Phuket & Island Hopping During The Rainy Season

James Bond Island Sign

Wish we knew that it was the raining season before we booked the ticket to Phuket, maybe we would't go there. 

Day 1

We woke up early in the morning and checked out from our hotel in Bangkok. We took the first flight of Thai Lion Air and it took around one and half hour to Phuket. From there, we went to our hotel by the airport taxi. It was quite far from the airport to our hotel in Kemala, around 30 minutes. We were impressed with the hotel since it looked good and we closed to the beach - just a walking distance. However, don't expect that the beach is beautiful as in Bali. Beaches in Indonesia are more beautiful :)

View from the lobby

Hotel Lobby

Since we arrived before the check-in time, we went to Patong area to grab our lunch and then back to our hotel and enjoy the sunset 

Since our room was a bit far from the lobby, we could utilize their caddie service. We tried to call the receptionist but we found out that the phone were not working. So, I called them using my cellphone and asked them to fix the connection. The technician came and tried to fix it but then it didn't worked. Hence the staff offered me to move to another room - next to us, then we moved. We were so tired at that night so we preferred to have our dinner at the hotel. I had Pad Thai, while my friend had Roasted Duck then we slept because tomorrow we would have a trip to James Bond Island

Day 2 - James Bond Island, Island Hopping + Canoeing, Patong

we woke up early and look at the window, it was raining! we hope for the rain to stop because we would do islands hopping today. After having our breakfast, the driver from the trip picked us up to the pier. We already booked the trip in advance via Dfeelhostel.com. It costs 1,400 Bath per person for the island hopping, canoeing and visiting James bond island by using the big boat. We left the pier at around 9.30 and it was light raining. The boat and the crew were nice. They gave us explanation about the trip and the place that we wanted to visit. 

The first stop was Panak Island. We did canoeing there and also entered the bat cave. It was very dark inside there and sometimes we need to lay down because the low ceiling. 

Canoeing Activity

Canoeing Activity

Bat Cave

After around 45 minutes, we moved to Hong Island. Here, the view was better, there were lot of high rocks island and we explored by cannoning again. We could swim if we wanted but we preferred to just stay on the boat because it was raining and the water was not clean. 

The lunch was also provided on the boat. While having for our lunch, we were heading to James Bond Island. All the passengers were enjoying the meals but worried at the same time because the sky got darker with thick cloud. By the time, we reached to the island, the rain fell heavily, so we were waiting for a moment until it stopped.

There were so many tourists on the island and we were amazed with the view there but sadly we couldn’t see the scenery with the blue-sky background but the grey sky instead due to the rain. After about 1 hour, we got back to our boat. 

We thought, the trip was finished but then the captain told us that he had a surprise for us. We reached arrived in a small island. There was a cave on the island and the guide guided us to go inside there. We could see some stalagmite inside, sometime the path was covered with water. However, with following our guide we could reach the way out and surprised with what we saw afterward. There was a hidden place, an open-air area in the middle of the island, there were mangrove trees and some tiny creature, maybe a mudskipper. It was our last spot before we got back to the pier.

There was another surprised on the boat, suddenly there was a loud music and 3 lady boys were coming. LOL. It was just for fun, some of the passenger were happy but there were also some who were afraid. Also during on the way back, there was an area where we saw a lot of big jelly fish.

Overall, the trip was nice but sadly it was raining so we could not enjoy the beautiful scenery. After the trip, the driver dropped us to the hotel again. We were so hungry after the trip, we were thinking to make the cup noodle when we reached the hotel. We were shocked when we saw the cup noodle was bitten by a creature - we assumed it was rat. We complained to the hotel staff and asked them to check our room. They didn't find anything but the evidence was there. They offered us to upgrade the room because of this accident. Then we moved again for the second time. The room was bigger with outdoor Jacuzzi, but it was dirty.  
We took nap for a moment then we had dinner around Patong area. It wasn’t rain when we left the hotel but on the middle of the way, the rain fell heavily . Hence, we just had dinner in the mall and waiting for the rain to stop. After that we walked around there and saw a lot of go go bar and the night clubs. Along the way, there were some people who offered us to watch the “pingpong” show. But we just left them. We were back to the mall before 10pm because we would take shuttle provided by the hotel to go back, the shuttle was coming and it was like a tuk-tuk not a minibus. The rain was falling again on the way back to the hotel but we had a good sleep because of the weather.

Day 3 - Last Day, Phiphi & Khai Island

Today, we would have trip to Phi Phi Island. We booked from the same site, it costed 1,000 Bath per person for the trip with speed boat. We checked out in the morning and brought our luggage to the pier. When we checked out, we were complaining to the hotel because they charged our dinner on day 1 while the staff told us that they gave complimentary due to room issue. There was a miss communication between us. The morning shift staff didn't get any note on this, so they called the lady who gave us this. I talked to her and she said that since they upgraded our room therefore the complimentary dinner was not given anymore. We were so angry at that time since they were no clear explanation on this. Since the driver already there and we had to leave, at the end we pay the dinner. 

The travel agent was different with the previous one. Before the trip, the agent briefed us about the whole trip for today. Afterward, we were heading to the boat to start our journey. The speed boat was big, however there were so many tourists so it was super packed inside the boat. Luckily, the weather was super nice at that time. 

For the first stop, we went to a small island – I forgot the name. Honestly, I did not understand why we need to stop here, the guide told us that it was just to wait for a moment before heading to Khai Island. There was nothing on the island and we could not do anything except of walking on dirty beach – we saw lot of rubbish there. We stayed there for around 40 minutes and continued to Khai Island. 

