Today was an amazing adventure! Early this morning a van came to pick us up at our condo and drove us across the island to the Royal Phuket Marina – as usual on these excursions, Littlest girl got a nap in while we drove for an hour and a half. She’s a trooper with all of these early mornings – she can sleep anywhere!
At the marina we had to wait for all the other tourists to arrive and the boats to get ready, but while we waited they had a continental breakfast and snacks to grab for later. We also had to pay for the National Park entrance fee ($400 baht per adult, $200 baht per child – cash only).
Finally it was our turn to get on a speedboat. We thought it would be fun to ride in the front, but once we got settled in the guide came and said “No babies in the front, it’s too bouncy.” Have I mentioned that everyone calls the kids Babies? So, Spud, Littlest and I squeezed onto a bench in the back while the others stayed out front. They weren’t kidding though, it was a very bouncy ride even in the back. Superman and the girls had to hold on the whole time and caught air many times as we crossed from Phuket to the Phi Phi Islands.
First stop was Ko Phi Phi Lee Island (also known as Phi Phi Lay) and the famous Maya Bay. The boat backed up to a floating dock and we all jumped off and followed a crowd of people up and down stairs and single file down the walkway that runs between the two mountains that make up the island. Finally we got past the line of people waiting to get back onto their boats and could enjoy the walk through the trees.
Around a bend and down some stairs and we saw this stunning view:
This beach is absolutely gorgeous! Fine white sand, clear turquoise water, and rocky mountains surrounding the bay. No swimming is allowed as Thailand is trying to repair the coral reefs and keep it pristine, but we were allowed to go knee-deep. Our guide told us that there are baby black tip reef sharks in the bay but they don’t like people so we didn’t see any.
We wish we could come here to spend a whole day… Instead we got 35 minutes with our tour. But that’s okay, we were able to walk all the way down the beach and got out of the crowded section and just enjoyed God’s artwork. Stunning! We feel so lucky to be here!
Back across the island and onto the floating dock we jumped into the boat again. We are so happy that our tour group is pretty small- maybe 20 people on the boat. Some of the tours have 40+ and it seems like they are always waiting for someone or stuck in a crowd. Not sure how we lucked out with that… I’ll link to the tour we booked.
Next stop was a cove where we could swim. The kids all wore life jackets, but the salt water makes you so bouyant if you’re a good swimmer you are fine swimming here. That being said, one of the people from our tour looked like she’d never been swimming before in her whole life and couldn’t figure out how to float even with a life jacket on. The guides kept trying to help her figure it out but kept having to help her back onto the boat. Spud and I had to wait awhile in the water while that was going on, but we won’t complain about extra swimming time in the warm turquoise water.
Also, I was proud of Miss A – she always says she’s afraid of swimming in lakes and oceans and sometimes even in the swimming pool if she convinces herself that there might be a fish, shark, or turtle (or row of tile that looks like a cobra on the bottom of the pool). She got right in and swam with us and did just fine.
Next up on the tour we drove past a cave and then on to Monkey Beach. We were happy to hear that we weren’t disembarking at Monkey Beach. Instead, we’d be viewing from the boat. As much as I would love to see the monkeys up close, we met someone at church who was there a few days before and as the whole tour group was standing on the beach taking photos a monkey came up and bit his leg. He had to go straight to the hospital and is doing 5 sets of rabies shots over the next few weeks. We’ve heard since then that almost every day someone is bitten or nearly bitten. No thank you. Watching from the boat sounds just fine. They are so cute though and we saw a mama holding a baby!
Next stop was a snorkeling spot off of Phi Phi Don. The tour provided snorkel gear for all of us. Spud was the first one off the boat and into the water. I got in next and was waiting for Littlest to come down the ladder when I realized that a longtail boat was drifting close. The captain of that boat was having a hard time steering and kept lifting his spinning propellor out of the water because he was over the rope line of buoys that marked the snorkeling/boat boundary. I yelled at our boat guide to get Littlest back in the boat and yelled at Spud to swim with me away. Our guides grabbed Littlest and got her safely back on the boat and then were yelling in Thai to the other captain and pointing at us in the water. Meanwhile Superman was waiting further back in the boat for his turn to get off and he sees me in the water and what’s happening… Fortunately it all ended well. The longtail boat got out of the way, no one got run over. Phew.
There were lots of coral formations and tons of fish to see so it was a great snorkeling spot. I stuck with Littlest as the rest of the family explored. She enjoyed swimming around while I snorkeled, and she even tried snorkeling and saw some fish! She did great until she got a splash of water in her eyes with her mask off… Then she just wanted to be done. I was proud of her though- she put her face in and looked for fish a few more times before we got back in the boat. That’s a huge accomplishment for her!
We were taken to the other side of this island to a Holiday Inn, of all things to find in Thailand, where there was a buffet lunch and swimming in the pool. Littlest was excited to see spaghetti as part of the buffet… Of course it ended up being cold noodles and plain tomato sauce, but it looked like her favorite food. The best thing was a fruit we’ve never seen or heard of before – we had to use Google lens to identify what it was. Turns out it is a Kimju Guava. The unripe pieces tasted like a bland Asian Pear. The overripe ones tasted like guava. But the perfect ones were amazing! A little pear, strawberry, lime, pineapple flavor. Really yummy.
Last stop on the tour was at Bamboo Island. The boat pulled close to the shore and we jumped off and walked through the surf to the beach. There were a few shops, but we decided to use our time to play in the water. Nixi Ray took a nap on the beach. Spud and Littlest thought it was the best non-stop wave pool ever! True!
We enjoyed the hourlong boatride back to the marina (Littlest took another nap), and then another hour back to the condo via van. Thai signs make us laugh! Overall such a fun day seeing beautiful things and having a lot of fun together!
We decided to walk to a local place to find dinner. Miss A had already showered and put on pajamas but decided that she looked like she was in a casual summer outfit. Works for me. We found the “Alien Diner” not too far away. Think quirky 1950’s American diner but then make it a knock-off brand and have it serve Mexican food, French toast, and pizza. These places really make us laugh, but it was yummy food.
The kids all crashed as soon as we got back to the condo and we would have too except that we got to talk to our favorite South African missionary! He always makes us laugh with his stories. He’s working hard and changing lives.
