Thailand Part 3. Phuket/Phi Phi Island

From Chiang Mai we hopped on a plane and headed down to the southern tip of Thailand to Phuket. Our first day/evening in Phuket was a little crazy. Before we left, everyone told us to not book a hotel, and to just figure it out when we got there... well, when we got to Kata Beach that proved to be quite a bit harder than we expected!

Me and Sarah crashed on the beach with our bags, while the boys went out on a search to find us a place to stay. After searching for about an hour, they finally found us a cute little place for us to crash at for the night. We were all a little tired and on edge, but once we got some food in us we were feeling much better. So we decided to head down to the beach! 

When we got to the beach we bought a few lanters. It is tradition with the Thai lanters to write your wishes on them, and then let them go into the sky! It was so great to be standing there with Blair as our lantern floated up into the sky until we couldn't even see it anymore...

A few of our wishes included: endless love, success, and a continuation of chasing our dreams! It was a very special and beautiful night in Thailand. Definitely one we will never forget!

We woke up bright and early to catch the ferry from Phuket town to the island of Kho Phi Phi Don. It is about a two hour ferry ride  to get there!

 Once we got to the island, we were immediately amazed at how isolated and serene it was. There are no cars on Phi Phi. Everyone just walks and bikes around. To walk from one side to the other takes about 20 minutes. It is truly one of the most gorgeous places I have ever seen in my life.

Breath taking, really.
When we first got there, we checked in with our Scuba shop to set up our dives for the next two days. They were super helpful in helping us find a hotel, places to eat, etc. We again searched and searched to find a hotel, and after a lot of sweating... we found a cute 2 bedroom bungalow to stay in! Then we headed to the beach!

 

It was heaven.
The water was so shallow and calm. We would wade way  out, and then just relax and lay in the water for hours! The jungle surrounding the beaches provided the most gorgeous scenery. After relaxing at the beach for a few hours, we rented Kayaks and headed out to "Monkey Beach."

It took us about 30 minutes to kayak to the beach, but we were a little disappointed when we got there, because we didn't see any monkeys! 

We think it must have been the wrong time of day or something. But it was truly the most beautiful beach I have ever been to. It was just a tiny strip of white sand, with dense jungle surrounding it. We played on the beach for a bit, and then did a little snorkeling. Then we headed back on our kayaks out into the middle of the ocean to watch the sunset. Talk about the perfect ending to a perfect day! 

That night we ate at a little hole in the wall restaurant, and then wandered around the town. The night life in Phi Phi is definitely alive and crazy!

We even got to watch a good Thai boxing match! 

That night when we got back to our bungalow we cranked our AC, turned on our lights, etc. Well, while we were in the shower the power went out 3 times! haha! I would just stand there while Blair would go fix it with Kellen! What a crack up. It was literally always an adventure! Gotta love Thailand!
The next morning we were up bright and early. We had to meet at our dive shop at 7:00am! One of our favorite things about Phi Phi is the amazing bakeries! They have some killer donuts and coconut bread. We ate it every morning for breakfast. ha!
Scuba diving was seriously a blast...

 

First of all, we had a great scuba instructor. His name was Julian and he was from South Africa. He was very informative, and yet he made it so fun! 

At first I was feeling pretty nervous, but once we got in the water, it was very relaxing! We loved every minute. We saw some amazing things underwater. There were huge coral fans, sea turtles, crabs, eels, millions of fish, etc. 

In between dives our boat headed to Maya Bay to park while we ate lunch and just hung out. Then we did another dive just off of Maya Bay after lunch. So much fun!! 

 

After our dives we headed back to check into our hotel for the next night, then we headed back to the beach! 

 

After playing in the water for a while, we all crashed out and took the longest nap! It felt great! 

Then we headed back to our hotel and got ready for the night. We LOVED the Thai food while we were there, but we were craving something different... so we went out to eat Italian food! Random huh?! But it seriously tasted amazing! After dinner we wandered around a few shops, and then called it a night. We were pooped!

The next day we had two more dives. Again they were absolutely gorgeous! We were all very comfortable under water, which was such a relief. On one of our dives we got to swim through an underwater cave... it was amazing!

 I am extremely excited that I decided to get scuba certified. I can tell there will be many more dive trips in the future. It is such a fun thing for Blair and I to do together, and it really is so beautiful and relaxing! I can't wait to go again soon!

After our dives we headed straight to the ferry to head back to Phuket. We were definitely sad to leave Phi Phi. It was truly beautiful! The ferry ride back was nice, me and Sarah found a spot right on the front of the boat so we chilled in the sun and relaxed the whole way! 

For our last night in Thailand, we wanted to spoil ourselves so we got a room at the Marriott at Kamala Beach. We stayed at great hotels the whole time, but Marriott just felt very American, and we LOVED it! haha!

 

 Right before we left our hotel, we were able to see the most gorgeous sunset! 

 The Kamala Beach area is very nice... it is a family friendly area, and the beach is beautiful. After playing at the pool for a little while, we showered up and headed out to our last dinner on the beach! We literally ate with our toes in the sand as we enjoyed our last authentic Thai meals. AMAZING! After wandering the board walk for a while, it started to lightly rain, so we headed back to our hotel to watch a movie and relax! 

 

The next morning, we swam at the pool for a couple of hours...

 

 and then it was time to head to the airport to catch our first of 5 flights!

We were so sad to leave Thailand. It was truly a vacation of a lifetime. We couldn't have picked better people to travel with. Kellen and Sarah we not only the greatest vacation planners, they were SO MUCH FUN! We made a million wonderful, hilarious memories. Memories that we will never forget! 
Until our next adventure....
that's all folks!
ลาก่อน

(That means "goodbye" in Thai, cool right?!)