Arriving in Thailand

The humid, warm air welcomes me as I leave the airport building in Phuket... and of course, a dozen Thais shouting 'Taxi Taxi' at me. I am looking for the local bus to get to the city center, and the helpful Thais immediately assist me and show me the way. Now that I have arrived in the center, it is pouring rain, so I find a hostel near the bus station and spend the next two days sleeping, exploring the surroundings, enjoying passion fruit juice, getting a foot scrub, and immersing myself in the new Asian experiences. I immediately feel very comfortable in Thailand. In the hostel, there are times for a ferry that goes to an island every day, and I decide that an island will be just the right thing for me. And so I go from Phuket to the island of Koh Phi Phi.

Koh Phi Phi, a small island, known for the beach from the movie 'The Beach' and now also for the many parties... which I (being uninformed) did not know, and I checked into a dorm, sweaty, confused, and tired... a dormitory for 24 people. In the evening, I had the room to myself... my 23 'roommates' only stumbled into their beds around three in the morning, and I decided that Koh Phi Phi might not be quite suitable for me and my first time to calm down. I spent the two days on the island walking around, meeting up with my seat neighbor from the plane, and lounging in a quiet place overlooking the turquoise sea and white beach. In my internet research for 'quiet islands near Phuket', I came across the island of Koh Jum and decided that this would be my next destination. Looking back, it was the perfect decision :)