Weather: cloudy with occasional thunderstorms
When: mid-July
Places: Maya Bay - Phi Phi Ley, Viking Island, Monkey Beach, Phi Phi Island, Khai Island
There were a total of 3 speedboats for our group today. (This is merely the off peak season and the tour operator is just one among the many hundreds available in Phuket. So you could imagine the crowd during the peak season...)
Picture of the speedboats.
As we set out from the pier, there was a light drizzle (still ok), but the waves were... scary. I was told that some waves were as high as 3 meters. After enduring one hour of a bumpy ride, we reached the first destination - Maya Bay. Well I certainly wasn't expecting my first sight of the beach to be .. this. Hehe
I was amazed by how well maintained the beach was, given the sheer size of the crowd. Thousands of visitors flock to the spot every day to catch a glimpse of the famous filming location which is Maya Bay. Some people might know it by the name of James Bond Island.
The turquoise waters and pristine white beach is gorgeous even on a rainy day. It wasn't easy, but I managed to capture some photos with unobstructed views.
We proceeded to Phi Phi Ley which is a beautiful lagoon without a beach area. The water is so clean and transparent, I could see coral formations clearly on the sandbed. The boat circled the lagoon briefly for us to take pictures.
Next we're off to Viking Cave, another photo-only attraction. Legend has it that smugglers used to make use of the numerous cave formations to store their stash and harvest birds' nest a long, long time ago. Now the island is owned by a private business and the public is no longer allowed to set foot on it.
Another stopover at Monkey Beach. It's basically a tiny bay with a lot of macaque monkeys. I didn't bother with pictures as it's a common sight in any tropical country.
For lunch, we stopped at Phi Phi Island. There are a row of restaurants and chalets on the beach.
We had a simple lunch at a place called Bora Bora Bar and Restaurant and a quick walk around the beach. Phi Phi Island is beautiful and an ideal place to stay if you prefer to hang out on the beach all day long, away from the crowd in Patong/Phuket.
After lunch, the weather took a turn for the worse and it started to rain - heavily. Luckily we had raincoats ready as the wind was really cold, without any shelter. It's a speedboat after all. Sometimes it felt like we were dropping off a small cliff as our little boat soldiered bravely through waves that felt like a storey high.
We reached Khai Island while it was still raining.
To be continued.
