I’m feeling a bit bleak my friends, so I’m picking up where I left off re: Thailand diaries. To read past posts in this series, click here.
At this point I would like to share a few points I jotted down in my paper journal I was keeping during this time under the heading Lessons Learned:
- Drink more water than you think
- Any clothing with more than one layer is too hot for Thailand [I’m pretty sure I had my sports bra in mind when I wrote this, ugh]
- The best outfit is my “temple dress” – flowy and white, covers shoulders and down to the ankles. Remarkably cool, and with BONUS POCKETS
Getting to the Rasssada Pier in Phuket Town was a mini adventure in itself. We were on our way to spending a few nights on Phi Phi Island, which required a ferry ride so this was part one.
We ordered a cab to pick us up from our Air BnB and I nearly suffered a panic attack waiting for it to arrive. I was really worried about making it to the ferry on time because we’d already bought our tickets online and could NOT miss it.
There was another hiccup when we arrived and checked in. We didn’t have a print out of the tickets, which that was ok for this leg of the journey but would create an issue in Phi Phi when we were departing because they don’t accept a digital confirmation. Surprise! We had to figure out where/how to print something out ON AN ISLAND. (Note that our hotel eventually did it for us, but it was a pain in the butt.)
The youngest bought fries from a kiosk while we waited to board. This was the scene around us (clearly I wasn’t the only exhausted traveller):
In case someone is Googling “ferry to Phi Phi Islands” you should know that it has comfy seating for all, A/C, and plenty of washrooms (just bring your own toilet paper). There’s also a counter to buy snacks and water. Here’s a view:
The ferry ride was totally uneventful, which is perfect, for a ferry ride. There was lots to look at:
I assumed we’d spend a lot of time soaking up the sun on the top deck during the journey over, but I was mistaken. It felt like a broiler up there and we couldn’t hang out for more than a few minutes without feeling like we were marshmallows being roasted over an open campfire:
We wandered around the ferry but always returned to our seats. There was a movie playing for those interested (although Pirates of the Caribbean was a strange choice for any sea-faring vessel) but I was really grateful for the comfortable seating and the air conditioning!
It took about two hours to get to Phi Phi from Phuket Town. We passed a few areas that were obviously tourist destinations on the way to in to the pier. This was Monkey Beach (more about that later):
And this was the view when our ferry pulled in to the dock:
We grabbed our bags and waited to disembark. We were brimming over with excitement. What adventures would await us here? Little did we know that there were thrills, spills, and some disappointments to come… and much beauty as well.
