Although we had an amazing trip to Nepal, we were excited to get to Thailand and meet up with Sarah. She arrived ahead of us and we met at the apartment we rented in Phuket. She stayed with us as we visited Koh Phi Phi as well. We took some touristy trips to see some of the highlights of the islands, as well as had some relaxing beach days.
Exploring Phuket
Phuket Apartment
We splurged on a nice penthouse apartment with a roof top, infinity pool near Kata Beach. (A nice change for us after so many tiny rooms in Nepal.) It was a great spot to watch the sunset and cool off after a day exploring hot and humid Phuket. It was situated between Kata and Kata Noi beaches so we had a couple great choices for relaxing and swimming in the ocean.
Our first day we went to Kata Noi beach and made sure Sarah got plenty of sunshine to help her conquer her jet lag.
Kayak Tour of the Hong Islands
One of the popular areas near Phuket are the spectacular Hong Islands. One island in particular was made famous by the 1974 James Bond movie “Man with the Golden Gun,” and quite a few tourists visit the area. We took the John Grey Kayak Tour that allowed us to avoid most of the tourists and see some sights only accessible by kayak. The islands themselves are fascinating limestone monoliths dripping with unusual stalactites.
The guides paddled for us, so it was the most relaxing kayak tour we have ever been on! We kayaked through tunnels to reach lagoons in the middle of some of the islands
The James Bond Island is interesting but very touristy.
Big Buddha and Old Phuket Town
We hired a car and driver to take us on a half day tour to see the Big Buddha and Old Phuket Town. They have a strict dress code at the Big Buddha so Diane and Sarah had to buy some colorful sarongs to cover up. The Big Budha is an impressive site and has many different Buddha representations to see. In two of the pictures below Dave and Sarah stand next to the Buddha that represents the day of the week they were born. The view from the top is fantastic.
Old town has colonial era buildings with lots of restaurants and shops. We had a great lunch and it was fun to wander around.
Six years ago Diane and I planned to stay at Mom Tri’s Villa Royale, but the plans got cancelled due to the pandemic. It didn’t work for us to stay there this time, but we had an excellent meal at their oceanside restaurant.
Koh Phi Phi
We took a ferry from Phuket to Phi Phi and stayed at The Phi Phi Beach Resort off what is known as Shark Point. We went snorkeling in the reef and saw many black tip reef sharks, as well as lots of colorful fish.
They have a fun that temple that the cats seem to enjoy.
We had a couple more relaxing beach days and spectacular sunsets.
Pirate Boat Tour Around Koh Phi Phi
Since we wanted to go to the top tourist spots around Koh Phi Phi we took a super touristy tour on The Phi Phi Pirate Boat. The boat took us to Monkey Beach, Maya Bay, a couple swimming / kayaking / snorkeling spots and a sunset cruise. There were around 75 people on the boat, but they managed all of us well.
Monkey Beach was small, crowded, and had a fair bit of trash washed up on the sand. But we managed to explore a bit.
Maya Bay was made famous by the movie “The Beach” 20 years ago with Leonardo DiCaprio. It became overrun with tourists who boated and snorkeled in the bay. All the activity damaged the reefs where baby sharks live. It was shut down for 4 years to recover, reopening in October 2023. With new infrastructure and no boats or people allowed in the bay, it is actually a decent experience. The sand is super soft and the bay with its towering limestone cliffs and narrow opening is spectacular. And we saw some baby black tip reef sharks swimming near the shore!
Sunset from the boat was amazing, and Sarah decided to take a risk and climb out on the front of the boat.
A Wonderful Visit
It was great to have Sarah come and travel with us in Thailand and we had so much fun. We were sad to see her leave. But we will see her soon at Christmas after we visit Railay Beach and Koh Lanta.