Thailand: The Islands
I spent two months in Thailand and had an amazing time! My route went like this – my friend from the States, Brittany, flew into Bangkok and we went directly to Chiang Mai. We spent 5 days in the north and then went to the Thai islands for a week and a half. After two fantastic weeks together, she returned home and I spent another week and a half in the islands. Next I flew to northern Thailand, spent a week in Chiang Mai, and then began a 10-day meditation course. After the course, I spent two weeks in Pai. Finally, I returned to Bangkok for my bus to Cambodia at the beginning of January. This is part of a series of posts about my time in Thailand.
----------
The Thai islands were bliss! My island schedule: wake up, throw on a bathing suit, head for the beach, and see where the day took me. The rhythm of these days were peaceful, relaxed, and I never wanted them to end. Fortunately, as a gift to me for planning the trip and as a birthday gift to herself, Brittany booked us amazing accommodations a couple of times. So I got to experience the islands as a backpacker AND a normal traveler. Here are my thoughts:
Koh Phi Phi – Our first stop in the islands and the place with the most beautiful beaches. Phi Phi is a party island – the downtown looks like college vomited on it and we could not find a hostel that did not describe itself as “the party continues all night long.” Luckily, B booked us an AirBnB and we stayed at a super comfortable (and quiet) bungalow/hotel about a ten-minute walk from the downtown. It was the perfect solution for us as we enjoyed walking through the downtown, finding restaurants or eating street food, grabbing a beer, and then heading back to our bungalow to get a good night’s rest. We spent a couple of days laying on the beach; swimming, reading, swinging in hammocks, and sipping fruit shakes. It was glorious! The one excursion we did was take the evening boat tour to Maya Bay (about 450 baht). It included visiting monkeys, the option to cliff jump (for an extra fee), snorkeling, swimming in Maya Bay, sunset on the ocean, and swimming with bioluminescent plankton. Skip the fee to walk on Maya Beach and enjoy snorkeling in the bay. It was fun and we got to cheers beers as we watched the most incredible sunset over the sea.
Koh Phangan – We went here for the Half Moon Party (when in Thailand…). The Half Moon Party was my least favorite travel experience so far. I am not a huge partier. This was a huge rave and I could not hang. I had my first hangover of this leg of my trip. BUT I experienced it and now have a cool tie-dye shirt as a souvenir. Once the Half Moon and Full Moon parties are over, almost all of the tourists leave the island. I loved my time once this happened. There is a fantastic street cart market each night. Great seafood restaurants and an awesome French café called Nira’s. We rented mopeds and toured the island. The beaches are simple and peaceful. B and I had the best Thai massages of our lives and the Siam Healing Centre. We also celebrated B’s birthday here. She SPLURGED and got us a private beachfront bungalow at one of the resorts. It was amazing! My gift to her was a five-course “romantic dinner for two” at the resort and it was sooo delicious! If traveling for a special occasion, we loved it here. It was expensive, but much more affordable than anything in the States. Plus, you can experience bits of Thai culture and the views are breathtaking.
Koh Tao – After bidding farewell to B, I moved on to Koh Tao to get my scuba diving certification. I planned to stay here for three days and ended up forcing myself to leave after nine (I needed to stop spending money on diving). If you want a chilled out beach vibe with great snorkeling options, come here. If you want to learn to scuba dive, DEFINITELY come here! Dive schools are a-plenty here (but my dive instructor was the best!). I fell in love with diving and ended up completing my beginner and advanced diver courses. Certification classes and fun dives are cheap, and most are exceptional quality – just do your research. Amazing coral and marine life makes the diving addicting; fun bars and good food make the land life addicting. I enjoyed Koh Tao very much and could have stayed much longer – become a dive instructor and never leave. I stayed at The Loft – near the dock and a 15 minute walk to Siaree Village where all the bars and restaurants were located. It was a good fit for me and Jared is one of the friendliest, most knowledgeable hostel staff I have ever met.
So that is what I did in the Thai islands. I wanted to squeeze in Koh Lanta as well, but it is expensive jumping from island to island (I spent anywhere from 600 to over 1000 baht each time I “hopped”). I could not fit it in this trip but will definitely stop there in a future trip.