Today was the day I packed up my backpack and headed to my last Krabi tour called the Phi Phi island tour. This time rather than returning back to Railey Beach, I would be left on Phi Phi to catch the ferry to Phuket where I have a flight tomorrow morning to Chiang Mai.
The Phi Phi speed boat tour was packed full of tourists. We were packed in so tight that it was a bit claustrophobic. The sun/rain canopy wasn’t helping…nor was the choppy seas which took out a few of the landloving tourists via plastic bag.
Once reaching the Phi Phi islands we made a few stops at some of the attractions in the area. Eventually we made it to the feature attraction, Maya Bay. The location where they filmed the move ‘The Beach”. The place was an utter madhouse. Boats and people everywhere. I tried to enjoy it for what it was, but honestly could not wait to leave. A few photos later and we stopped at a local snorkel area in the bay. That part was pretty cool though. I just felt like they were herding cattle.
After a mediocre buffet style lunch I grabbed my stuff and ran to the Phuket ferry in just enough time. The ferry was 2 hours and sat up on the top deck to take in the views of the Andaman Sea and get some fresh air.
Once arriving I paid a 600bhat taxi ride to an area that was near the airport. All through this trip I never booked a room ahead of time so figured it would still be quite easy. Well, welcome to Phuket. It was a zoo. Cars, motorbikes, people, trash….etc. It was crazy. After over an hour ride I made it to the beach area where I thought I could casually find a room. My taxi driver took pitty on me and kept stopping at room after room. All full.
There was a room down at a fancy resort, but the cost per night, 8000bhat – about $270 USD. No way. I had been used to paying $20USD per night tops. Maybe $30 if I wanted to splurge. Yikes.
Finally we found a place that had one room left – the AirCon room with 2 beds, refrigerator, TV, and its own bathroom with hot water. It wasn’t much (for the looks of it I mean) but the price still hit below the belt. 2500bhat/night. Yikes.
Since I am assuming this was the last room in the area, I was not going to keep searching. I was in the sun all day, work out, tired and a bit travel sick from all the boats. My stomach was starting to hurt and my body was totally worn out. After a shower later, I really began to go comatose – no chance to even walking down the beach to catch sunset. I was whipped.
About 11pm that night I woke up and had some “intestinal issues” followed by the trash can and I becoming quite intimate. This went on throughout the night and all I remember was I was so thankful I had my own bathroom and A/C. The next morning I had to decide wether I had the strength to make it to the airport. I really did not want to spend another night in that place, especially at the overinflated price.
Phucket can go Phucket.