and friendly people don't make it easy to leave.
We landed in Phuket on April 23rd and went straight for Nai Yang. Although we had heard less than stellar reviews of Phuket, we decided to give Thailand's most popular island a try. Nai Yang is located in the north side of the island and is described as a quieter town in Phuket. Since we initially were not interested in the wild side of Phuket, we thought this would be a good place for us to relax. We checked into our hotel and walked down to the beach. At a glimpse, picturesque long tail boats and beach chairs lined the beach but with a closer look we could see rubbish scattered in the sand and ocean. Of course, there are plenty of cheap restaurants and spas in Nai Yang but there was not much else to do. We even ventured into the national park (a term I use very loosely) the following day and still we were unimpressed. It was time to get out of Nai Yang. We decided that if we were going to see Phuket then we should dive in head first into this crazy island and make our way to Patong. We traded in a quiet beach town for an outrageous one. We only spent one night so we made the most of it and saw the famous Simon Cabaret show among other things. I won't get into much detail about Patong but I will say that it is a seedy place saturated with massage parlors and ladyboys. Not our idea of paradise. I went to sleep that night dreaming about the postcard images we were searching for.
The following day we took a ferry to Ko Lanta, another Thai island in the Adaman Sea. Ko Lanta is a world of difference from the sketchiness of Phuket. We spent the day lounging at one of the restaurants on the beach and stayed in a bungalow for the next three nights. The following day we rented a motorbike to visit the rest of the island. We saw more beaches, hiked to a waterfall, got sprayed by a boy's pet elephant, and ate at a great restaurant overlooking the bay. We even saw little monkeys on the side of the road! The next day we took a four island boat trip to see some smaller islands near Ko Lanta. At one of the islands, we swam in crystal clear water and the tropical fish would come right up to us to investigate. After leaving the white sand beach we went to one of the most amazing destinations on our trip, Emerald Cove. At first I was skeptical because we jumped off our boat into the water and had to swim through a cave to get there. I didn't really know what to expect, but I knew that I didn't like the dark ocean cave. Luckily no poisonous snakes, sharks, or box jellies got us. At the end of the tunnel cave we emerged onto a beautiful hidden beach. The beach was completely enclosed by limestone cliffs and lush greenery. Althought it was crowded with tourists, the scenery was like something out of a movie.
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| Our humble beach abode |
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| Emerald cove |
After Ko Lanta we made our way to Phi Phi Don as a jumping off point for our sleep aboard trip to Phi Phi Lei. We spent one night on Phi Phi Don which was littered with beach bars and obnoxiously drunk tourists. We decided to visit one of those beach bars and saw the wildest partying ever! People were doing the limbo with a blazing limbo stick, jumping through fire hoops, and getting painted with glow in the dark paint. I was awestruck! We weren't crazy enough to join in the antics but we definetly enjoyed watching these fools.
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| Do not try this at home |
The following day we hopped on a boat to Maya Bay. Maya Bay is where "The Beach" was filmed and we were eager to see the paradise Leo was looking for. Maya Bay Sleep Aboard is the only company to offer the unique experience of spending the night on the boat in the bay. After stopping for a brief snorkel session, we were ready to finally make it to the bay. We turned a corner and our eyes fell upon the most iconic Thailand beach. Limestone cliffs hug the white sand on Maya Bay. Luckily, the island is now a national park so a lot has been done to keep it clean despite the millions of tourists who arrive annually. When we arrived there were hundreds of tourists but slowly they returned to Phi Phi Don and our small group was the only people left to enjoy paradise. After watching a colorful sunset, it was time for a late night barbecue and our first Thai buckets. We then made our way to the beach to see the bioluminescent plankton that Leo got frisky in. At first we could only see a negligible shimmer of the plankton when the waves crashed on the sand. Then we took a small longtail boat back to our large boat and we could see millions of flashing lights in the wake. A late night swim in the bay was the best way to truly experience the glow of the plankton. With each movement, the plankton would light up the ocean like tiny Christmas lights. It was a once in a lifetime experience! We slept under the stars and the next morning we made our way back to the bay before anyone else arrived. Jon and some of the other guys swam back to shore to search for black tip reef sharks. Jon arrived on shore disappointed because he didn't see any and then I glanced into the water and saw a 2 foot black tip reef shark pup swim by. I was psyched. (I have a weird fascination with sharks).. We loved the sleep aboard experience and would highly recommend it to anyone wishing to see Maya Bay!
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| Black tip reef shark pup |
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| Jumping beach shot! |
Next up was Krabi Town where we relaxed for a couple nights after moving around so much. There was a good night market where we got some tasty and cheap meals but not much else going on in the town.
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| Thai pancakes! |
After recharging our batteries in Krabi, we spent three nights in a hippy beach town, Tonsai. It is a rock climbers paradise since there are limestone cliffs in every direction. We lost ourselves in the laid back atmosphere of Tonsai and its people. We chilled with the locals in some of the funky beach bars, most of which paid homage to Bob Marley and Che Guevera. While in Tonsai, we also hired a kayak and explored the sea. We made our way around some big limestone karsts and even through a cave during low tide. We ended up on Phra Nang beach where we relaxed for the rest of the day. There were some interesting caves which were decorated with phaluses. Legend has it that the caves are inhabited by the spirit of an Indian princess whose ship sunk off the coast. We learned that the phaluses are gifted by fishermen in order to be blessed with bountiful fishing.
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| Showing everyone how its done |
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| Our view from Phra Nang beach |
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