best trip so far! day 3!
phiphi island snorkelling (full day): 1400 baht
early in the morning at 745am, we set off for phiphi island for some snorkelling. this time, the group was larger, so we set off in a triple engine speedboat instead of a twin-engine one. there wasn't any space left under the sheltered part of the boat, so the 7 of us trooped out under the sun at the helm, and we were joined by a brit, an australian, a mexican girl and partner (from unknown origin).
chuu freaked out. the helm was the bumpiest part and we were totally bumping up and down from our seats because of the waves (impending storm! straight ahead!) and our speed. it was crazy, and led to binbin, alvin and wai laughing over poseidon jokes. my goodness, they just wouldn't stop. but it was quite funny la coz they were quite off-tangent. hahaha.
everyone was laughing at chuu because of the look of terror transfixed on her face and her death grip on binbin's arm, while he was just sitting there having his ears blasted off by her screams everytime the boat bumped up. chuu was being rather entertaining, teehee.
then there was this odd indian boy who came up to sit with us, but totally didn't look like he enjoyed the crazy helm ride. he looked more like he was testing himself, like it was 'A TEST TO ENTER INTO MANHOOD' kinda thing. odd, odd, odd.
on the way there, we hit a slight drizzle, and the waters were pretty choppy, so we just reached maya bay (where The Beach was filmed) took a few pictures, then left for another part of the island to do some snorkelling.
i hated the masks they provided us with because ALL OF US had problems with either our breathing tubes or the mask itself that kept letting water in. gross. i gave up trying to snorkel after awhile coz there wasn't really much to see there (which i haven't seen already) and the @#$% mask was in the way. GAH.
then we rounded past another spot where the waters were so clear u could see the rocks (ugh, i hate them rocks) at the bottom of the seabed. next, we hit another spot of the island where we could snorkel again. i actually didn't want to snorkel at all (chuu gave up too, she just wanted to sit at the helm and feed the fishies) but wai convinced me otherwise ('EH GO LAR.').
i was SO GLAD i went coz...
I SAW NEMO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i was paddling around at first in my flippers, looking for the pretty blue clams that hon and alvin were 'mmmmfff!!!'-ing over. then i got pretty close to the side of one of the boats, because there was a very pretty batch of blue right next to it. i know, it's kinda dangerous coz if a huge wave came i'd have cracked my head against the side of the boat.
BUT.
i saw a sea urchin first. then there were like, tons of them surrounding the seabed like minefields. then i spotted an anemone. so i waited and stared. and stared.
then one baby clownfish darted in and out of the anemone.
'MMMMMF!!!! MMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!'
i managed to grab hon first. 'CLOWNFISH!!! CLOWNFISH HERE!! ANEMONE!!!!!'
then i shouted, 'ALVIN! ALVIN!!!! NEMO!!!!!!! HERE HERE HERE!!!!'
proceeding which i met binbin while searching for wai (coz alvin and wai were totally into searching for nemo) and directed him there. then suddenly, the boat started moving, so we had to move away, so by the time bobbles came along, i'm not sure if he managed to catch a glimpse of the clownfish. :(
and then we had to go! sigh... for lunch, then off to khai island, which i've already been. i didn't see khai islands in the itinerary!! darn it.
on the way to the khai islands, we were right smack in a HUGE storm, which left all the ladies in the boat screaming (either in terror or for fun - me? definitely the latter). the guys were left at the helm suffering from the needle-like rain pelting down on them, and there was one point the boat flew up from the waves so high that i saw bob being lifted up from his seat quite a few inches. nuts!!
when we got to khai islands, i didn't want to leave the boat because from monday, i knew the beach would be freezing cold, but eventually i was convinced to bop in the warmer waters with the rest of them.
I HATE KHAI ISLANDS' BEACH FULL OF DEAD CORALS HATE HATE HATE!!!
oh, but i didn't get cut. i did get cut again though, when i stepped on a screw just before i did my first snorkel at phiphi. i'm just jinxed. *bleeds again*
the coolest part of the khai island leg was when only 3 of us, me, chuu and binbin managed to run up the boat, and not the rest, and experienced a moment of panic when the storm hit really hard, causing the boat next to us to crash into ours. so the rest of them couldn't come up because our boat had to jet out of the beach to prevent another accident. i was really glad to be out of the cold, and sat in the boat eating sweet slices of watermelon with binbin and chuu. yay!
we eventually went back to get the rest of our people and this time, i sat outside at the helm with the rest of the fellas! wah damn fun la. and this time there was no rain, just choppy waters so no 'acupuncture' for me! heh. in the starting i was quite freaked that i'd be thrown off the boat so i curled up into a semi-ball and dug myself into a crevice between binbin's back and the side of the boat. it made alvin and wai laugh, but binbin was quite indignantly shouting, 'EH VERONICA WHAT ARE U DOING????!!' coz i was almost pushing him off his seat already.
hahahaha!!
the entire trip was supposed to last till 5pm but because of the choppy waters, we couldn't snorkel no more, so we went back to phuket (amidst all the sighs of relief from everyone).
it was a bloody good ride!!! i think all my money spent was worth it coz of the crazy boat trips on rough waters. damn high man~!! hahahaa, it's insane.
-----
on monday as we made our way to bangla road, we passed by this pancake roadside stall that sold fantastic pancakes. we tried the coconut one on monday and it was SO GOOD. i was totally craving for more before we left, so we headed back there. then i was telling alvin and bob that the pancake man was selling the banana variant as well, but they didn't see it the last time. so we all went back salivating for more. *yum*
i ordered a coconut one. the boys had banana. binbin had chocolate, and angeline and hon shared a coconut. chuu took some from everyone. then wai bought another banana. then i bought another banana. then he bought more banana. as i was waiting for my next banana pancake, wai liong came over and said, 'HOKAY, we have to leave after u get yours, otherwise everytime u start eating, i buy another one and when i start eating, you finish and get another one... WE'RE NEVER GOING TO LEAVE!!!'
hehe. it's that good ok! despite us finding out how unhealthy the pancake was (it's made of pure butter and egg yolk, and drenched in condensed milk and sugar. :D~~~). while waiting, i also developed a strong connection between me and the pancake seller! *nods* he's from bangladesh and he comes to singapore quite often! and he said banana roti prata cannot compare, which i totally agreed with him. he's so friendly!!! as we said our goodbyes (*sniff*) and walked away with a fresh banana pancake in my hands, i decided to run back and take a picture with him!! yay!! he was so obliging! :D
we walked back to Patong Bayshore (USD58.5 for 3 nights, per pax! cheap cheap!!) and i watched Victoria's Secrets, Flushed Away (wah it's damn punny hahahahahaha) and 30 rock before retiring to bed.
the next day, to Bangkok!!! WHOO!!!
early in the morning at 745am, we set off for phiphi island for some snorkelling. this time, the group was larger, so we set off in a triple engine speedboat instead of a twin-engine one. there wasn't any space left under the sheltered part of the boat, so the 7 of us trooped out under the sun at the helm, and we were joined by a brit, an australian, a mexican girl and partner (from unknown origin).
chuu freaked out. the helm was the bumpiest part and we were totally bumping up and down from our seats because of the waves (impending storm! straight ahead!) and our speed. it was crazy, and led to binbin, alvin and wai laughing over poseidon jokes. my goodness, they just wouldn't stop. but it was quite funny la coz they were quite off-tangent. hahaha.
everyone was laughing at chuu because of the look of terror transfixed on her face and her death grip on binbin's arm, while he was just sitting there having his ears blasted off by her screams everytime the boat bumped up. chuu was being rather entertaining, teehee.
then there was this odd indian boy who came up to sit with us, but totally didn't look like he enjoyed the crazy helm ride. he looked more like he was testing himself, like it was 'A TEST TO ENTER INTO MANHOOD' kinda thing. odd, odd, odd.
on the way there, we hit a slight drizzle, and the waters were pretty choppy, so we just reached maya bay (where The Beach was filmed) took a few pictures, then left for another part of the island to do some snorkelling.
i hated the masks they provided us with because ALL OF US had problems with either our breathing tubes or the mask itself that kept letting water in. gross. i gave up trying to snorkel after awhile coz there wasn't really much to see there (which i haven't seen already) and the @#$% mask was in the way. GAH.
then we rounded past another spot where the waters were so clear u could see the rocks (ugh, i hate them rocks) at the bottom of the seabed. next, we hit another spot of the island where we could snorkel again. i actually didn't want to snorkel at all (chuu gave up too, she just wanted to sit at the helm and feed the fishies) but wai convinced me otherwise ('EH GO LAR.').
i was SO GLAD i went coz...
I SAW NEMO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i was paddling around at first in my flippers, looking for the pretty blue clams that hon and alvin were 'mmmmfff!!!'-ing over. then i got pretty close to the side of one of the boats, because there was a very pretty batch of blue right next to it. i know, it's kinda dangerous coz if a huge wave came i'd have cracked my head against the side of the boat.
