What’s a summer break without trip away somewhere?
Better yet… make it an international tropical island getaway! 😉
That is indeed what I did for the New Years break of December 2019/ January 2020. I embarked on the Thai Island Hopper West Contiki tour – and although it was only one week long, it was an amazing trip!
(Albeit slightly stressful and dramatic near the end where I ended up at the medical centre…
…but read on for more on that 😉)
In fact, it was my most spontaneously-booked overseas trip yet. I booked it 3 weeks beforehand, to be exact!! #yolo
So lets crack into it. What exactly did we do & where did we go on the Thai Island Hopper West?
In a nutshell: Celebrating New Year’s Eve (well, drinking cocktails and partying during the whole trip to be honest), swimming, beaching, exploring, cheap massages, kayaking, snorkeling, boat trips, ferry rides, enjoying delicious Thai food, and relaxation. There’s quite a few other optional activities you can do too!
Here’s my day by day break down….
Phuket – Day 1
I arrived in Phuket on the morning of day the Contiki officially started – 30th of December. After some exploring in the general vicinity of our hotel (and being hit with the initial shock of the heat and humidity!!), we had our first trip meeting at 6pm.
Afterwards we had our first big group included dinner and was able to start to get to know our Contiki fam! I was stoked to try my first authentic Thai curry (if you know me well, you know that I’m a sucker for a good Thai curry) Any boy, it did not disappoint!
The first night on Contiki is always a rowdy one, so what better way to start our time in Thailand together than getting the Bangla Road experience?!
Banlga Road is an famous (infamous?) road (well, more like an area/district with a few roads connected) full of nightlife, bars, strip clubs, and the even more infamous: Thai ping pong shows.
Because it’s probably not a good idea to Google it, a “ping pong show” is essentially an adult entertainment show that involves women putting strange objects (and sometimes animals, unfortunately) in and out of their, um, lady bits! And yes, that includes ping pong balls.
Say whaaaaat?
Anyway, it was a good night nonetheless! 😂
Phuket – Day 2
Today was a free day to ourselves until the evening. I enjoyed a blissful day of massages, Thai food, cocktails and a swim in the resort pool. That’s what I call a relaxing holiday!
That night we all went for a wander to the night market, where a huge assortment of weird and wonderful food was on display. I played it safe with some (yummoes) pad thai, rather than going for the barbeque crickets and frogs 😉
And then it was time for NEW YEARS EVE!
First up we visited the White Room nightclub for 3 hours of unlimited drinks for only 200 baht (which is like $10 NZ dollars). Did I mention they free pour like crazy in Thailand? So I essentially ended up with mixer drinks made up of like 70% vodka. I think that’s both a good and a bad thing 😂
Come 11pm it was time to head out to Patong Beach to go bring in the New Year! There was a massive stage set up on the beach with a DJ, and while the group tried to stick together as much as possible (“sticky rice”, as we’d say 😉), it was a MISSION to get down to the water through the absolutely insane crowds on the streets and beach! 🤪
But it was worth it – a decent group of us brought in the New Year down by the water with the best fireworks display I’ve seen.
It was certainly a crazy New Years Eve to remember!
Phi Phi Islands – Day 3
At 6.30am(!!) on New Years Day after minimal sleep (a few people in the group didn’t bother going to bed and joined us straight from the nightclubs, haha!) we were off on a ferry to the famous and very beautiful Phi Phi Islands.
So, kinda worth getting up so early 😉
Here’s the private beach that was right in front of our resort:
Dreamy!
That night our trip manager took us on an excursion around the island and pointed out some recommended dinner spots (um, more Thai curry yes please!). Afterwards we went to a Muay Thai night (which featured amateur fighters from the crowd haha – so nothing professional, but probably more entertaining 😉)
Phi Phi Islands – Day 4
What better way to start the day than with a massage? (There’s only one negative side effect of massages: the oil will make your spray tan rub off faster) #firstworldproblems
From lunchtime we were off on a big day trip on a boat around the Phi Phi Islands.
