Rogerson's on the Road

Because I am so far behind I have decided to try and condense all the above places into one entry, sorry but it might seem like a bit of a race through Southern Thailand.

We took the train from Butterworth to the border town of Hat Yai in Southern Thailand and stayed over night to try and formulate a plan for our next move. Thailand is such a huge place and our original plans were to travel up the east coast by train and see some places we have not been to before, but all good plans......

Krabi

Neil and I travelled to Thailand a few years ago and stayed on Phi Phi, we promised ourselves the it would not be the last time we went and we felt even more compelled to go after the tsunami last year. So scrapped were that plans for the east coast of Thailand and on were the plans for the west coast. We took a 4 hour minivan trip with 15 other people to Krabi town (the gate way for the south west islands). People usually only stay for 1 or 2 nights in Krabi waiting to cross to the island but we managed to spend 6 days here. It is a great place to take day trips from and loads to see in the surrounding area - all of which is very easily accessed using public transport. With it being the New Year and peak season on the Islands we were unable to book any accomodation - Phi Phi would have to wait.

Krabi has a handful of great resturants and a fantastic night market which we managed to eat at every night! We took a trip to Rai ley beach (the resort on the beach will cost you 300 pounds a night), the bus trip from Krabi will cost you 30 pence and the beach is free to use. We did a snorkelling trip which took in Chicken Island (Google it you will be suprised!), visited a Shell Graveyard, and spent a day in the next town (Au Nang). We had a great time in Krabi and after 6 days we made the trip to to Phi Phi.

Phi - Phi

We arrived onto Phi Phi and could not believe how much it has changed since our last visit 2 years ago. The tsunami did untold damage here. It is a very small island which was hit from both sides, it hard to describe but we have all seen the pictures on the TV. It is also hard to feel sorry for the people here because they do not feel sorry for themselves. They are up and very much running. The resturants, resorts and small stalls all have there doors open, the children are all at their new school and building work is still going on. The memorials are all very small and I think that there is a real sence of moving on and not dwelling. "Come and spend your money here" is the message.

Our last visit to Phi Phi saw us in a swanky resort on the "posh" side of the island, right on the beach in and AC bungalow with mini bar, cable TV and room service, this time was a little different. We stayed in a hill top resort, in a really cute tree house with no AC but a mosquito net, but we did have a pool! We spent 2 great days on Phi Phi and it was great to go back. Anybody thinking about visiting and are still not sure about it, dont worry it is still very beautiful and fully operational.

Phuket

From Phi Phi we caught the 2 hour boat to Phuket with no particular plans. We stayed in Phuket town which in itself is very interesting with plenty to see but the real pull for Phuket is it's beaches. We headed to Patong beach which is the largest beach area, oh my goodness - this place is like Blackpool but hotter and tackier. The British might have conquered and discovered most of the world but in mordern times we have managed to destroy some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. There is row after row of Irish pubs, fish and chip shops, pizza parlours. You and get HP sauce, Marmite, Only Fools and Horses with every meal - very sad indeed.

There are however some very quiet, white sandy beaches further down the coast at Kata and Karon beach - much more our scene. Laid out on a sun lounger you have no need to move as a regular stream of Thai men and women sell you everything from the very usful sun cream, water and ice lolly to the more unusual wooden motorbikes and tin can tuk-tuks?!

I know it looks like we have not done a lot in the past week or so and I guess to a certain extent that it true. Neil has been nursing a really nasty bug which I am convinced was Dengue Fever. It has caused him to be off his food (no really suprise there) but off beer also! He has lost a suprising 18 pounds in weight and is now looking very svelte indeed. However, he has made a full recovery and is on a one man mission to replace the lost 18 pounds.

Speaking of which, it is lunchtime here and I am off for some curry.