From Phuket to Phang Nga Bay

These last two weeks have been a great treat. I have really enjoyed reliving my vacation and sharing the memories with you. However, I have decided that this will be the last Thailand post that I write for the series. I am a person who gets bored easily and to be honest writing a series can get a bit mundane. Also, there are other topics that have been on my mind lately that I would like to share. So for this post, I am going to cram the last bit of the trip into a single post. I hope you will enjoy it and that you don't give up on me - hahaha don't worry, it's not that long.

City tour

We kick-started the week with a city tour around Phuket. My friend, Heather, who had just left a week before I arrived had recommended that I take the tour with Jimmy’s Tours. The owner, Jimmy, loves South Africans and he only takes South Africans on his tours. Jimmy is a very friendly person and hilarious too. He referred to my friends and me as ‘sexy girls’ which was really funny and cringe-worthy. He would say it all the time and Mudz was having none of it, she would say “Hai Jimmy no!” Hahaha.

Jimmy and his 'sexy girls'

Anyway, Jimmy took us to this amazing souvenir/jewellery shop downtown where we could buy real pearls at affordable prices. They also had these amazing handmade bags and little purses. The prices were ridiculously low and I felt like I had hit the jackpot. I walked into that shop with the intention of just browsing but I walked out with a huge bag filled with goodies. We also went to a Bee Farm and Cashew Nut factory which were both really cool.

Thereafter, we headed to the Wat Chalong Temple. The Buddhist temple is considered as Phuket’s most important temple and one of its main attractions. Wat Chalong is a temple complex so there are a number of temples in the area. These temples are exquisite and well maintained. We decided to go inside the biggest temple to see how it looks. It was beautifully decorated with trimmings of gold and red all around.

Mbali in front of the Chalong Temple.

Beautiful temples.

There were also many golden statues of Buddha and we saw some people praying. There were a lot of tourists inside taking pictures and observing. Buddhism is the main religion in Thailand so the temples are still used as places of worship, although there are many tourists walking in and out daily. At some point, I drifted away from my friends and found myself wandering off on my own. It was all fine and dandy until I couldn’t find the exit. Then I started panicking and frantically looking for the ladies. I eventually found them ‘shhuu!’ and they led me to the exit - which was right in front of me all along, hahaha!

Inside the temple.

After the temple, we went off to see Big Buddha. Big Buddha is one of Phuket’s most revered landmarks and tourist attractions. It is an image of Buddha made of marble and constructed with reinforced concrete that stands at 45m tall and 25m wide. It is huge! It sits on top of a mountain and can be seen from Karon Beach and Phuket Town. The atmosphere around the statue is very calming and peaceful and inside the statue, you can find people praying. It was a great experience to be there and to see it up close and personal. I think the one thing I will do differently the next time I go will be to dress a little bit more conservatively. In as much as I was looking cute, my crop top and bare shoulders were not accepted and I was given a scarf to cover up before I could enter.

Big Buddha

We ended off the day with a visit to the Central Festival mall. The ladies wanted to do some shopping at the newly built mall. To be honest, at this point I was so tired that the only thought on my mind was “I need a drink!” Hahahaha. So, what did I do? I let the youngins enjoy their shopping and I found myself the nearest bar and ordered a beer. I felt like an old aunty and it felt great!

Bottoms up!

 Adventure trip

The next day we took a long drive to Phang Nga Bay for our adventure trip. We drove for what felt like 2 long hours and even witnessed some drama- between two couples- in the taxi. We drove deep into the thick of the jungle, I kid you not. I have evidence guys, yoh! The driver kept on going and going and at some point, I was wondering what would happen to us if the Quantum broke down.

Jungle fever...

Eventually, we arrived at our first activity which was riding on the elephants. The elephants looked so huge and I was really scared. Before going there I was on some “Nywe, nywe, even me I’m want to ride them!” but when I was in front of them I was so afraid that I wanted to chicken out. But then, of course, I went - because hey, one must always conquer their fears, right?

Mbali went on the elephant with me and she really tried her best to keep me calm. She was busy reminding me to take deep breaths and to enjoy the ride. The ride was pretty chilled except for when the elephant was walking down into the river. I felt like I was going to fall face down but luckily that didn’t happen. What shook me to the core was when the elephant guide instructed me to get out of my seat and sit on the elephants back. “Like, my guy, can you not see me freaking out by just being on the seat? Now you want me to sit on the actual elephant? Shucks man!” He kept on insisting, so I eventually plucked up the courage and did it. It was weird. The hairs of the elephant were pricking me and I could feel every one of his joints as he took a step. To be honest, in as much as I enjoyed the ride on the elephant, I kinda felt bad. Like eish, these poor animals must be going through the most. Anyway, I think that that will be the last time I ride on an elephant. Those poor things, eish!

After that we went white water rafting, swimming in the waterfall, zip lining and riding on an ATV (quad bike). The rafting, zip lining and swimming were lots of fun and at some point, we even got a chance to teach the Germans we were on the tour with some Zulu and Sesotho greetings. What I didn’t care much for was the ATV. I was having a hard time pressing on the accelerator which meant that I would lag behind and cause a traffic jam for those behind me. Also, going uphill was a problem because my I accelerated too slowly. At one point, I nearly fell over and that's when I decided to abandon my ATV in the middle of nowhere and hop on the back of the instructor’s bike. I was not going to risk falling and injuring myself, nope, no chance!

We had a lovely lunch and then headed back to Phuket. It was indeed one of my most memorable days as it was filled with so many things that scared me and that meant that I was forced outside of my comfort zone. I adopted a new motto that day and that is, ‘If it scares you, then you have to do it!’

White River Rafting

Before I saw flames.

James Bond Island

The following day we had to drive back to Phang Nga Bay for the James Bond Island tour. This was the last tour of the trip so we were both excited and a bit sad. First up, the driver took us to this lookout point where you can see all the little islands. It was really beautiful but the weather was acting shady so the sky was grey. Still, that didn’t take away from the breathtaking views. Thereafter, we headed to the harbour where we boarded the boat that would take us around. This boat ride was a little shorter than the Phi Phi Island one and because we had experience, we had our pills ready.

Mudz and I at the lookout point.

We arrived near the James Bond Island and had to change boats and get onto these smaller boats. These smaller boats are very badly designed because to get off the boat you have to literally jump over the seats until you reach the front – there is no walking passage between the seats, imagine! Anyway, we got to James Bond Island – It’s called that because a James Bond film was shot there in 1974 –and we were only given 30 minutes to explore the place. 30 minutes is not a lot of time, especially if you want to take photos and still walk around. Anyway, we made do with the time we were given. It really was a sight to behold. Like honestly, I was in awe of the work of God’s hands.

We got back on to the boat in time for lunch and then we were taken to another Island where we could get off and go canoeing. The canoeing guy took us around to a viewpoint where we could take snaps and he also led us into this incredible cave. By this time my heart was full. I was so glad that I had had the opportunity to see such beauty – LIVE!

Entering the cave.

Our trip had finally come to an amazing end and we had created so many wonderful memories. I can honestly say that this trip was a dream come true for me. It really was all that I had hoped for and MORE! It has really opened my eyes and given me a fresh perspective on people, life and myself. On this trip, I learnt a lot about myself and grew in so many ways. I learned to trust myself and to get lost in the wonder of not knowing what will happen next. One thing for certain is this: Phuket, I am coming back for you!