Phuket - Patong - Similian Islands

by ck1

Phuket - Patong - Similian Islands My photos got corrupted somehow and potentially I have lost them so there wont be many photos up in this blog - i am so annoyed and upset - gutting - not going to upload any till aussi now i think i got a virus on them in koh tao

3rd February

We arrived in patong at around 5 pm feeling absolutely terrible from our last night in phi phi.

We then got a mini bus from the pier into patong which took around 45 mins. Our driver was a muppet took us to this random place not near patong to stay in his hotel….. So eventually we managed to get him to take us to patong and we went to the places recommended in lonely planets - these were all full… so we went looking around and everything just seemed to be a full! Some random guy collared us on the street to come look at his rooms for 600Baht a night which was like 5GBP very cheap… room was really nice had air con, satellite tv and hot shower.

HOWEVER it was basically in a whore house and that was why it was so cheap. Below us were loads and loads of bars like an entertainment district where all the prostitutes were hanging out. The rooms where we were staying were then used for boom boom ( the thai girls words ) as you could rent them out at an hourly rate.

We then went and looked elsewhere but everything else was full so we settled here. It was nice to see a used condom on the floor of our room when we settled in… We then just had some dinner and collapsed for the night as we had hammered it far too much in phi phi

4th Feb

We decided that we deserved a lie in as we were so rundown , we then spent the remainder of the day sorting out our bus to Bangkok (13 hours ) trip to the similian islands. The rest of the day we did nothing as we were shattered, although we made it out in the evening wahoooooooooooooo So we went out on the main strip very bizarre they say Patong is as filthy as Bangkok but more grimey than Bangkok - we shall wait and see…. ( been to bangkok now so i can categorically say that patong is sooo much worse) It was full of bars and bars and bars and bars with girls wearing little clothing dancing and obviously touting for business. Me and josh seemed to get a lot of attention from them - must be our good looks haha we then met some HOT aussi girls (Tanya, laura, Hannah) and continued with them to a club called seduction which was cool.

We left around 2 and because we had to get up at 6am for our Similian island trip Oh yeah we also got our ear pierced - sorry mums and if it is any concellation all the girls love it ….. nearly had the police set loose on us by the owner of this shop as we had a massive row with her.

She tried to con us and had the nerve to say we didn't understand English to which i didn't take kindly.... but after the word police was muttered i quickly calmed down

5th Feb

So we woke up at 6 am regretting going out and drinking - surprise surprise, and went to our meeting point to wait for our mini bus.

So the bus hadn't turned up and we rang the number we were given in case this happens which was turned off.

At this point josh was willing to give up and go back to bed but eventually 50min late our mini bus came. We then had a 1hr 30min Journey to the Tap-Lamu pier we were departing with so me and josh got some shut eye - probably wise as these drivers are crazy.

Arrived at the pier had our free toast and tea still felt horrendous, then got on to our speed boat with around 30 other people.

The journey was to take 1hr 30min to the Similian Island - potentially more sleeping time although to sleep on a speed boat as it hits big waves is interesting. First stop was to (Island 4) Miang Island where we went snorkeling.

It was a shame as I really wanted to dive as similian islands are in the top 10 in the world for Scuba diving. Problem was it is very expensive as to dive you have to stay on a boat for a night as there is no acc on these islands as they are so small and remote.

Anyway…… the snorkeling was amazing saw some beautiful fish which I saw diving on the other islands. Josh was on the boat when a sea turtle was swimming on the surface eating bananas that people were throwing off the boat to it …. Soooooo beautiful After this we went to (Island 8) Similian island.

