How is everyone feeling after New Years Eve? Meh?… Yeah I know. Well, get prepared for some holiday inspiration as I take you on the 2nd and last part of our holiday in Thailand. The final destinations included the party island that is Koh Phi Phi, Koh Lanta and Koh Lipe.
Koh Phi Phi
We were here for a day and a half and stayed in Tonsai Place. It was a budget hotel so nothing too exciting but it had a great location and excellent air conditioning which I was seriously grateful for. As I mentioned Phi Phi is a party island with a lot of backpackers. I wouldn’t say it’s the ideal location to visit if you’re a couple but I love a little dance so I wanted to visit even if it was just for one night. Buckets are a must.
Where to Eat
The Mango Garden
You must go for breakfast here or lunch. Waffles are incredible as are their smoothies/juices.
Grand Pi Pi Arcade
Really great food and the atmosphere is really romantic and nice. Depending on what you go for, you may end up with your main course served in a pineapple. I was rather pleased.
Banana Bar
A fellow blogger recommended this place so I thought I had to go. It was a Mexican restaurant with a Thai twist. I went for these Thai lettuce bowls and they were amazing, so glad we went. It’s off the main road so it’s a little quieter than some places.
Where to dance
Slinkys
It’s very well known on the island so you won’t struggle to find it. We stayed here all night, enjoyed the fire dancers, music and drank far too much!
Koh Lanta
I was really disappointed by Koh Lanta. Firstly the place we stayed Sri Lanta was not what we expected. It looked very glamorous but in reality it was a building site. The mosquito nets in the room served zero purpose. They had gaping holes in them and I woke the first morning with 6 mosquito bites #notimpressed.
Finally, the weather was rubbish, it rained almost every day we were there. On the upside, we did experience some really great food
What to do
Since it rained a lot – we were restricted in what we could do. One of the days when there was a break in the rain we decided to head off to the national park for a hike. We rented a moped and went on our merry way. TIP There are a number of naughty monkeys awaiting the arrival of tourists to the entrance of the park. DO NOT have any food or drink outside of your bag or you will be dealing with a lot of monkeys on your back. These monkeys have become so accustomed to humans that they don’t care if you try and frighten them, they won’t be scared and will jump back – as Mike learned very quickly!
The hike doesn’t take very long – it’s 2km and it’s all very much uphill so make sure you’re wearing the right footwear. No flip flops.
You will get some great views so make sure you have a camera with you.
Where to eat
As I said we spent most of our time in Koh Lanta eating and drinking so I’m pretty happy with this list!
Gypsy
The waiters English weren’t the best as it took 4 attempts to get me a vodka and diet coke. I even got brought a coconut – no idea how they could confuse that. However, I did learn that if I said “wadka”, they understood. I found the whole situation very funny, the poor owner did not and kept coming over to apologise! The food was not a letdown though. I had the best peanut satay chicken skewers EVER. My God, they were delicious, I really wanted to lick my plate.. like REALLY. Mike was having none of it – I really am an embarrassment to bring out.
Roi Thai
If you want a real taste of Thai go for their special. It comes out sizzling and on fire. It won’t disappoint your taste buds.If I’m to be really picky the only thing they need to improve is the time between the dishes ( I think this is a Thai thing though, they just bring it when it’s ready). On both occasions, we were still eating our starters when our main came out. It felt a little rushed and I think I speak for a lot of Westerners when I say eating is an experience and should be taken slowly.
White Rock Resort
This place reminded me of the Flintstones for some reason. The way it’s created is like a tree house, actually, I’ve really no idea why it reminded me of the Flintstones! Anyway… again food=epic. Almost everywhere has western type dishes and Mike was in need of some home food so he opted for a pasta (naughty) but said it was one of the best he had. I kept to my Thai promise.
Drinks
Otto and Mr Love
Both do cracking cocktails. Mr Love probably was my favourite, down to the decor and the hippy vibe. I like to think I was a little hippy while I was there.
Koh Lipe
Where oh where do I start. This place is a hidden gem, literally. It is quite difficult and long to get to but it is SO SO worth it. The colour of the ocean had me immediately.
Before Mike met me he had worked in Koh Lipe for 6 months. He always raved about it and we said that whenever we did go to Thailand we would have to go back. He had a lot of friends there who were still on the island and were so happy to see him back. It has become more “Western” and busier since he was there 5 years ago but it still has its charm.
We stayed in the Castaway resort which is just on the beach front. We had a perfect view of sunset and sunrise. It is a beach hut so we didn’t have air-con or hot water. If I’m 100% honest I think 2 days is enough in a beach hut especially when you’re Irish and the hot conditions aren’t necessarily natural! I did spend a lot of time either running out into the ocean to cool down or downstairs for a cold shower. So when we go back I want an air conditioned room! Aside from that, though, it was pretty awesome waking up hearing the ocean and only needing to perch up to watch the sunrise.
As we had a lot of people to see, we spent most of the time going around and saying hello but also exploring the places that weren’t there when Mike lived there. We met an awesome couple from London, on the boat ride there, who we ended up spending all our evenings with getting drunk in OMG ( i.e the best pub on the island!)
How could I forget, I went snorkeling. As you know I only learned how to swim very recently. Previously being in the sea would’ve scared the sh*t out of me but I did it. I won’t lie but the first 5-10 minutes I was freaking out just a teeny bit but I got used to it and LOVED it. I think the highlight was being able to see a real-life Nemo and get super close to it. We got taken to a uninhabited island, had lunch and chilled in a waterfall. It was absolute bliss.
Mike went diving but I am no way near that confident..yet. I’m going to continue swimming lessons into the New Year because I know I need to get better and I know I can improve. I’m excited because when we go back I want to be able to go diving.
Where to eat
Nee Papaya
The ladies missed Mike quite a lot, not sure if they were too happy to see me ( just kidding). They treated us like royalty. Nee’s larb gai is ace as is her papaya salad both of which Mike missed a lot. If you have room for dessert get her mango sticky rice, we devoured two portions!
OMG Bar
We spent every day here with who we like to call Mikes Thai family. P’Oh and P’Su are just awesome. The set up of the bar is incredible as are the food and drinks. Beware P’Oh loves when Western people come to visit so he will get you very, very drunk! P’Su’s special is 111… make sure you get it, it will be one of the best meals you’ve ever had.
111Bloom Bar
Relatively new to the island and it’s quite western in both terms of how it looks and the menu. Coffees are ace as is their lunch menu.
Elephant
I was instantly impressed by the fact the bar was in the shape of a boat. We came here for lunch and dinner. If we had more time I would’ve come back more, really good food.
Maya Bar
The waiters are slightly crazy but awesome. This is such a cool place to go for drinks, the music and the vibe is so chilled. We went back quite a few times!
That’s it that was our trip, it was a struggle coming back. Saying that though I wasn’t going to miss my nightly ritual which consisted of, Deet, After bite and Aloe Vera
I loved Thailand, I love everything about it and how different it was to the Western world. Next on the list is Bali which we hope to visit this year depending nothing else pops up.
If you’re going to Thailand and visit any of these places, let me know I would love to hear what you think.
Karen
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