Khai Nai Island Signage

First impression when we arrived in Khai Island was super crowded with tourists. The island itself was not too big especially they had so many restaurants there. We could do snorkeling and other water activities if we wanted but we were too lazy because it was so crowded there. I tried to snorkeling but not much I could see there. So that I just enjoyed the beach. Lunch was provided at the local restaurant; the food was ok and they provide the soda and fruits as well. After spending for around 2 hours, we were leaving the island. I personally think that 2 hours was too much there, because it was just a small island but maybe it was worthy if you did some water activities. 

The trip to Ph Phi Island from Khai Island was around 1 hour, it was a bumpy ride since the tide was high. A bit scary, but the captain could manage it. We were amazed with the beautiful scenery and clear water around the area. Also, we passed the Pirate Cave on the way there. 

Pirates Cave

Arrived in Phi Phi Island, the guide told us that we only have 1 hour here. I was shocked, it was a short time. So that, I just walked around the island (to find a toilet lol) and did snorkeling there. 

Phi Phi Island

We were a bit disappointed with this trip because the limited time to enjoy Phi Phi Island.

The driver dropped us at Dfeel Hostel, a nice hostel near Patong area. We kept our luggage there and walked to Patong again. I forgot to mention that I think there are many Moslem community here because I saw many women are wearing hijab and found some mosque too. We had dinner and then back to the hostel before leaving to the airport. On the way back to the hostel, we some the fire-flies. It was my first time to see this insect, tried to capture it but it was too dark.

At around 11pm, we flew back to Bangkok with Air Asia.

Overall the Phuket trip was ok for us. We like the hotel but disappointed with the service. If they communicated clearly it would be a perfect stay. James Bond island & the island hoping were great but sadly it was raining. Need to consider the Phi Phi Island, maybe it would be better if you choose the bigger to avoid over crowded on the boat. Lastly, lesson learned from this trip, please check what season it is in the destination that you want to visit :)  

The Ancient City of Ayutthaya

Today's agenda was to visit the historical site in Thailand, Ayutthaya. It's an ancient city in Central Thailand and just takes around 1 hour from the metropolis city of Bangkok. You can reach this area with several options of transport: bus, train, van, or taxi. At first, our plan was to take the BTS (Bangkok Mass Transit System) then continued by van as what we read on the website. 

By the we arrived at the final stop, Mo Chit station, I was trying to ask to the BTS' staff how to find the Van. Sadly, they didn't know, and even some of them were not speaking English so it was hard to communicate with them. we gave up! we tried to find another alternative in between Taxi / Uber / Grab, I found out that Grab was the cheapest one. I ordered the car and called the driver but... he didn't speak English so randomly I asked someone one the street whether they speak English got a guy to help us to explain where we were. He asked me that the driver was already closed to us until I got a confirmation that he canceled the trip. I was still trying to find another driver, however my friend preferred to go there by taxi to minimize the hassle. It wasn’t hard to find the taxi driver, we negotiated with one of them and got the price of 1,500 bath for return for 4 hours

The trip from Bangkok to Ayutthaya took around one hour via toll. By the time we reached the city, the taxi driver gave us the city map and explain a bit about the most visited place there. Firstly, we decided to visit Wat Yai Chai Mongkol. The entrance fee is 20 Bath. Entering the area, we could directly see the gigantic reclining Buddha statue covered by yellow fabric.

Not far from there, we saw an area for praying and further we crossed the bridge. We saw a lot of water turtles on the river.

We were amazed and questioning on the next area because we saw hundreds of rooster statues with vary of size. It seems like each rooster state was given and represented someone because we saw something like a name, we didn’t understand since it was written on Thai letters.

Continuing to the next part, we visited the outstanding stupa, There, we could also see a lot of Buddha statue around the stupa as well as some ruins of the building. 

We went to up and saw the area from the top. It was nice to see the area from here but be ready with sun, it was super-hot! Coming inside to the stupa, we found some Buddha statues and visitors could throw their coin money and target it to the bowl on the bottom of the stupa. 

From Wat Yai Chai Mongkol, the driver dropped us at Wat Maha That. We need to pay for  another 20 Bath for the entrance fee. Located in the center of Ayutthaya, this site has an important role to Ayutthaya Kingdom because it was the religious center. We could see the ruin of the temple and also the most iconic site, the head Buddha Statue. 

Not too far from the entrance, we could easily find the head Buddha statue that was trapped on the root tree. To respect their believe, we have to sit down if we want to take picture in front of this statue. In addition, we are not allowed to touch this statue.

We continued to explore inside the site. There, we could see a lot of Buddha statue and the ruin of the temple. we were still questioning because there were many statues without head. 

After strolling around the site, I bought a coconut ice cream. It was nice to recharge yourself after getting sweaty because the sun exposure. 

The third site was Wat Phra Si Sanpet. On our way there, we were shocked when we saw some elephants on the pedestrian. Honestly, I really wanted to ride the elephant but then I remembered the video from Facebook that it’s not allowed to ride the elephant. Their back is not designed to lift human body and it will cause hurt to them, in addition, we don’t know how they are treated well

In Wat Phra Si Sanpet, we would find 3 big stupas / chedis that had the ashes of 3 kings of Ayutthaya

We walked around the temple, crossed the bride and we saw the elephant camps where you can give donation to feed them and buy ticket to ride them. But, please consider to ride the elephant !

Actually, there are still some spots that we can visited in Ayutthaya. Sadly due to limited time (renting the taxi) and we didn't prepare well for this visit, we missed to visit some sites here. I personally recommend this place as a destination when you are in Thailand. It's so close with Bangkok but you can see the different ambiance here