I had always dreamt of travelling in a speed boat amidst the blue ocean, and this place was certainly the best i could think of to fulfill this dream of mine. Being at one of the topmost places in my bucket list, I recently took a trip to Phi Phi Islands, which I can certainly tag as one of the most beautiful places I have visited.
We started the trip from New Delhi to Bangkok, Bangkok to Phuket and Phuket to Phi Phi Islands. The trip from Phuket to Phi Phi Islands was out of the world, surrounded by the deep blue ocean and green mountain peaks. To get the complete feel of travelling with the locals over there we took a ferry ride from Phuket to Phi Phi Islands. The ferry took somewhere around two and a half hours to reach the destination, but the experience was worth all that wait.
We had made our hotel reservations much in advance (in order to avoid any last-minute rush) at the Holiday Inn Resort, Phi Phi Islands. The moment we reached the resort we were very much sure that the choice for our stay was just perfect. From the beautiful hotel location to the courteous staff and great food, this resort was an experience in itself.
The resort (Holiday Inn) is located on an island that has some other resorts and eating joints. One can try the local food at the food joints right outside the resort. The food in the resort is also very good, with a wide spread of buffet and À la carte menu. The Cha Bah Restaurant in the resort is just perfect for a wonderful candle-lit dinner by the beach side. The wide variety of sea food barbecues is a must-have at this restaurant. Salmon on the toast, Pad Thai, Thai Red Curry, Sea food pizza and the Chinese bun are the other must-havs here. We also went to the local eating joints right outside the resort. Jasmin Restaurant served some great, mouth-watering sea-food delicacies.
Any trip is just too incomplete without some local market hopping and shopping. The main market of the island is at Ton Sai (you need to take a boat to reach there). We got a boat through the resort itself. If you don't want to ask the resort, you can take a boat all by yourself as well. There are plenty of long-tail boats available right on the beach.
The market was filled with souvenir stores, scuba diving and snorkeling schools, local food joints, electronic items and, clothes and accessories. You need to take out all of your bargaining skills as a lot of bargaining happens here. You need to use your skills correctly.
Ton Sai also has the famous Maya Bay. This beach was much more crowded when compared with the beach where the resort was. It was much more peaceful over there. So if you wish to party hard, Maya Bay at Ton Sai is the perfect place to be. But if you wish to spend some peaceful, quality time, away from all the hustle and crowd, then the beach right outside the resort (Leamtong Beach) is perfect. You can spend your entire day lying on the beach bed or in a hammock at the Leamtong Beach.
A little hesitation from water sports stopped us from going for scuba diving and snorkeling. (All these water sports were present at the resort itself). I definitely feel that I missed on a great experience in life, and so wish to go back to Phi Phi Islands solely to experience the beauty that lies beneath the ocean.
For our return to Phuket we had taken a speed-boat ride from the resort. They helped us in upgrading our return ride from ferry to a speed boat. The speed boat gushing through the ocean waters was a spectacular scene altogether.
Four days passed very quickly, but we had packed some very wonderful memories to bring back with us. The beauty of this place had left me mesmerized from Day 1. From the beautiful and serene beaches to the sun-kissed mountain peaks, Phi Phi has it all. Mere words cannot express the untouched beauty of this place.
It was indeed a dream vacation coming true for me.
Some takeaways from the trip:
-- Get your currency exchanged at the airport itself (Thai Baht is the currency here)
-- Experiences of a ferry ride, speed boat and a long-tail boat ride should not be missed
-- Do try the local delicacies, especially sea food, fresh coconut ice cream and fresh fruit smoothies
-- If no issues with water, do go in for scuba diving and snorkeling
-- Sun glasses, summer clothes and beach wear, and sun screens are some must-havs