Welcome to Travel Adventure #9 my Steemit fam!

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Come join us on our Travel Adventure filled with the beautiful islands, lagoons and beaches of Thailand. Our sunrise trip started off really early so we could beat all the crowds to the famous Phi Phi Islands. We started off with Maya Bay then spent the rest of the day swimming at Pileh Lagoon, snorkelling and relaxing on the beach at Bamboo Island.

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Today's Itinerary

• 5 AM pick up from our resort
• Light breakfast at the Royal Phuket Marina
• Departed via speedboat and travelled for ~1 hour to Maya Bay
• Arrived at Maya Bay - Enjoyed the beach, water and explored the island
• Travelled to Pileh Lagoon - Jumping from boat & swimming!
• Visited Monkey Cliff
• Travelled to Private Beach Restaurant for delicious lunch!
• Relaxing & snoozing on private island
• Travelled to Bamboo Island - exploring beaches, snorkelling, swimming and relaxing
• Returned back to Royal Phuket Marina and return transfer back to resort

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Early birds today! 4 AM Wakeup & 5 AM Pickup

Waking up in pitch black to get ready for our early sunrise trip to the famous Phi Phi Islands in Phuket, Thailand. We arrived at the Royal Phuket Marina as the sun was rising and were welcomed with a light breakfast before we were escorted to the speedboat that would take us out on our day trip to various islands.

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Phi Phi Islands - Tell me more!

The Phi Phi Islands are a group of six islands situated between the large island of Phuket and the mainland of Thailand. Koh Phi Phi Don is the largest island of the six and is the most populated of the group. Koh Phi Phi Leh is the second largest island and is frequently visited by tour groups for the beaches and lagoons. This is where most of our day will be spent today visiting Maya Bay and Pileh Lagoon. Bamboo Island is also frequently visited by tour groups and will be the final pit stop on our adventure today.

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First Stop! Maya Bay!

Yes, this is the place that is overly frequented by tourists (including us) and was made famous by Leonardo Dicaprio's movie - The Beach. I've actually never seen the movie but have seen the pictures of Maya Bay on social media.

We were one of the first boats that arrived at Maya Bay. Perks of taking a super early Sunrise tour so we beat the crowds by a few hours. The boat anchored in the bay and we stepped off the boat into thigh-deep water that was crystal-clear and soothingly warm. We sploshed through the water toward the pristine white sandy beach while taking in the beautiful views of the beach surrounded by the cliffs that shelter the Bay.

We took a few happy snaps on the beach then made our way toward the other side of the island to see Loh Samah Bay with a lovely viewpoint of the so-called "Mushroom Island". The walk to the viewpoint wasn't too far away but as we got further away from Maya Bay the sand turned into rocks and it soon became quite painful to walk barefoot in some areas.

We then made our way back to Maya Bay to take some more photos and got our feet wet before heading back onto the boat. Time to move on before the main wave of tourists arrived at Maya Bay.

Making our way from the boat to the shore of Maya Bay

Passing long boats as we walked toward the beach

Maya Bay

Boats anchored in the Bay

Welcome to Maya Bay!

Mushroom Island as seen from Loh Samah Bay

Walking barefoot wasn't the best idea

Tourist selfie

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Pileh Lagoon - Jumping off the boat into beautiful blue waters!

We left Maya Bay to take a short ride around to the other side of Koh Phi Phi Ley to the lovely Pileh Lagoon. The water was almost green in colour but still made for a perfect spot to go swimming. There were no other boats here so we had the lagoon all to ourselves.

Everyone on the boat made their way to the front of the speedboat and we all jumped into the lagoon waters from the front of the boat! I'm not a strong swimmer so I always wear a life vest in deep waters - don't judge me!!! 😅

Spotted some sea urchins!

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Monkey Cliff Drive-by (Photo) Shooting

Monkey Cliff is located very close to Pileh Lagoon and is exactly what it sounds like. We stopped close enough to the cliff so we could take a few photos without getting too close so we wouldn't disturb them too much. It was amazing to see them up-close sitting in crevices and on tree branches all along the cliff wall.

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Lunch Time! We're super hungry now!

We stopped on a beautiful beach to enjoy a delicious buffet spread that included both Thai & Western dishes at the Private Beach Restaurant. We found a nice daybed in the shade to relax on while we finished off our lunch, enjoyed a refreshing watermelon iced drink and ended up falling asleep on the daybed. I always get really tired after a swim and sleepy after a nice meal - so it was a double whammy here.

Views from the top of the hill

View from our daybed

Watermelon iced drink

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Final Stop! Bamboo Island!

As we approached Bamboo Island, we anchored in the deeper part of the ocean where there were some coral reefs so we could do some snorkelling first before we actually stepped foot on the island. The reefs were nothing amazing but the fish did get quite up-close and personal. They're probably used to being around people and weren't afraid to swim up close. We snorkelled in the reefs for about 20-30 minutes before we hopped back onto the boat and were dropped off on the sandy beaches of Bamboo Island.

The beach itself seemed endless and was very flat so we explored the island a little bit before finding a spot in the shade and taking another quick dip in the ocean. The sun was beaming down on us and it was getting really hot so the shade under the trees was the best spot to be.

Bamboo Island from the snorkelling spot

Long boats on the beach

Hubby 💗

Empty lifeguard station

Relaxing under the shade

Ben returning from his walk to the other side of the island

Flat sandy beach

Walking back to the boat

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Home Time!

We jumped back onto the boat and fell asleep on the way back as we were taken back to the Royal Phuket Marina. What a beautiful and fun day this was spent exploring the Phi Phi Islands, taking in the sunshine and views. If you've never visited these islands before we really enjoyed it and can recommend this day trip. I'm really glad we opted for the early sunrise tour so that we could beat most of the crowd to Maya Bay.

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Thank you for joining us on our Travel Adventure while island hopping in this part of Thailand. Revisiting these pictures from our holiday has made me crave another holiday! We're nearing the end of this trip to Thailand so stay tuned for the last couple days!

Steem on!

-Frances & Ben

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Quick links to our other Thailand Travel Adventure posts:

Travel Adventure #1 | Sunset over Phang Nga Bay, Thailand
Travel Adventure #2 | Thailand Private Beach Cabana Dinner
Travel Adventure #3 | First Day in Phuket
Travel Adventure #4 | Surin Beach, Chalong Temple & Big Buddha
Travel Adventure #6 | Thailand | Patong, Patong Beach & Phuket Fantasea
Travel Adventure #7 | Thailand | Phang Nga Bay - Sea Canoes, Hidden Caves & Lagoons!
Travel Adventure #8 | Thailand | Surin Beach, Phuket Weekend Markets & Thalang Road Walking Markets

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