Robbed - 10/07/2009

I seriously cannot believe my luck! Yes....I was robbed - and the worst thing is that I only discovered it nearly 2 weeks later in Phuket. I usually keep some emergency money aside in a concealed section of my backpack. When I was clearing my bag out one night, I noticed that the hidden wallet seemed a bit thinner. I remembered that I was only thinking how fat the wallet was last time I checked (too many $1 notes). I then looked deeper and realised that a hidden credit card was missing too. Panic kicked in! I took everything out from the bag and laid it on the floor. I was so frustrated to discover that travellers cheques were gone, a credit card was gone and bloody US$300 cash was also gone! I also later found out that the bastards used almost $2800 on the credit card to buy 2 mobile phones, diamonds and to eat out at different restaurants.......Spewing!!!!! Hope they choked and died from that Vietnamese gourmet food they had. :(((((

Besides the robbery, our Phuket experience was ok. We got there at around 10:30pm and checked into the 'On On Hotel' in Phuket town. It was the hotel that was in a scene from the movie 'The Beach' with Leo Di Caprio in it (although the hotel was really in Phuket instead of Khao San Road, Bangkok as shown in the movie). It was so old but it was very cheap. The whole room cost us A$10. I realised the hotel had not changed one bit when I saw the movie again a few days later.

We moved to Kata beach the next day to enjoy the beach culture. Phuket town was inland... Kata turned out to be the best part of Phuket island as it was away from all the madness in Patong Beach and had some really nice restaurants/cafes around. The beach was nice with clear water, but it was also polluted with rubbish. This English chick pulled out this huge rice bag from the water all wrapped with fishing lines and with seaweed growing around it. I nearly vomited when I saw her catch.

We hired scooters to roam around different beaches and to go to Patong for some cheap supplies. Patong was seriously nuts There were more bars there than Khao San Road in Bangkok. Pretty much there were bars every second shop. A lot of touts tried to tempt us with ping-pong shows and other “interesting” shows. But Naomi nearly growled and released her claws at them for even approaching me with her standing next to me. It's pretty unusual for me to refuse free entry to clubs, but hey, Patong was a dangerous place.

We also went to see Transformers 2 while we were in town when it was pouring down one day.
The beaches in Phuket weren't really too bad. But it's difficult to always compare the beaches here in SE Asia to the Gold Coast or Byron Bay where we have some of the best beaches in the world. Without all the rubbish, I am sure the beaches would be super lovely in Phuket.
We then went from Phuket to Phi Phi Don Island.

Phi Phi Island

Boy oh boy, Phi Phi was a beautiful island. It's actually made up of 5 islands. But they were all beautiful. Unfortunately I had to spent the first day and half ringing banks and insurers and all the miscellaneous companies that I was in no mood to talk to during my holidays. It was torturous dealing with ANZ (mum's bank) who wouldn't fax me or email me any of the fraudulent transactions done on the credit card. It would have been a 2 second phone call if I was dealing with NAB....perhaps it's time to change banks people!

We stayed in Phi Phi Princess resort which was actually quite nice. Small but very clean room with ensuite. We spent a day doing a snorkelling tour to all the different spots around the islands. It was some of the best snorkelling ever! It was up there with Ko Tao's coral gardens. We also visited some of the most beautiful beaches I have seen. We stopped by Maya Bay on Phi Phi Lae Island where 'The Beach' was filmed and another bay on the other side. The water was seriously crystal clear with coral gardens at the entrance of the bay. We took heaps of photos which we will put on the blogsite soon. The bays were absolutely amazing. You could see fish just from the beach and could see like 20 metres into the water from the surface. If I ever get to have a Castaway experience, these bays would be my top preference.

I also spent a morning on a remote beach (Ao Lo Mu Di) on Phi Phi Don Island before we left. The boat charter ended up to be a brilliant idea to get there. I had the whole beach with its emerald green water to myself. What did I do? I swam and floated in the water and looked at clouds passing by and when I got tired, I went back to the beach and lay underneath the coconut trees and read my book. Talking about lifestyle!

I had the worst stress attack on the way back. I accidentally jumped on a random tourist cruiser without knowing where it was heading. Everyone on the boat had this sticker from the tour except me. I just pretended that I was one of them and casually asked other tourists where the boat was heading. To my greatest relief, they said the next stop was the pier. I was so stressed as I did not know whether the crew would chuck me overboard and feed the sharks because I did not have the sticker, or just leave me on a random beach. Also Naomi would kill me for not being back on time for our afternoon ferry to Krabi (mainland).

Overall, Phi Phi islands were the best part of my Thailand trip. I found the beach that I was looking for that I heard and dreamed so much about. I feel like I have relaxed on Phi Phi and could probably spend another week there just doing nothing.

Ao Nang, Krabi

Ao Nang is this little beach town about 20km from Krabi. We felt that there might not be much to do in Krabi town, so came here to stay until we depart Thailand on 13/07/09. We got here on the 10/07/09 and spent yesterday doing a 4-island tour on a longtail boat. It was the most insane experience ever. As the weather was pretty rough, a couple of times I thought we were going to overturn the boat. At our first island the boat could not pick us up because of the high wind and we had to hike over this steep slippery hill and swim to the boat on the other side. We constantly enjoyed huge waves and were absolutely soaked. Some of the girls onboard were so pissed that they nearly shouted at the tour guide.

It was pretty bad though I had to admit. They should have cancelled the tour after the first island when the storm were rolling in. Instead we spent the next few hours just waiting for the rain and wind to slow down so that we could continue to the next island. It was dreadful sitting in the rocking boat where you could see sea one second and sky the next and with splash bullets hitting your face. Never mind, we already enjoyed the best of what Thailand had to offer.

Oh, the air-conditioner in our room leaked last night and went all over my phone. My good luck continues....again. The guesthouse is trying to get it fixed by sending it to the shops. But as I am leaving tomorrow, the chance of getting it fixed is close to Buckleys. I just hope that I get some compensation for it.

We are leaving for KL tomorrow afternoon (13/07) and arriving in Taiwan the next day (14/07). I am looking forward to have some homemade meals soon!!!

Peace and out.