Phuket, Thailand

March 2018 –

As part of a trip to Singapore and Thailand, Adam and I spent a few days in Phuket. On a lot of our trips, we try to fit in multiple destination stops and this one was no exception. While this is great in terms of what we are able to see, it does require us to do a bit of research to ensure we prioritize absolute Must-Dos. For this trip, we knew we wanted to do a day trip to the Phi Phi Islands and tour the Elephant Sanctuary but there are tons of options to easily fill up a whole week in and around Phuket if you decide to stay a bit longer. Phuket is the largest island in Thailand with about 600,000 permanent residents. There are multiple regions to stay within Phuket and we chose to stay north by Mai Khoa Beach. I wish I could say I had some insider info on why we chose our location and hotel but it was really a bit of luck. We looked at a lot of online reviews and decided on the Renaissance.

Another bit of research we did prior to booking was ensuring that we would be able to organize transportation for our excursions easily from the hotel. This way we could relax when we arrived and not have to worry about arranging rentals.

Once we dropped our bags in our room, we promptly headed down to the beach. The hotel property sits right on Mai Khoa Beach so we had easy access to explore. Mai Khoa Beach is gorgeous and is so massive that you almost feel as if you have it to yourself.

A hidden gem right off the property of the Renaissance is Micky Monkey Beach Bar. While the hotel still charges US prices for cocktails, Micky’s provides cold beers and koozies all for about the equivalent of $2.00. From there, we grabbed the beach chairs they had set up along the sand and enjoyed the sunset.

The next morning, we got up before dawn to take a sunrise cruise to the Phi Phi Islands. Pictures of the Phi Phi’s are all over Instagram and Pinterest with water so blue/green it looks photoshopped.

We arranged our tour through Simba Tours and they were incredible. There are only about 12 total passengers on the boat so your tour never feels overcrowded. I’ve done a lot of sunset cruises before but taking a speedboat out to the islands while the sun was coming up was something else entirely. I would have been content if they turned the boat around after the sunrise but luckily that was just the start!

We started off having breakfast on Koh Mai Pai (Bamboo Island). It was very peaceful as there was only one other boat on the island at that time of the morning. We really felt as if we had the island to ourselves to explore.

As we got closer to Koh Phi Phi Le, I started to see that “photoshopped water”. Seeing it with my own eyes, I couldn’t believe how incredibly vivid the water color truly is in person.

Our next stop was Maya Bay. This cove became popular as “The Beach” was filmed here in 2000. Unlike the first island, Maya Bay was incredibly crowded and ironically our crew told us the crowds only grew throughout the day, as more cruises take place in the afternoon. There were rumors at the time that Maya Bay would be closed to tourist to let the eco system recover and that indeed did happen right after our visit. As of now, it will be closed for two more years. While I’m sure that is a disappointment to anyone visiting in the near future, I’m happy they are taking the proper steps to protect such a beautiful site. I can honestly say while I am glad we had the chance to see it, it was my least favorite stop due to the overcrowding. There is so much beauty to see in the Phi Phi’s, even if you skip Maya Bay, it is well worth the trip!

Luckily, Maya Bay isn’t the only sight to see on Koh Phi Phi Le. Lo Sama Bay sits on the opposite side of the island from Maya Bay and it features a massive limestone island within its bay.

But my favorite of all was the Pileh Lagoon. This is a popular place for snorkeling with its calm, crystal clear waters. I’ll admit, I’m not usually a huge fan of swimming when I can see fish, but this place was so gorgeous, I knew I would always regret it if I didn’t jump in and try it out.

Last but not least we stopped by Monkey Beach on Ko Phi Phi Don islands and we did indeed see monkeys!

This was such a fun day trip! Simba offers multiple excursions and I would absolutely recommend them.

On our final full day in Phuket, we toured the Phuket Elephant Sanctuary. I did research to ensure we were visiting a place that treated elephants in an ethical manner but I still knew very little in regard to the treatment of elephants in Thailand and other areas of the world. We started off watching a documentary on the abuse elephants endure at the hands of humans. I try not to preach about what others should do during travel but I feel very strongly about stating as clear as I can; DO NOT RIDE ELEPHANTS. In order for an elephant to allow a human to ride it, they’ve spent years being abused and fear eventually breaks their will and they submit. They are often taken away from their mothers at an early age to begin this process. In addition although they may seem like large and powerful creatures, any weight over 50lbs can be very painful on their vertebrae. I cried watching the documentary and vowed to do what I could to spread the message. So there you have it…

Ok now that I have my rant out of my system, on to the best part of the sanctuary, the elephants! The elephants here were all rescued from various trekking tours, the logging industry and circus vendors around Thailand. They range in age from mid-30s to late 70s and at the time of our visit, almost all were ladies. The sanctuary is the perfect atmosphere that allows them to lead free lives where they can roam, bathe and eat when they like. And one thing they like to eat is watermelon! You can feed it whole to an elephant! One aspect I found so fascinating was that each elephant has a designated human that looks after him/her. Even after abuse, they do learn to trust again and form an unbreakable bond with this individual. I’m so grateful I had the opportunity to see these gentle giants up close and to know that they have a place where they can be at peace. I would definitely recommend visiting.

Post our trip to the sanctuary; we had just enough time to come back the beach for the perfect Thai massage followed by another beautiful sunset at Micky’s.

And just like that, our time in Phuket flew by! Up next, we hopped a flight to Ko Samui, where we spent a few days relaxing and taking in the sights. I can’t wait to share my Ko Samui recap in a future post!