This was another beach where the sand was unbelievable and the water was crystal clear blue - amazing.... this island has some rock formations one look like a ships sail and the other one looks like Donald duck - quite funny and apparently what the island was famous for... you can also climb these formations which was jokes as it was done by swinging across with ropes and the dodgy ladders, it was fun... and the view - WOW - i wish we could show you the photos - it was breath taking!!! after this we went and had lunch which was awesome!!!

we then were going to (island 9 ) Ba- Ngu Isand to do more snorkeling but the current was far to strong so it wasn't safe and seemed to be this strong everywhere we went so snorkeling was off the cards - boooooooooooooooooooo so we went straight to island 7 Payu Island ... Again another beautiful island where me and josh took the opportunity to sleep.

after this we had the 3 hour journey back to our whore house of accommodation :) This evening we had signed up for a night in a club called 'rock city' it was live bands playing classic rock music not our bag but wait for it - free bar!!!!!!!!!!!! now that is my bag.... so we got their at 8 ish and the place was filled with women!!!! wahoooooooooooooooooooooooo as they weren't prostitutes!! so when it came to shouting out when they asked where you are from - ENGLAND!!! - we seemed to be the only English there whilst the rest were from Aussie and Sweden - great news for me and josh!!! we had lots of attention and fun that night!!

6th Feb

We then had to get up to check in and then get our bus to bangkok which was going to be a 13 hour journey!!! then off to chang mai after...

Costa del Phuket - 28th Jan - 31st Jan

by Chillinwivmygnomie

We're still alive - just been super busy...

Our first flight to Bangkok was cool, had shed loads of leg room as we got the emergency door ones, much to Katys horror.

Managed to get on to an earlier flight from Bangkok to Phuket - last two seats Result!! However when we got to our seats there were already two people occupying them, not believing that we had the wrong seats Katy demanded to see their tickets, to our shock we all had the same tickets and Greg was not planning to sit on anyones lap.

After 5 mins of standing around like muppets, Katy started to greet the passengers until eventually the plane was full and we could spot the empty seats... Being the true backpackers that we are we did not have a private transfer, told the taxi driver where we needed to go, actually got a reasonable price, however kinda worried when he asked us for directions and it also struck us as odd that every other f***er was heading for Patong (us Chalong).

Hostel was spot on minus the following:-

The big apple

What can i say it's an apple and its big!

*tiny breakfast

*crappy internet

*in the middle of no where

*receptionist had far too much

Costa del PhuketA rammed beach .....lushgum on show.

Costa del Phuket

A rammed beach .....lush

Not being avid public transport users we still assumed that there would be some sort of bus timetable.

So waiting at the bus stop, which is at the side of a road, next to nothing and waited.........half an hour later we were still waiting, having declined the lift of many taxi's and mopeds. Eventually we gave in and taxi'ed it to Phuket town.

Where we met one of many lying taxi drivers who assured us that the shops weren't open till 11, but he would gladly take us somewhere else.

Katy being Katy carried on regardless and Greg trotted on after her sounding like a broken record "no thank you, no thank you, no thank you".

Hit the shops where Katy chose the biggest apple ever -possibly the size of her head - yes it was that big!! Also purchased a much needed Lonely Planet book so we might have a idea what we are doing now - I repeat might.

After declining yet another taxi, we were given a street map of Phuket - ok so some taxi drivers are nice. Greg took it upon himself to do some map reading (dont worry he did Sun strokePerfect cure ice cold chang and in front of air con....alright) and found our way to the bus.

May be worth mentioning it was ridiculously hot especially after a brisk 45 minute walk.

After a bumpy hours drive on our 'bus' we eventually arrived at Patong beach, apparently this is where th party is at... on closer inspection it appeared we had stumbled across a mass german porn set with every old has been feeling the need to inflict us with their saggy lumps and bumps all wrapped in a thong or speedo.

Greg being the true Brit (idiot) he went straight for the tan. Alas his pasty white skin turned a glowing lobster red. We impressed even our selves on the way home getting buses all the way, even if we did share the last one soley with school kids.

Who we are sure were laughing at us - well maybe just Greg. Deciding that Patong was not for us, we headed off to a different beach (Rawai), the con man taxi had other ideas and dropped us...................somewhere... Katy being a happy bunny flagged down the first bus she saw which consequently led us to a pretty cool beach.

Again got the bus home we are sooooooooooooooooooooooo good, until

Osama Bin GregSun is the devil......we realised that we had a 4KM urban trek ahead of us.

Sun stroke

Perfect cure ice cold chang and in front of air con....

