To the Other side and Back

We chilled in Haad yao for 2 two nights and then decided to make the trip over to the other side where the islands sit in the Andamann Sea. Our taxi picked us up at 6am and around 12 hours later after a lot of lugging our bags in and out of tuk tuks, on and off boats, buses and eventually mini buses we finally arrived at our hotel in Phuket just as the rain was arriving too. We took a walk around and felt like we were in Torremolinas (think strips of bars, Mc D's Burger King, Starbucks, an Arsenal shop and anything else you could think of in a taccky beach side resort) except with worse weather. It was still really warm but there was a strong wind, a storm brewing and it wasn't long before the downpour came. On the plus side we had a really nice room , huge with AC and clean bathroom with hot water for just over 10 euro between us so we took respite from the rain and made arrangements to hook up with some friends we'd made in Koh PhaNgan.

That night we had drinks with the Kiwis and some Aussie girls and got great entertainment out of the owner of the bar - Bill ,from Scotland who'd been living in Phuket for 11 years. We haggled him for a cheap round of shots and he told us we could have them on the house if we guessed what age he was! Unfotunately none of us got it right! He then challenged the boys to some one handed side pressups on the roadside and gave a very impressive demo of falling face first towards the ground before saving himself at the last minute!!Not bad for a 58 year old!

The next day it was overcast again so we hit the internet cafe and the gazillions of stalls and got back to what we're good at - haggling!! We didn't do too much damage tht day and were quite proud of ourselves! That night we headed for a slap up meal (in Thailand this involves something without curry or rice in the title!) with our mates from Kiwiland as it was their last night. On our way to the restaurant which was just off the main drag of bars and restaurants there was suddenly an explosion and a lot of sparks. Everybody got a bit of a fright but didn't think too much of it. It was about 20/30 metres away from us and we just thought it was some kind of firework or something. However , we got about 3 more metres down the road and BOOM! another explosion and this time heaps of flames.

Nobody knew what was happening, we stood shell shocked for a moment and then decided to run. Except for a few people who decided it'd be a good idea to go nearer and take pictures! There's always one! So we moved to what we thought was a safe enough distance away and thanked God that we hadn't been walking any faster or we'd have been practically right at the point of explosion where there was now the front of a building on fire, some poor local's souvenir stand melting into the ground including a traffic cone and huge sun umbrella, some injured people sitting on the side of the road and flames shooting up the electric cables. Turns out it was a transformer box that blew up, not helped I'm sure by their extremely dodgy overloaded wiring system they have in Asia. Nobody seemed to be too badly hurt so we went onto dinner and the explosion was the talk of the table and restaurant for at least the first 20 mins! Nothing like a bit of excitement to liven up the night!

After a yummy dinner of pizza, ice-cream and beer we headed to a local bar on the corner which had a really cool live band which we lost at least 3 litres of sweat dancing to for the rest of the night! About an hour and a half after the explosion we were surprised to see a truck with 5 men in the back and a brand new transformer box on its way to the site of the explosion. Half an hour later they were heading back up the road with the burnt one in tow. You'd never see anything being replaced that quickly at home! We spent one more cloudy day in Phuket and then decided to move onto Phi Phi and see if the weather was any better there. Five minites into the boat journey things were not looking good, the sea was getting rougher by the minute and peoples' faces were beginning to pale. Jo saw my face and thinnking I was feeling sea sick handed me some ginger tablets, when I told her I wasn't feeling sea sick just really scared she quickly lent me an ear piece of her headphones and put on some calming music!

Soon the waves were bigger than I'd ever seen, coming right over the boat and the top of the boat was way too near the water for my liking. I'd never been great on boats , sea sick wise but on this trip I've managed to conquer sea sickness - so far anyway! However I've never been nervous on a boat because I thought it was going to capsize but nervous doesn't even begin to explain how I was feeling on this boat ride!Another huge wave hit, things were flying everywhere and Jo and myslef both reached out and grabbed each other's hand at the same time. Clammy hands and planning our evacuation routes in our mids this is how we sat for the longest hour and a half ever more of the journey.I've never been so close to putting on a life jacket and as I looked out the window I wasn't sure how anyone would actually survive if we did go in. I tried to imagine how I could get our passports and ATM card into my dri bag and keep them safe while trying to keep afloat if we did, it was all looking quite dismal in my mind! But the prayers worked, the captain did well and two hours later people began to breathe again, colour and smiles returned to faces as we sailed into Phi Phi pier.

Nobody really cared that it was bucketing down rain and all our bags were getting soaked, I think everyone was just glad to be off that boat! We found some accomodation and followed our 'taxi' (man with trolley that wheeled our bags through the pedestrian streets to our hotel) as we followed him on foot while getting a free soak with the pouring rain and well above ankle height puddles we had to wade through. Once settled into our room we made the most of the break in the rain and dashed out to explore the town.

I had been here in 2002 and had really fond memories of Phi Phi and had been lookinng forward to returning. However, I didn't recognise one thing about the town. When the Tsunami tragically struck in 2004 Phi Phi was hit the hardest and the whole town and most of the island was destroyed. I knew they'd had to rebuild most of it , but until now never really knew to what extent. Basically they had to rebuild everything and building still continues today. The town has changed a lot, it is now much bigger, much more commercial but still a great island and when the sun shines Phi Phi and its surrounding islands, bays and beaches are some of the nicest in Asia to explore. It was jsut a shame we'd come at a bad weather time. Anyway we made the most if it, bumped into some more friends form Koh Pha Ngan, hung out with them for a couple of days and even managed to get a few hours sunshine uexpectedly! We hiked up to the famous viewpoint which is now the official Tsunami evacuation route and it was quite emotional to sit up there and look down on the beach and imagine how terrifying it must have been the day it hit. If you'd been up on the hill that day it was probably the only safe place to be, but how awful it must hae been watchinng the disaster unfold below you. Yet again and I'm sure not for the last time we thanked God and our guardian angels for keeping us safe throughout the year.

After two days in Phi Phi and having scrutinised the following weeks weather forecast we made a team decision to go back to the other side of the Gulf and try and catch some better weather for our final week and a bit. Typically on the day we left the sun shone , we weren't complaining though as it made for two very smooth boat crossings. Two boats, two buses and a tuk tuk taxi later we were back in Koh PhaNgan and settled into Coral Bungalows. we couldn't beleive how quiet the town was because it was no longer the week before or ater a 'Full Moon'. This place really survives on its infamous Full Moon Parties. However, it's nice to chill for the last leg of the journey and hopefully catch some rays before the final journey. We truly cannot believe we only have a week left and are both finding it hard to come to terms with. We are again experiencing rollercoasters of emotions as the time gets nearer to say goodbye to the trip of a lifetime and each other for at least a few weeks! As a friend of ours put it the other day, 'it's been a long time since you guys and reality had a coffee'!! How true!!