In maritime affairs the bigger boat is always the better option. However, in planning our trip to Koh Phi Phi (where the movie "The Beach" was filmed), we were more tempted by the marketing talk of "smaller boat = more personal, less crowded" than the logical thoughts of "bigger boat = less impact of waves". Unfortunately the day of our small boat expedition also happened to be the choppiest day of the year, thanks to the Typhoon in the gulf of Thailand. About 30 minutes into the journey and just as the water gets REALLY choppy, we are forced to turn back due to crying/vomitting children.
The boat we were in was a flat bottomed, single-hull, steel speedboat. With no depth in the hull, and with 2 200hp motors, instead of cutting through the waves it basically bounced along the top. We eventually arrived at Koh Phi Phi and it was well worth the trip. We spent about 30 min snorkelling before heading to feed some awesome monkeys and then to an adjacent island for lunch.
After lunch we went to Koh Tao and saw a guy who looked exactly like Sao in 10 years from now.
Not long after this, a massive storm swept in and we all concluded the trip back to Phuket was doomed and the boat would split in two and we would be forced to swim 20km to safety. Despite taking two motion sickness tablets, Sim spent the entire return journey concentrating on not spewing. When his feet finally hit terra-firma the look of relief was priceless.
Chiang Mai Seafood was again visited for dinner and Blai and Sim, as part of seafood-fest round 3, bought the most expensive prawns ever, purchased in a moment of sheer madness (ala Saos fisherman pants purchase). After dinner we went to "Pone Bar" and watched Pommy Geezers playing connect-4 with Thai girls.