family wanderlust: Phuket Dec 2008 - Day 2: Phi Phi Island Tour

Day 2 and we were off to Phi Phi Island. It was a full day trip. We woke up quite early as the tour operators picked us up at around 730am.

the kids were quite excited to go on a boat ride

After waiting for quite sometime for the tide to come in, we were on our way out to the open sea. There was a sigh of relief from the boat driver as well as all of the tourists. All of us were actually quite worried the trip would get delayed so much that we wouldn't have enough time to enjoy the full day tour.

just bathing suit and sarong, that's all i needed for this trip

the boys were still a bit sleepy. They got a bit bored waiting for a long time at the pier.

and we're here! The famous scenery from the movie "The Beach".

This is Maya Bay.

calm waters of Phi Phi Island

getting ready to get soaked.

I didn't really imagine that there were a lot of tourists here all at the same time!

There were more than a dozen speed boats parked along the shoreline.

Each boat could hold 15-20 people. That totals to more than 200 tourists at a time in this beach!

Sometimes the experience of visiting a beautiful place like deteriorates because of overcrowding.

But that doesn't seem to bother most of the other people who were there.

The island is really breath-taking.

our official photographer taking some snap shots before plunging on the crystal clear waters.

He even made a "friend" while capturing the beauty of the island.

By friend I mean they talked about photography stuff.

the water was cold

Ira was amused at how many tourists were there aside from us.

He was a bit hesitant to take a dip.

but it didn't take that long for him to be convinced

mother and son

Kelvin going solo

Our family pic at Phi Phi Island.

Did you notice how the 2 boys on the left were wearing their goggles up

while Ira and I were were wearing ours on???

After an hour or so (I think) at Phi Phi Island, we went back to our boat
to get to the next activity - a snorkeling adventure.

we passed by an island where people are harvesting bird's nest

Crystal clear waters yet again. This was the location for the snorkeling activity.

One by one, we jumped into the water, bringing some pieces of bread (provided by the tour guide)

to feed the fish. Kelvin was quite excited as this was his first time to snorkel.

Although the first time he experienced an island-hopping trip was way back in 2004 (Boracay, Philippines).

He was still too young then and was really scared to go to the water even with his lifesaver.

Our Phuket trip was really just in time as Kelvin just started swimming lessons in June.

He is now quite confident in the water. I think too overconfident!

He even swam further together with Lolo Manny and Tito Arvin to see more species of fish.

Ira was a bit hesitant to jump in the water. He was quite scared.

I was a bit nervous as well. I wasn't really a strong swimmer so the vest helped a lot.

Ira didn't stay in the water for a long time. He was that comfortable. I brought him back to the boat after a few minutes, but not without seeing some of the fish swimming around us.

looking for fishes

found one school just beside our boat

or were they the ones who found me??? Good thing they didn't bite.

done with the snorkeling. All of us were tired and hungry by mid day.

nice smiles. Looking forward to a sumptuous lunch at another island.

But first, we had to make another stop to Monkey Bay - to see monkeys!

I just had to take a picture of this water slide in the middle of the ocean

Almost there.

so where are the monkeys???

here's one...

and another one.

Most of the guides allow tourists to give bananas to the monkeys (food provided by the tour guide).

Unfortunately, some of the monkeys were given softdrinks

and other food which might not be appropriate for their diet.

The first half of our island-hopping trip was quite exhausting.

After seeing the monkeys eating and drinking, we were all looking forward to a good meal.

this was our stop for lunch. It was a buffet lunch together with all the other tourists

They served rice, noodles/pasta, meat, vegetables, fruits and drinks.

After having lunch, while waiting for the rest to finish theirs, we strolled along the shore.

the kids didn't really mind playing under the scorching heat

Next up was another snorkeling trip to another island. This was the final leg of our Phi Phi Island hopping tour.

The place was a very small sandy island with rows of beach chairs, umbrellas and some shops.

snorkeling moment again for Kelvin. This was in shallow waters though.

Fishes can already be seen just a few feet away from the shore.

couple time...

floating around...

trying to keep a smile even though i got injured a few minutes before this picture was taken.

I actually cut my toe stepping on some of the sharp rocks.

Ira having his snack... or should I say protecting his drink

from the salt water that was splashing all over him

enjoying the last leg of our island hopping trip

Fruit snack and soft drinks/water were provided in this leg of the trip.

After a whole day of fun - swimming, snorkeling, and basking in the sun - we headed back to shore.

There waiting for us were our pictures taken during boarding which were mounted on ceramic souvenir plates. They sold it for 150 baht. We were not quite sure if we were going to buy ours or not. But since it was a cute family photo, and we never had one before we decided to take it as a remembrance of this trip.