Day #130 - H-A-Phi-Phi-Y

You'll be pleased to know that James has a good night's sleep last night and (fingers crossed) is on his way to making a good recove...

You'll be pleased to know that James has a good night's sleep last night and (fingers crossed) is on his way to making a good recovery from his recent infection. 

So you might expect that he wanted to start his day as he has done so often, with a morning dip in the pool. Well not today. 

Today we started with a morning walk along the beach on the hunt for any interesting shells that had been washed up over night. It was a very calming and beautiful way to start the day - the beach was stunning and James found one or two species that were interesting enough to qualify for his collection.

And then of course, it was time for a dip!

After breakfast, we then had to start packing since today would see us relocate to the beautiful island of Phi Phi, south of our current location, Krabi. To do this, we needed to take a taxi to the ferry and then walk to the hotel. 

The ferry was nothing to write about really since it was effectively a bus on water. However, it was the noisiest ferry I have been on and all our suitcases were uncermoniously piled up on the stern end of the ship as we came aboard, meaning that when we disembarked, it was a mad scramble to retrienve your bags. I will never complain about airport baggage claim again! 

First impressions of Phi Phi were inspiration. The landscape here is otherworldly. Those granitoids we saw rising from the countryside the other day, now rise out of crystal clear waters, covered with lush vegetation and bathed in sunlight.

Awaiting for our arrival was a porter with a cart to help transport our suitcases to the hotel, about 600 meters away from the ferry pier. There are no cars or other motor vehicles on the island, so everything is transported around in handcarts (although I did spot one electric golf buggy!).

Once again, our hotel was a place of beauty. James has booked us into the most gorgeous of resorts. We are staying in a beautiful bamboo lodge that is surrounded by palm trees and looks out over the amazing pool and beyond to the stunning bay. 

The first day at a new hotel is still very exciting for us, even after all this time. We love exploring everything and finding out what's on offer. The pool is the centre of everything at this place and it wasn't long before we were both in the water enjoying an incredibly refreshing swim after that rather stuffy ferry ride.

Later on, we found ourselves talking to a lovely Norwegian couple Elin and Pål at the swim up bar (well it was Happy Hour - rude not too!). We also had a delightful evening meal with them and since we were so busy chatting, I didn't capture the meal itself. However, I did remember to capture a nice post-meal group pic.