Chiang Mai - Phuket - Phi Phi

 March 19, 2011

Chiang Mai to Phuket

This morning we had to leave our favourite hotel of all the places we've stayed in the last 8.5 months. Yes, the hotel is beautiful, but what makes this place special is the very attentive and kind staff members. I’ve honestly never seen anything like it. I think that this place truly deserves the name Boutique Hotel.

As we got in the van for our ride back to the airport (which was included in the hotel price… seems small, but it’s the only place in Thailand that has provided us with this service for free) one of the girls from the hotel stood out on the front step and waved and smiled at us until we left.

We had to fly to Bangkok first and then connect through to Phuket where we can catch a ferry to Phi Phi. Because we are arriving late in the afternoon we decided to stay one night in Phuket and catch the ferry in the morning.

Phuket was much larger than we expected, and very developed. There were lots of luxury condos and shopping centers… unfortunately there were also lots of bargirls. I think the sex trade is pretty rampant here. I totally understand why the girls do it… poverty and desperation… but I wish there was another solution for them. Unless you see it yourself you can’t understand the magnitude of how many girls (and boys) are actually working in the industry. Just another thing that makes me sad…

So many things I just can’t fix.

We stayed in a very nice hotel, with a very nice pool, and even room service… but we won’t be back to Phuket. Next time we come to Phi Phi we’ll come through Krabi, even though the plane ticket was three times as much to Krabi from Bangkok. The other side of Thailand (which I like to pretend isn’t there, is far less obvious in Krabi.)

March 20, 2011

Phuket to Phi Phi

This morning we took a walk down to the beach and enjoyed a nice breakfast at our hotel before heading to our ferry to Phi Phi. Honestly, I don’t remember much of the day because I took the motion sickness tablets for the ferry ride and was barely conscious for the remainder of the day. You will all be pleased to know that I managed to get on this ferry without falling over!

I was so happy to be back on Phi Phi. It truly is a unique place. The landscape is beautiful, and it is a small enough place that there are no motorized vehicles. The lanes are narrow and everybody walks everywhere. The place is so laid back that it isn’t uncommon to see people walking around without their shoes on. I am quite fond of this!