Islands in Thailand

Ok, before we start this one, we need a lesson in pronunciation of a few places.

                             Can everyone please say:

                             Poo – Ket

                             Pooket.

                   Good, now let’s look at the spelling and why I had you know the correct pronunciation. It is spelled:

                             Phuket.

                             There is no PH sound like ours over here, so get that right out of your minds!

                             Second lesson.

                             Our excursion yesterday was to the Phi-Phi Islands.

                             Not Fye-Fye.

                             Not Pie-Pie.

                             It is Pee-pee.

                    Ok, now you can start laughing.

          Yes, we went to Phuket to visit the Phi-Phi Islands!

                             This entire area just screams old volcanic activity, and it is shown nowhere better than these off-shore Islands. The entire bay is filled with these outcroppings of rocky sentinels. The beaches are far-flung as most of the islands are made of vertical walls falling directly into the sea.

                             But where there is some sand, it is magnificent!

                   The day started off on a questionable note as this was another “tender” port and by now you are all educated as to the pitfalls thereof. This port was no different as the wind had picked up and it made it very difficult to get the tenders close to the ship. We were even using some big, 300 passenger ferries from the port instead of our itsy-bitsy ones, but even they were having a tough go of it. The Captain got on the intercom and announced that we were going to switch sides and try it on the Port side instead of Starboard. It is always interesting to notice passengers’ reactions when the now familiar melodic tone that precedes a “General Announcement” comes on, followed by the now too-familiar voice of our fearless leader. “Ladies and Gentlemen..” instantly you can hear an audible, collective groan emanate from the assembled masses.

                   They did manage to get things under control and although we were late arriving on shore, arrive we did! There were four boats that were going to whisk us the 40 kilometers out to the Phi-Phi Islands. Whisk is the operative term here and also a relative one as the aforementioned winds had decided to get a tad stronger making our whisking seem more like a beating. I have thousands of hours of boating experience under my (now too large) belt, and there were times that I probably would have turned back. But there were paying passengers on board, some of them disposing of their breakfast into handy little bags, that wanted a nice day in the sun, wind be damned!

                             So, Slam! Bounce! Straight into the wind we went! I kill for a good boat ride, but even I was uncomfortable. I am quite sure that my slipped disc was either cured or further mangled, only time will tell!

                             Our first stop was at the Phi-Phi Islands National Park where we could walk into the interior of the island and emerge on the other side at an incredible inland cove that belonged in a brochure or a movie!

                             The problem was getting there.

                             First, the boat needed to back into a giant floating, bobbing, heaving, dock which we were hoisted, pulled, and thrown onto. If it weren’t for the gracious assistance of our courageous crew, we would have lost many passengers overboard, where they would have been squished between the transom and the “dock”. Mind you, we were not the only ones doing this. By my somewhat crude (but accurate) estimates, there were about 10, 000 other victims here and they all had to undergo this “Disembarkation Ritual”.

                             Then the “March” began.

                             We had no idea what to expect and it was not until we climbed the large set of steps that led into the interior that we saw the rest of humanity splayed out in front of us.

                             Shuffling forward, just following the rest of the marchers, we came upon Headquarters and the “bathrooms”.

                             Have any of you (I know Lorelyn has) ever experienced the bathrooms in the backwaters of Southeast Asia? The level of sanitary conditions are akin to, well, let’s just say, nonexistent? There was nothing there except a makeshift toilet of sorts that you would never sit on. Of course this affected Paula more than me, so when the time comes you can grill her and get the grisly details.

Or not.

                             By now you are wondering why we did this. I’m sorry that I’m painting such a negative picture of this experience, but an experience it was!

                             And it does get better!

                             Out of the relief station and back on the trail with the other inmates, we eventually came upon our Destination which was nothing less than glorious. Every adjective that you can possibly imagine describing an idyllic island-type scene can be expunged from you minds because even they don’t do it justice!

                             (How’s that for setting a bar too high!)

                   After we visited that spot, we hiked it back to the heaving dock where we were thrown aboard for our next visit to another secluded cove. Along with everyone else! This place sets new parameters for the word “popular”!

                   A short 15-minute ride away was another island, the main one, that had all of the services like, resorts, restaurants, and shops. It was here that we had our lunch at a very nice open-air catering(?) facility. Food was good, and the little resort on the beach was a place that one would like to return to, boat ride or not!

This was a beach loading situation and by now we were professionals. Up and in we went, next stop was for swimming and snorkeling at tiny, uninhabited, Bamboo Island where the waters were fabulous, the sun way too strong, the beaches perfect, and just the right amount of time to swim and catch a short nap in the shade of some shrubbery up behind the tide line.

                   The boat ride back to the mainland was far nicer than the mornings jaunt. Smoother water, and we were going with the wind which made the ride altogether a pleasant boat ride. And it took about half the time!

          We arrived back at the ship via the same large tender that brought us out. A little late for dinner, we made it to the Dining Room by 5:25 where Sherry and Harold were holding down the fort at our table with the help of some comforting glasses of wine. Daytime reminiscing ensued until we all were ready to call it a night.

Zzzzzzz !