Day 2 : Island Hopping By Speed Boat

S and I had a comfortable rest that night ... and we woke up bright and early for breakfast at The Cliff Cafe, located at the ground floor of the hotel. Breakfast was served from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. daily. The breakfast spread was quite extensive!

 Fruits and yoghurt, cereal on the left 

 Juices, chrysanthemum tea and cold water 

 The salad bar 

 An assortment of bread, Danish pastry, waffles and pancakes 

I tried a bit of everything ..... 

 Yummy :))

 Fried rice with vegetables, and Pad Thai

 I loved the salad and had it every morning .... 

 Chicken porridge with condiments

Waffle, croissant and a piece of pineapple ...

We were fuelled up or the day! Perhaps over-fuelled and near the stage of explosion. Lol.

Our itinerary that day was island hopping : The Phi Phi Islands Tour. There would be 7 stops altogether, and expected to end at 4.00 p.m. The best outfit to wear, of course, would be our swimsuits. What's essential to bring? Towels, water, sunblock, hat, shades, and a sense of fun and adventure. Lol.

We waited for our free transfer to the beach, where our speed boat would be waiting. Lots of people were waiting at the lobby to be picked up.

 That's how the hotel building looked like ... 

 Specially fitted lorries to transport tourists ... 

Our pick up came at about 8.45 a.m. S and I were the last ones to be picked up, and so we said in front of the old battered truck .... 

 The main street of Ao Nang, heading towards the beach 

The speed boats were anchored here .... 

A simple registration was done here with the tour operator, Barracudas Tour, and then we were rounded up by our guide, Alex and ushered towards our boat.  There were about 25 of us in a group. To maintain the cleanliness of the boat, we had to take off our shoes .... all shoes were dumped into a net and tied to the side of the boat. Then we waded into the waters and climbed aboard. Soon, the boat sped off .... 

 Whee!! 

The morning sun was gentle as we sped to our way to Bamboo Island .... 

Approaching Bamboo Island ....

Look at the clear blue green waters! Absolutely beautiful ...

The boat stopped here, and we got off ....

 Bamboo Island

 Bamboo Island was struck by the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami; Alex, our guide, told us that before the tsunami, there were lots of bamboo vegetation on this island, and hence the name. Since the tsunami, however, bamboo has all been wiped out ..... 

40 minutes later, we climbed back to our boat ..... and we headed next to Lohsamah Bay and thereafter to Monkey Bay .... snorkelling opportunities were available at these two stops, but S and I were too afraid to attempt. Lol. 

At Monkey Bay 

The next two stops were Viking Cave and Pileh Bay .... the boat merely cruised along the bay and we did not get off ... 

Viking Cave

There was ancient wall painting here but I sure did not see anything from the boat; Lots of bamboo stilts here because bird nests were collected from the cave.

Lohsamah Bay

Beautiful crystal clear azure waters ..... Alex said there were no fishes there .... 

Then we sped off to Maya Bay. This was where the film, "The Beach" was shot. Maya Bay was a part of Koh Phi Phi Ley, the smaller of the two Phi Phi Islands. 

 Beautiful!!!

We stopped here for another 40 minutes ... and S and I swam in the cool water ....

And the final stop was lunch at Koh Phi Phi Don, the bigger of the 2 Phi Phi Islands. We had lunch at Maiyada Resort. From the beach, we walked about 400 metres to the resort. There was a large hall there, with lots of tables and chairs. We just queued up for our food and then sat down to eat. 

The lunch hall at Maiyada Resort

 Spaghetti with tomato sauce, fish cakes with sweet chilli sauce, stir-fried minced chicken with long beans and basil, rice, and cucumber stir-fry

Clear tom yum soup with chicken

For dessert, S and I bought ... 

Magnum gold, THB70 each


Awww .... cracked d :(

After lunch, we sped back to Ao Nang Beach. It took an hour. Back at Ao Nang Beach, there was free transfer back to our hotel ..... and I took the opportunity to swim in the swimming pool. It was rather empty at that time .... and so it was quite fun and relaxing. It's been a while since I was in a pool ..... 

That night, S and I decided to eat at the streets. Along the main street were some stalls selling an assortment of local dishes like noodles and rice, and grilled seafood, meat and corn on skewers. 

 A typical stall

 Grilled squid stuffed with mango, THB100

 Grilled prawns, THB100

Pad Thai, THB50

We sat down and ate our food at a plastic table at the stall. Opposite our hotel was a mosque, and the Muslim vendors set up stalls there too every night .... and we bought more food. No tables and chairs inside our hotel room, so the both of us plopped on the floor and enjoyed the local delights. 

 Hoi Krok, some sort of seafood takoyaki; not bad
6 pieces for TH35

 Glutinous rice with mango, THB40
I think they did not give me the coconut cream .... hmn ....

 Chocolate toast, THB30
Salty and crispy and very enjoyable!

Mini crepes with colourful coconut shreds and meringue, THB20 for 6 pieces

Both S and I have had a great experience that day ... more adventure awaited the next day.