Following a short stopover in KL, where every flight announcement was followed by a friendly invitation to have a 'Happy Jenny', we continued on to our first stop: Phuket in Thailand.
Patong beach
Phuket is the kind of holiday destination that features in TV shows such as 'What Really Happens in Thailand' and 'Locked Up Abroad'. And in the town that we were staying in, Patong, there was no shortage of the characters you would expect to see on these shows. And while we did take a walk down the infamous Bangla Road to see what the fuss was about, it was Phang Nga Bay and Phi Phi island that had enticed us to visit this part of Thailand.
Phang Nga Bay is famous for the limestone cliffs and rock formations. This is Thailand's version of Halong Bay.
Phi Phi island is situated just to the south of Phang Nga Bay, and is probably best known as the setting for the movie 'The Beach' starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
But, before getting to Phang Nga Bay and Phi Phi island, we first spent some time exploring Phuket, including Wat Chalong and the Big Buddha.
Wat Chalong is a Bhuddist temple complex built in 1837, and is the most popular and most visited of the 29 temples found around Phuket.
The 45m tall Big Buddha is relatively new by comparison, and was built in 2004. There are still a number of construction activities underway, but the main statue is complete and worth seeing. Although it was quite overcast when we were there, I can imagine the view on a clear day from up there is great.
Unless you arrive in your own boat, there are two options for exploring Phang Nga Bay. Either join a large tour group, on a large ferry type vessel, or join a small tour group on a speed boat. The small tour groups offer an early start and aim to get you to the main tourist attractions ahead of the large tour groups. This sounded like a much better option and we ended up booking a day trip with a company called Simba Sea Trips. Our day of exploring Phang Nga Bay included:
- Koh Phanak: a cave that leads to en enclosed lagoon and mangrove
- Kayaking through caves and alongside limestone cliffs
- Koh Phing Kan (James Bond Island), where 'The Man with the Golden Gun' was filmed.
- Koh Yao Noi, which is one of the larger islands located in Phang Nga Bay, for lunch and to see the rubber plantations
- And then time relaxing on a white sand beach before taking the speed boat back to Phuket.
We really enjoyed this tour as it provided a good introduction to Phang Nga Bay and included a good mix of activities and sites.
The next day we said goodbye to Patong and Phuket, and boarded a ferry to the Phi Phi Islands. Phi Phi Don is the larger of the two islands, and has lots of accommodation options. Phi Phi Lee is the smaller island to the south of Phi Phi Don, and is where 'The Beach' was filmed.
We thoroughly enjoyed our 2 days on the Phi Phi islands. The first day was spent exploring Phi Phi Don, and included lots of snorkeling at Moo Dee Beach and Long Beach. Long Beach is the more popular of the two, and you can easily get a drink at a beach side bar or have a massage, but Moo Dee Beach is quieter and offered far better snorkeling.
In order to get to Phi Phi Lee we arranged with one of the locals to take us in his long tail boat. He was very chuffed to inform us that his boat was brand new, which means that is looked very good, but going on a boat that is a few years old and has been tested at sea is probably also not a bad idea. Despite finding a few holes in the boat that needed better sealing, we made it to Phi Phi Lee and back without incident.
After the Phi Phi islands we headed to Ao Nang. This would be our last stop in southern Thailand before heading north.
Getting from Phi Phi Don to Ao Nang was straight forward: take one of the many ferries that depart throughout the day, but just make sure to book tickets in advance. Although Ao Nang does not have a beautiful beach or any attractions to make it a must-see-destination, it is a great base for day-tripping. We ended up doing a day trip to Hong Island, and also spending some time exploring Rai Leh (also known as Railay).
Koh Gai (Chicken Island),
which we passed on the way from Phi Phi to Ao Nang
which we passed on the way from Phi Phi to Ao Nang
Tham Phra Nang Nai (Diamond Cave),
Rai Leh
Rai Leh
And bats!
View over Rai Leh
And some videos of a great fire show that we watched at Hippies Beach Bar (Phi Phi island).
Next up => Thailand Part 2: Exploring Chiang Mai and the North
Comparing Phang Nga Bay and Halong Bay (with some help from Wikipedia)
Size:
- Phang Nga Bay is approximately 400km2
- Halong Bay is approximately 1,500km2, although the main area of interest is about 330km2
No. of islands:
- Phang Nga Bay has 42 islands
- Halong Bay has approximately 2,000 islands, with about 775 of these being in the main area of interest
Status:
- Phang Nga Bay is a protected RAMSAR site (i.e. wetland of designated international importance)
- Halong Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Best time to visit:
- Phang Nga Bay: During the cool season (November to February)
- Halong Bay: Spring (March to May)
Which one is best?
- You will have to visit both and decide for yourself. For me, the sheer limestone cliffs and long tail boats have put Phang Nga Bay just ahead of Halong Bay (but only just!).
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