For One Night Only: Phuket Old Town

 A combination of awkward flight schedules and a general unwillingness to get up early has resulted in our staying overnight in Phuket .

I've been struck by an unnatural disaster involving an internal tsunami, and so sightseeing was limited. (Never straying further than a flush away from safety)

However, we did see many fine examples of the Chinese shop-houses that line the streets of the Old Town.

And a few other bits and pieces too....

Pest Watch

 Cockroach: 1 

( It was HUGE though, and scuttled under our bed...)

Mystery Blue Arthropod: 1

Nautical nightmare

 Last night, in a fit of unexplained generosity, JB booked us on a 5 hour snorkeling trip.

A chance to get up close and personal with our fishy friends was how he put it.

How could I refuse?  

And so we boarded our sturdy craft and set off.

Our vessel is the one on the right, not that it makes much difference to you I suspect.

First stop was Monkey Island. Seasoned readers of this blog may well recall that this is where JB met his nemesis last time we were here and ended up needing rabies jabs.

Obviously we gave it a wide berth this time round.....

Onward then, over an increasingly choppy sea (spoiler alert) to the first of an interminable number of snorkeling stops.

I have to admit, I saw plenty of colourful fish and it was all going splendidly. 

Then back on the boat to Maya Beach. (You know, the one in the film surprisingly called The Beach)

It was as we approached the scenic wonder that the trouble began.

A hastily eaten chicken fried rice began to make itself known to me again  and before  I knew it, I was sharing said lunch with the fish population of Maya Beach. 

It didn't half bring the fish in though......

I recuperated on the beach which is really rather lovely until all too soon  it was time to board the boat once more.

The remaining 2 hours of the trip are something of a blur to me  as I was torn between feeding the fish again or crying.

I do know that at one point we stopped to see the luminescent plankton. (I wasn't able to raise my head by now but I'm told that it was very good.)

Eventually we made it back to dry land, a sorrier  (and in some cases lighter) crew than  that which set off.

Here are some of the fish that benefitted from my banquet:

And here's a couple of  pictures of Maya Beach:

The viewpoint

 Today, without the aid of sherpas or oxygen, we climbed the not inconsiderable 186 metres up to "The Viewpoint ". 

It's the highest point on Phi Phi and home to freaky oversized fruity seats, butterflies, dubious statues and amazing views.

The narrow piece of land you can see is the point  where, in 2004, the tsunami hit the island. 

A 3m wave on one side collided with a 6.5m wave coming from the other side.

Blimey.

As sobering as this fact is,the chief thought running through my mind was how much like Llandudno it looked. (Minus the jungle. Obviously. )

North Wales seaside jewel that is Llandudno. Or tsunami prone Phi Phi? 
You decide....

Anyeay, here's a couple of things to give you an idea of what awaits you after your 186m (unaided) climb:

And finally.......in case there's any doubt about the climb, here's JB at the start of one of the many sets of steps.

Phi Phi

 On arrival in Phi Phi we made straight for our hotel, the romantically named  "PP Midnight Hotel" . ( Although now I think about it pee-peeing at midnight, whilst familiar to many of a certain age, isn't all the romantic)

But I digress. We'd booked the hotel via the Internet and the photos made it look very nice.

We were somewhat surprised then to find ourselves in the back end of beyond, clambering over bags of rubbish and rubble to reach our room....

It's safe to say that romantic wasn't the first word that came to mind.

We're now settled in a lovely place.

In fact any readers who've been with this blog since the beginning may well recognise the "purple palace"

Boasting a swimming pool, sun terrace, restaurant and bar, its a good place to be.

Not much in the way of rubbish though........

Boat stuff

 We left Ao nang this morning on the morning ferry to Phi Phi.

Before boarding we stopped to marvel at this Thai Navy warship.

Bristling with weaponry it would certainly strike fear into the heart of any maritime baddy. 

If only,  and this is crucial, it was actually afloat.

It would seem that the Thai Navy has taken Churchill's call to "Fight them on the beaches" a little too literally.......

Realising that if we were to sail anywhere we needed to be on the sea, we hurried off to join our fully floating ferry.

(Not as many guns, but at least its on the water)

Ao Nang, Ao Nang

The sharper eyed readers among you may well have noticed that the last pie review came from Bangkok.

And yet - isn't the blog blocked in Bangkok ?

Well, after a fairly stern lecture from JB regarding freedom of the press and standing up for one's principles  (but mostly about the cheapness of the beer in Thailand compared to Cambodia), I agreed to risk it and return.

Turns out that the ban is only operational at the airport.......

And so you find us in  Ao Nang. A resort town in Southern Thailand on the Andaman Sea.

It's lovely. Very relaxing. And as luck would have it, there's climbing available nearby for JB to amuse himself with!

Beer, as predicted, is both plentiful and cheap, and there's always a cocktail available at sunset.  (Actually they're available all day but that doesn't sound as idyllic.

Or does it???)

Anyway, we're having such a good time that we may hang around for a while.

Or at least until the blog-police catch up with me.

Here's a few pictures to give you a flavour of the place: