Same Same...but Different....
Well, the boys and I are in Railay today (got here yesterday afternoon).
Ko Phi Phi was unbelievably busy! When we had arrived there, we had to hunt, and hunt, and hunt for accomdations. And then we hunted some more! Everything was full up, no matter where we looked, places were packed. Some of these Guesthouses also had tents to let out as well so the locals were doing everything they could to cater to the frugal traveller.
That said, things are fairly set in price around the island; actually price fixed. Internet, shopping for shirts, or shorts, CDs/DVDs, you name it - everybody had the same set price. This was the same case for Ko Tao by the way. The smaller islands such as these allow for the locals to get together and say "lets work together and set one price"..I think this makes it easier to keep prices higher and keep wages up for everyone working there. And this is fair enough...everyone needs to make money to survive, especially when the only industry on these islands is tourism.
Arnie is funny though; he's starting to lose the filter on his mouth. Actually it's kind of scary, his inner voice is now becoming his outer voice. We're sitting in this gelato place in Ko Phi Phi and Arnie see's a table where a couple is sitting. He notices they are under an A/C vent and says "I wish we could sit at that table" and the guy sitting there gets up and moves. Arnies like "Did I say that out loud?!?". Ummm..yeah dude...you just booted an old couple from their table...good job!
We're in Railay today and what a HUGE change from the island travelling we've been doing - all the places we called ahead of time for accomodations in Phuket were booked for the weekend; we decided to come here instead. The island living in Ko Tao and Ko Phi Phi was really busy; hitting Railay is like hitting the true beach living we had been doing when we were in Ko Phangan (Bottle Beach). Well, maybe not as chill as Bottle Beach (as there are a lot more amenities) but slower pace just the same. I still got my hot water and A/C in the room (with automatic toilet flush)...aaaaahhhhhh!!!
Railay is not so focused on diving; it's rock climbing here! Arnie went hiking today and Dan and I walked around a bit. We saw people rock climbing, saw some caves (looked like something out of 'Lord of the Rings'; green and gray and blue dirty rock which I'm sure lookes really spooky at night) and what looked like ultra ritzy resorts right next to the caves. We finally hit a small little beach near the mouth of what looked like a hallow cave carved into a side of a huge mountain of a hill; way kewl.
It's funny, the guys and I have turned to each other last week and asked what day it was...we all looked at each other, shrugged, and laughed our asses off! "Duh...what day of week is it George...duuuhhhh!!". We're so losing our survival skills.
The food here is so-so tasting, nothing spectacular as to what we've sampled so far. The best Tai food I've had so far was at the Lanta Long Beach Resort in Ko Lanta...by far, the best I think I've sampled. Top Ten Burger was good in Ko Phi Phi for western fair and Furang Pizza was excellent eats for Pizza in Ko Tao.
Yes, this on again/off again love affair with the EDGE is unfortunatley off again...ugh. Mr B., I'll be hitting the gym again when I get back and sure hope you're still up for the daily workouts. I'm also on Day 6 of the EDGE program so at the very least I'm making some headway there.
All in all, things are going good. I'm recovering from my injuries from Ko Phi Phi (more like scrapes from a wipeout but on coral); they aren't that bad but hurt everytime I move...owwwwwwWWWWWWWWWwwwwwwwwww!!!! At least we were able to make accomadations in Phuket now. Should be good.
We got a week left here in Thailand before Dan and I say goodbye to Arnie and we make our way to the cold chilliness of Japan.... I'm not ready for that...the weather has been great here and with the weather reports from home, I think I need to soak up as much sun as I can before the long flight home...
Harvey
Ko Phi Phi was unbelievably busy! When we had arrived there, we had to hunt, and hunt, and hunt for accomdations. And then we hunted some more! Everything was full up, no matter where we looked, places were packed. Some of these Guesthouses also had tents to let out as well so the locals were doing everything they could to cater to the frugal traveller.
That said, things are fairly set in price around the island; actually price fixed. Internet, shopping for shirts, or shorts, CDs/DVDs, you name it - everybody had the same set price. This was the same case for Ko Tao by the way. The smaller islands such as these allow for the locals to get together and say "lets work together and set one price"..I think this makes it easier to keep prices higher and keep wages up for everyone working there. And this is fair enough...everyone needs to make money to survive, especially when the only industry on these islands is tourism.
Arnie is funny though; he's starting to lose the filter on his mouth. Actually it's kind of scary, his inner voice is now becoming his outer voice. We're sitting in this gelato place in Ko Phi Phi and Arnie see's a table where a couple is sitting. He notices they are under an A/C vent and says "I wish we could sit at that table" and the guy sitting there gets up and moves. Arnies like "Did I say that out loud?!?". Ummm..yeah dude...you just booted an old couple from their table...good job!
We're in Railay today and what a HUGE change from the island travelling we've been doing - all the places we called ahead of time for accomodations in Phuket were booked for the weekend; we decided to come here instead. The island living in Ko Tao and Ko Phi Phi was really busy; hitting Railay is like hitting the true beach living we had been doing when we were in Ko Phangan (Bottle Beach). Well, maybe not as chill as Bottle Beach (as there are a lot more amenities) but slower pace just the same. I still got my hot water and A/C in the room (with automatic toilet flush)...aaaaahhhhhh!!!
Railay is not so focused on diving; it's rock climbing here! Arnie went hiking today and Dan and I walked around a bit. We saw people rock climbing, saw some caves (looked like something out of 'Lord of the Rings'; green and gray and blue dirty rock which I'm sure lookes really spooky at night) and what looked like ultra ritzy resorts right next to the caves. We finally hit a small little beach near the mouth of what looked like a hallow cave carved into a side of a huge mountain of a hill; way kewl.
It's funny, the guys and I have turned to each other last week and asked what day it was...we all looked at each other, shrugged, and laughed our asses off! "Duh...what day of week is it George...duuuhhhh!!". We're so losing our survival skills.
The food here is so-so tasting, nothing spectacular as to what we've sampled so far. The best Tai food I've had so far was at the Lanta Long Beach Resort in Ko Lanta...by far, the best I think I've sampled. Top Ten Burger was good in Ko Phi Phi for western fair and Furang Pizza was excellent eats for Pizza in Ko Tao.
Yes, this on again/off again love affair with the EDGE is unfortunatley off again...ugh. Mr B., I'll be hitting the gym again when I get back and sure hope you're still up for the daily workouts. I'm also on Day 6 of the EDGE program so at the very least I'm making some headway there.
All in all, things are going good. I'm recovering from my injuries from Ko Phi Phi (more like scrapes from a wipeout but on coral); they aren't that bad but hurt everytime I move...owwwwwwWWWWWWWWWwwwwwwwwww!!!! At least we were able to make accomadations in Phuket now. Should be good.
We got a week left here in Thailand before Dan and I say goodbye to Arnie and we make our way to the cold chilliness of Japan.... I'm not ready for that...the weather has been great here and with the weather reports from home, I think I need to soak up as much sun as I can before the long flight home...
Harvey
posted by Harvey at
5:53 AM
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