Greg suffering with sun/heat stroke, donned the look of a terrorist and wrapped a towel around his head. However all was made up when we collected our laundry, Katy was beside herself with joy at

1. having clean clothes and

2. the fact her pants were folded!!!! Next day, Gregs sun stroke had seriously kicked in, he actually could have produced enough heat to power a small family home, but instead spent much of the day in front of the aircon.

Whilst Greg was dying, Katy took it upon herself to book accommodation for Phi Phi, being the bargain hunter that she is got a sweet deal of only 100 quid............a night that is!!! Justified it for her birthday treat....

Osama Bin Greg
Sun is the devil......

School bus.....

I'm glad katy was with me else it would've looked very wrong!!!....

The Road from Ko Chang (cont'd...)

by jasonandkim

The format of this blog will have to change slightly from numbering the days to overall impressions of each area for the simple reason that I can barely remember which day is which anymore. Not that it will matter in the slightest...I only want to let you know that, though the blogs may appear to be getting longer; they will actually be condensing...(Applause)

I like my Germans well done, thank you

The thing about "advice" is that it is usually 100% subjective, and unless you have a pretty firm understanding of the person issuing said advice - you're usually better off on your own.

We've had some terrible advice passed on to us (starting with our travel agent), that we've accepted all too readily, and ignored the best (like - don't eat the ice & dont go to Phuket...). However, Phuket is a necessary evil in order to get to where we want to be, and after Ko Chang, we'll be able to stick it out for a day or two longer (yeah, we're tough that way ;-).

After lying our way out of the travel office and back into the minivan headed to Kata Beach, we're treated to a view of the beaches (Patong & Karon), that we've decided against staying at.

It's like a real life version of, "Let's Make A Deal", where you get to see what's behind doors #1 & 2 before you get to see what's behind the one you've chosen.

Door # 1 Patong Beach looks like my vision of Hell. A shitload of overweight Germanic cheapskate overly tanned hedonists getting barked at by tuk-tuk drivers and t-shirt vendors.

Buh-bye...

Door # 2 Karon Beach actually looks fairly serene (all things considered).

A nice long beach with loungechairs and umbrellas (for rent, of course), that seems to be reasonably "yahoo-free".

I told Kim that the Lonely Planet says that Kata Beach isn't as noisy as Karon - so that's why I've decided to "wear the pants" for this decision. Naturally then, we're excited to see what's behind...

Door # 3 The nice English family that offered up the info on Peach Hill Resort, said that Kata was beautiful (presumably, that's why they've returned), and the Lonely Planet did confirm that it's their pick for "best "beach" on Phuket.

the minivan driver took us up a steep hill and turned into the curved entrance around the fountain at Peach Hill, where our bags were immediately picked up by eager bellboys (more like bell-men), and we're greeted with smiling "Sawadee kra's".

Obviously, we have reservations at this fine establishment.

It looks great, (and the van hasn't pulled away yet), so we go to reception and inquire as to the obvious (the obvious being that we can't afford Peach Hill).

Just as well; they're fully booked.

Thank God The van has left and we retrieve our bulging backpacks from the somewhat bewildered bell-men and hurl them onto our travel-weary back to begin the descent into Kata town.

"Hi! Hi! Me Love You Long Time! After trudging around the town of Kata for roughly an hour, getting turned away by full resort after full guesthouse, we decide to settle on a fairly decent room in a pretty questionable area.

The sun was getting quite low, and if we've learned anything so far on this trip, it's that prices rise as the sun goes down (especially when wearing backpacks).

After a much need shower, we headed out to find something to eat. We pass a ton of tiny bars that only seem to stock a limited amount of liquor (no kitchen are apparent), and are staffed by very friendly women.

I don't think we've said "hello" this many time in one day.

Jason Gives The Pants Back To Their Rightful Owner Turns out that I'd mixed up Kata with Karon and we're in a smaller version of Patong.

After dinner, we runt the gaunlet of tailors selling suits ("cheap for you!"), more vendors selling the same crap, taxi drivers and of course, Thai hookers.

Kim says that come morning, we'll be checking out Karon Beach for new digs if we haven't heard from Angela & Paul by morning.

Then she hits the Lonely Planet for a bit while I check out the U.S. primary race on CNN.

It'll be a few days before Kim takes my shitty advice again. Who cares, it's too hot for pants anyway...