BUT.
i saw a sea urchin first. then there were like, tons of them surrounding the seabed like minefields. then i spotted an anemone. so i waited and stared. and stared.
then one baby clownfish darted in and out of the anemone.
'MMMMMF!!!! MMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!'
i managed to grab hon first. 'CLOWNFISH!!! CLOWNFISH HERE!! ANEMONE!!!!!'
then i shouted, 'ALVIN! ALVIN!!!! NEMO!!!!!!! HERE HERE HERE!!!!'
proceeding which i met binbin while searching for wai (coz alvin and wai were totally into searching for nemo) and directed him there. then suddenly, the boat started moving, so we had to move away, so by the time bobbles came along, i'm not sure if he managed to catch a glimpse of the clownfish. :(
and then we had to go! sigh... for lunch, then off to khai island, which i've already been. i didn't see khai islands in the itinerary!! darn it.
on the way to the khai islands, we were right smack in a HUGE storm, which left all the ladies in the boat screaming (either in terror or for fun - me? definitely the latter). the guys were left at the helm suffering from the needle-like rain pelting down on them, and there was one point the boat flew up from the waves so high that i saw bob being lifted up from his seat quite a few inches. nuts!!
when we got to khai islands, i didn't want to leave the boat because from monday, i knew the beach would be freezing cold, but eventually i was convinced to bop in the warmer waters with the rest of them.
I HATE KHAI ISLANDS' BEACH FULL OF DEAD CORALS HATE HATE HATE!!!
oh, but i didn't get cut. i did get cut again though, when i stepped on a screw just before i did my first snorkel at phiphi. i'm just jinxed. *bleeds again*
the coolest part of the khai island leg was when only 3 of us, me, chuu and binbin managed to run up the boat, and not the rest, and experienced a moment of panic when the storm hit really hard, causing the boat next to us to crash into ours. so the rest of them couldn't come up because our boat had to jet out of the beach to prevent another accident. i was really glad to be out of the cold, and sat in the boat eating sweet slices of watermelon with binbin and chuu. yay!
we eventually went back to get the rest of our people and this time, i sat outside at the helm with the rest of the fellas! wah damn fun la. and this time there was no rain, just choppy waters so no 'acupuncture' for me! heh. in the starting i was quite freaked that i'd be thrown off the boat so i curled up into a semi-ball and dug myself into a crevice between binbin's back and the side of the boat. it made alvin and wai laugh, but binbin was quite indignantly shouting, 'EH VERONICA WHAT ARE U DOING????!!' coz i was almost pushing him off his seat already.
hahahaha!!
the entire trip was supposed to last till 5pm but because of the choppy waters, we couldn't snorkel no more, so we went back to phuket (amidst all the sighs of relief from everyone).
it was a bloody good ride!!! i think all my money spent was worth it coz of the crazy boat trips on rough waters. damn high man~!! hahahaa, it's insane.
-----
on monday as we made our way to bangla road, we passed by this pancake roadside stall that sold fantastic pancakes. we tried the coconut one on monday and it was SO GOOD. i was totally craving for more before we left, so we headed back there. then i was telling alvin and bob that the pancake man was selling the banana variant as well, but they didn't see it the last time. so we all went back salivating for more. *yum*
i ordered a coconut one. the boys had banana. binbin had chocolate, and angeline and hon shared a coconut. chuu took some from everyone. then wai bought another banana. then i bought another banana. then he bought more banana. as i was waiting for my next banana pancake, wai liong came over and said, 'HOKAY, we have to leave after u get yours, otherwise everytime u start eating, i buy another one and when i start eating, you finish and get another one... WE'RE NEVER GOING TO LEAVE!!!'
hehe. it's that good ok! despite us finding out how unhealthy the pancake was (it's made of pure butter and egg yolk, and drenched in condensed milk and sugar. :D~~~). while waiting, i also developed a strong connection between me and the pancake seller! *nods* he's from bangladesh and he comes to singapore quite often! and he said banana roti prata cannot compare, which i totally agreed with him. he's so friendly!!! as we said our goodbyes (*sniff*) and walked away with a fresh banana pancake in my hands, i decided to run back and take a picture with him!! yay!! he was so obliging! :D
we walked back to Patong Bayshore (USD58.5 for 3 nights, per pax! cheap cheap!!) and i watched Victoria's Secrets, Flushed Away (wah it's damn punny hahahahahaha) and 30 rock before retiring to bed.
the next day, to Bangkok!!! WHOO!!!
posted by feline @ 1:14 PM
