Day 9

Sorry for another lengthy delay but here we go again...

We went to Phi Phi Island for the day before arriving in Phuket. The guide recommended the climb to the viewpoint but did warn you that it involved a far amount of climbing. To which our reply was... a bit of a climb, should be a walk in the park we've climbed Cradle mountain 3 times. However not in 30 C and 80% humidity. But it was an amazing view.

This was one of the islands that was decimated by the tsunami and you really appreciate how easy it was to be destroyed from the top of the hill. The island is a bit like an infinity sign shape and most of the buildings are in the thin part which is probably 100 metres wide. So a huge wave pretty much swept right over it. There is a photo at the top of the island after the tsunami and it actually shows most of the buildings held up pretty well, the large ones anyway. Presumably all the local huts and bamboo bungalows went missing very quickly. It is almost completely rebuilt by the looks of it, just a few parts still being constructed. Its a really beautiful island, the cliff faces are amazing and the water once you get underneath it is pretty spectacular considering it was trashed by the wave and there is a fair pollution level with about 60 long tail boats running at any one time or sitting on the beach.

We then hired a long tail boat to do a bit of snorkelling on Long beach and were rewarded with a exciting array of fish life (and more dead coral). I think I saw some small sharks but I swam quite promptly in the other direction at that point.

We had a quick look at the beach lined with deck chairs and sunbaking tourists before getting back on the boat.

Arrived in Phuket and had to take photos of the bathroom it was so good.