It was one of the first few vacations that we as a family took, outside the country. Since Mama mami were staying in Hong Kong, we went on a summer holiday to Hong Kong and then made a small trip to Phuket. It was like the perfect getaway. Lots of shopping and good eating at HK, and the sun the sea and the beaches at Phuket.
We reached Phuket and were there for 4 days. I must tell you the place was beautiful. We stayed at this resort which was connected to 4 more resorts through the backwaters. The view was breathtaking. The first two days were super calm and peaceful. We relaxed at the beach, ate nice food, chilled next to the swimming pool, it was wonderful. And then came the 3rd day of our stay. We had actually gotten bored of the place by now. And that is why we decided to give the hotel concierge a visit to know what else we could do in this city. She was a sweet lady who gave us a couple of options. What followed was the most hilarious experiences of my life! Ofcourse at that time it was not funny at all. But let me not digress.
So the hotel lady told us that we could go in for a swimming and snorkelling trip to the Phi Phi Islands. It was a water boat journey of about 6 hours (3 hours each side) and it was a day trip. My mother got super excited when she heard this. She looked at us and gave us the nod. Dad and I rejected it right then and there. Well for starters my sister, my mum and I didn’t know how to swim! So why would we go on a snorkelling trip! And plus staying on a boat for 6 odd hours was not my idea of fun. But Ma had other plans. She had heard from somebody that it’s an amazing experience. When we both still didn’t agree she started her emotional blackmail that none of us ever listen to what she wants to do. And the next hour we were sitting on a private boat heading towards Phi Phi Islands.
Now several things made the trip one of the most memorable trips I’d gone to. It was 10 o clock in the morning and was quite dark and cloudy for that hour. But we were in high spirits. The first thing we were given was some anti sea sickness pills, which we graciously accepted but didn’t have. I mean who needs these pills for a trip which lasts 6 hours! My sister and I wore shorts and spaghettis and we were about to wear our slippers, when my parents had the brilliant idea of making us both wear sneakers. The reason that was given to us was that our feet will get dirty once we get on to the beach!! My dad also wore his leather shoes so I argued a little but gave up as I thought this was not my day. So we started on the speed boat, with some 15 people on board, a group of English friends, a Singaporean couple, an old Russian couple, and us. We were told that we will visit some 4 islands if the weather permits and then go on to Phi Phi for lunch and come back. The boat ride till our first beach I must tell you was super fun. Perfect blue water as a background, with the wind blowing onto our face, the view was fantastic! We reached the first beach and that’s where the fun started. The boat stopped some 50meters off the beach and we were told to get out into the water! Now for most people that would be great fun. Everyone except the Sethi family was extremely delighted. They took out their clothes and revealed some nice swim wear and jumped straight into the water. That left the 4 of us. My father was the first to go and carried his shoes almost over his head, my mum followed. Leaving the two of us behind with sneakers on our feet! I cannot tell you how precious those Nike sneakers were to me. I could not see them getting wet and spoilt for anything. So there we were. Waist deep in water, carrying our beloved shoes in our hands trying to desperately to get out! I swear I saw people laughing at us. I think we provided them quite an entertainment throughout the trip! J Once at the beach, while everyone else had fun in the water, we made ourselves useful by picking out some real nice sea shells! It was time to get to the snorkelling site. We got back on the boat and went straight to the snorkelling area. We were all given our snorkelling equipment and it was here that we told the organisers that we all dont swim. You should have seen the guys face. I don’t think I have ever been this embarrassed in my entire life! He politely asked us what we were doing on this boat then! My mother, who now had started feeling guilty and a little awkward herself defended us and said we were here for the view! He gave us some refreshments and some bread crumbs to feed the fish and keep ourselves busy. Our cribs about the trip were getting more violent by the minute. I was feeling nauseatic on a still boat (the pill helped actually!), was wet and dirty and hungry and feeding bread crumbs to fishes while I could be getting a nice relaxing spa done at the resort!
We reached Phi Phi Island (finally!!) at 2pm. We were told by the driver and his crew that we shall see the weather and then decide whether we’ll go ahead on to the next island or not. I grabbed a plate and went straight for the buffet. And then my hopes shattered. They were serving thai food today! And all of us excepting my mum hates Thai food! I swear I almost cried that moment. I felt as if I had cheated in an exam and was getting a really bad punishment for it! The only “edible” thing for all of us over there was some spaghetti and buns. Even the soups had coconut and lemon grass in it! After eating whatever we actually could, we were told to hurry on to the boat to get back. The weather was getting worse. It had started to rain a little and extremely dark clouds were emerging. We sat on and zoomed for about 10 mins. Then the boat started rocking. Because of the weather there was a high tide in the sea. And the waves were tremendous. We started swaying and rocking like nobody’s business. The organiser came to all of us with a nervous smile and asked whether we still wanted to proceed to the next beach. He threw life jackets at us which we all quickly wore. This gave us a sense of things to come. At this moment my father took charge. He got up and yelled back at the guy. “Back, we want to get back!”. He shoved him and went to the seat right next to the driver and sat there. Water started coming inside the boat. The driver quickly took out a helmet to wear on his head! The site was hilarious. There we were being driven on a boat in the middle of the sea with no land in site with a guy wearing a helmet. There were sullen faces all around. Suddenly all the jokes and the fun disappeared and everyone got stuck on to their seats. The boat would hit a wave and we would go down, and then suddenly jump up. All the water would come inside. We were drenched. My sister was spitting water out of her mouth. My father who doesn’t believe in wearing a patka and a cap was wearing a pagdi on his head. At this time it had almost reached his neck! But he was holding on trying to see and navigate the tide with the driver. My sister again started cribbing about coming here. Till now my mother had had enough. “Mujhe baksh do.. bolo toh yahin se chalang laga deti hoon main! Otherwise I will not here the end of this for the rest of my life!” she squirmed. If this was a scene from some top hindi television serial, I swear my ma would have won the best dialogue award! We shut up after that. And honestly started enjoying the waves. We would dive into a wave, and then suddenly jump up, the water will fill our boat, my sister would spit out water from her mouth. It became kind of routine. Finally we came close to the shore. The 3 hours back to Phuket seemed like an eternity. But alls well that ends well. We went back, and had a great laugh back at the hotel. 10 years on, we still laugh at this journey. But for the 4 of us.. the best part of the trip: was the ice cream we got on our way back to the Hotel. Ice cream has never tasted better! J
