Phuket – Thailand
Well, I guess it’s time to start to post about my amazing trip to Thailand. Wasn’t sure where to start with this so I guess the best plan is to just break it up into parts. I’ll start with the touristy parts of the trip. When Alisha and Scott invited me to be their wedding photographer it was a huge thrill, as I’d never been anywhere as exotic before. Because I was going so far I decided it would be stupid not to spend a few extra days there seeing some of the area, so I ended up going over for 9 nights. There were so many things to do around Phuket that it was hard to decide which day trips to take. It turned out to be an amazing trip, one which I will never forget. Amazing country, amazing people, great company and some amazing nights out.
I went to Tapu Island (James Bond Island) on my first day there, which was where The Man With The Golden Gun was filmed in to 1970’s. It was surreal being there and seeing the iconic rock formations and remembering scenes from the movie. It wasn’t the best of days, a bit overcast, but that meant it wasn’t too hot. The boat trip took in various islands and was a great day out. We went to Talu Island where we went canoeing through loads of sea caves which was great apart from me as usualy choosing the canoe with the crazy man as a guide. Not 100% sure what he was smoking but it wasn’t Benson & Hedges that’s for sure. Highly entertaining all the same despite the fear factor. WW stopped at Panyee Island for lunch and a bit of a walk around. It’s an amazing little muslim fishing village built on the water, and totally self sufficient. The day ended with a stop at Naka Island where we had time to swim and relax at the beach bar. A lovely day.
The following day I went on an elephant trekking tour. Not sure whether it was the 4 hours sleep I had or not but I didn’t think it was that great. It was an interesting couple of hours but once you’d sat on the elephant for a couple of minutes it kinda lost the excitement. They don’t do much…..
I found out that a Louise and Don, who’s wedding I had just shot, were on honeymoon nearby so arranged a night out with them in Patong. Well, what a night that was. Bangla Road is very well known but until you experience it, it’s hard to imagine. I’ll save all the funny ladyboy stories for another day haha.
Saturday I was delighted to be invited to join the wedding party on a day trip to Phi Phi island which is where the movie The Beach was filmed. Had a bit of a late one on Friday night but managed to drag myself along and was able to survive the very long and choppy speedboat journey. What a place. Absolutely amazing. It was very busy with tourists but what a stunning place! We also visited various other islands including ‘Monkey Island’ and Coral Bay for snorkelling with tropical fish which was great! A wonderful day!
So that was it from the days out. The rest of my spare time was spent on nights out and shopping in the local markets. More about the work side of things coming up in my next post.