We visited Viking Cave, Monkey Beach (with wild monkeys, yay!), a lagoon that was in one of the Jurassic Park films that we swam in (it really did feel other-worldy), I went kayaking (kinda drunkenly) in another bay, then docked at the famous Maya Bay – which features the beach from the Leonardo DiCaprio movie “The Beach”. We couldn’t go on the beach, but we enjoyed dinner aboard the boat, swam in the ocean, danced and drank, and finished off with the most beautiful sunset.
It really couldn’t get much better than that. It was truly an amazing day!
Back at the resort we were treated to an included buffet dinner and then a fire dancing show on the beach. #livingthedream
Krabi – Day 5
It was time to say goodbye to Phi Phi and take a ferry to the Krabi province. After I had another massage, of course 😉
We were lucky to be in the most gorgeous, luxurious resort in Krabi – complete with a rooftop pool with a view of the best sunset. Bliss!
That night, we attended a Thai ladyboy cabaret show (one of those conic things you just have to go to when in Thailand!). I love a good cabaret and amazing costumes, so I was right in my element!
Krabi – Day 6
Our second big day trip out on the boat! This time it was more of a jet boat. We spent the day visiting various locations including beautiful lagoons, James Bong Island (where a couple of the Bond films had scenes):
We visited a floating village that was built out on the water – and the famous floating soccer (I say soccer, not football 😉) pitch where David Beckham made a visit. Lastly, we visited a small island with a cute little beach for some relaxation before heading back to the mainland.
Amazing!
…But by the end of the day, I was having some fairly major issues with my feet.
They started off as swollen from the plane (nothing some compression socks can’t usually fix), but then they just got worse in the heat/humidity. Next, I got bitten by mosquitos on my legs/feet/ankles (Top Thailand Tip: Wear mozzie repellent 24/7! Even in bed). I had an allergic reaction to the bites (which just added to my already-swollen feet!), and then to top it all off – some of the bites got infected!! (Cellulitis, not malaria!) 😬
So that night I stayed back at the rooftop pool with ice packs on my feet, enjoying 2 for 1 cocktails (and room service later on), while the rest of the group went out for dinner. Time for a doctor visit tomorrow, me thinks! 😅
Krabi – Day 7
That morning I made my way to the local medical clinic to get my feet checked out (thankfully, it was only a 3-minute walk from the resort).
Turns out that it was quite bad – and I went on the IV drip 3 times that day. They needed to get as much antibiotics, antihistamine and anti-inflammatory into me as possible before my fights home the next day! Eek!
I was under strict orders to stay in my hotel room with my legs elevated in between appointments, so that was me done for the day. 😔 And although I joined the Contiki team for our last group dinner that night, I couldn’t stay on and party with them 🙁 #cripplelife 🤙
Krabi/Phuket – Day 8
We finished off our trip by heading back (by mini vans this time) to Phuket, and some of us were dropped straight to the airport to catch our flights home.
Special shout out to Bryan who, being one of the only people from the trip at the airport at the same time as me – and being okay with needles – was able to give me my injection that I needed to take before my flights! Eek! I’m not sure if I would’ve been able to do it myself. What a legend.
But wait for it… there was a light at the end of the tunnel!
Always make sure you have travel insurance people, because my insurance company came to my rescue and, along with a recommendation from the doctor, I was upgraded to BUSINESS CLASS on the way home! 😍
I flew back in Business with China Southern Airlines and it was a great experience (and dream come true) . Worth the whole feet debacle!
And yes, I took pics. Even in the lie flat bed 😉
Now that’s what I call putting your feet up in style!
Oh – I also got plonked in a wheelchair at the Guangzhou airport too 😂
Overall, I had did have fantastic trip (despite the mozzie feet situation), and I’m so glad I made such a last-minute decision to book!
My feet/mozzie bit situation was an inconvenience more than anything – but I’m super grateful for the help of the medical centre, the insurance company, and my Contiki group for being so supportive.
If you’re looking for a short-ish beach break away, go ahead and book your own Thai Island Hopper West Contiki here!
Just remember to wear mosquito repellent (and check what the temperatures are going to be like! 😉)
Chelsea x
