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Published: February 7th 2010
Karon Beach
We somehow caught this shot of me on Karon Bch looking deceivingly empty(Sorry for the delay of this entry)
After a short and painless two-hour flight from Chiang Mai down to Phuket, we found ourselves in the reputed “paradise hotspot” of Southeast Asia. Many people told us to get out of Phuket immediately, using it only as a jump-off point to the surrounding outer islands. I would advise the same, but unfortunately, our flight landed too late for us to catch the day’s last ferry over to Koh Phi Phi Don, so we figured we’d just spend a night on Phuket. I wouldn’t say this was a
mistake, per se, but I do understand why people tell you to get the hell out of there! The minivan shuttle ride from the airport to Karon Beach was extremely interesting—our driver made the tuk-tuk rides in Bangkok seem like a calm promenade around the park!! He drove our huge 10-passenger minivan as if we were as small and quick as a motorbike, not even starting to think about hitting the brakes until we were maybe one foot—nay, one
inch!— from the car in front us.
Before arriving at our destination, we had to drive through the chaos and wild streets of
Sunset in Phuket
Splay of sunset colors on Karon Beach Patong. Patong is the first real strip of touristy beach town that you hit on the west coast of the island of Phuket coming down from the airport. It’s where the major resorts of Phuket are located and almost every other passenger in our large minivan got dropped off here. I would describe it as an unplanned, messy fusion of Waikiki Tropical Beach + Vegas Prostitutes + Myrtle Beach Tackiness + Your Normal Crazy Traffic of Any Southeast Asian City - Any Good Culture that may still be left after combining all those. Now, I am probably being unfair, considering all the time I spent in Patong hardly added up to 20 minutes! But I think the fact that I felt such a strong reaction to Patong after such a short stint is indicative of
something. In any case, we were very, very happy that we heeded Lonely Planet’s advice to head farther south to Karon Beach. For those who have more time, I think going farther still to Kata becomes even more pleasant and finally starts to resemble the paradisiacal cove that people think of when envisioning Thailand’s beaches.
Not that Karon Beach was by any means
Pleasant Ferry Ride
Lots of island views as we take boat ride over to Koh Phi Phi Don undeveloped pristine beauty nor non-commercialized. No, quite the opposite, actually, but it immediately felt less tacky and more peaceful than Patong. We only had that one short night in Karon, so we had nothing planned, making it the perfect opportunity to sit down and enjoy sunset. Karon sits on a very long and wide bay with a vast expansive beach made of some of the most unbelievably soft white sand your toes will ever feel! The beach itself is actually quite nice, though it was, as expected, also quite crowded. Rows of rentable blue chaise lounge and chairs dot the beach, reminding you at all times that you are not far from anyone at all times.
We enjoyed a very beautiful sunset sitting and playing over the unique texture of the sand and then found our way to a delicious Italian joint that actually served really good pizza! I would normally not order pizza in Thailand, but there were actually hardly any Thai restaurants in that area of Karon!—there was a fancy steakhouse, a Mexican restaurant, and a seafood restaurant which I would imagine fused Thai flavor with seafood, but didn’t resemble the Thai noodle eateries of the
Reunion!
Ian meets up with us in Phi Phi and we catch up over lunch (notice our table is less than 100 ft from the ocean) north. Stranger yet was that I hardly saw any Thai
people! If I didn’t know I was definitely still in Thailand, I would not have guessed it at all. Michael and I felt like were in a completely different country. Gone were the hourly
Sawadee kah! greetings, wat temple silhouettes on every block, and cheap food; replacing them were hordes of mostly Europeans in every restaurant seat, stands of shell necklaces for sale on the street corners, and dive companies at every turn.
We hit the sack soon after dinner. Early the next morning, we were picked up by a familiar minivan shuttle (this is Phuket’s version of the Chiang Mai songtaew) and headed toward Rassada Pier in Phuket Town, where we were supposed to meet up with my friend from college, Ian, and catch the ferry over to Koh Phi Phi Don. By now, I was mentally prepared to see tons of people at the Pier, but somehow, Thailand continued to impress me! I naively thought there would be only one ferry that we were all getting on, but I soon saw at least five very large, three-deck ferries, plus a ton of smaller speedboats, all lined
Perfect Lunch Spot
really can't ask for a more perfect view on Loh Dalam Bay up in the bustling harbor, filled to the brim with passengers and tourists heading in all directions toward the various islands off of Phuket. Realizing that there was no way I could reasonably look for Ian in this mess, I hoped that we would find him over on Phi Phi and, like sheep, boarded onto one of the large ferries.
The hour and a half boat ride over to Koh Phi Phi was surprisingly pleasant. Despite being crowded, the boat had spacious and nice bathrooms, three air-conditioned rooms with many seats and televisions if it got too hot outside, a snack bar, and actually served free breakfast if you were lucky enough to be amongst the first couple hundred on board (we were not…but I got the free tea!). Most of all, as soon as we pushed off from the harbors of Phuket, the waters turned a stunning turquoise and the string of outer islands started to come into view. On all sides, distant lands rose up from the waters— a mountain there, a tiny island there, a cool-shaped bay over there. This was the breathtaking view we had been waiting for! It was beautiful and sunny and
Beach snob
Michael takes a dip in Loh Dalam Bay the cool splash of water that occasionally got us was refreshing (until the man next to us got completely soaked, and then we quickly moved…)
As we pulled into Ton Sai Bay on Koh Phi Phi Don, we got in line to disembark and—lo and behold—Ian passed right by us! He had been on this ferry with us all along!! I was glad to see that we had both made it and found each other, sans cell phones and real communication of where we would be! Ian had been living and working in the Philippines for the last six months, and his job project just ended, so he went over to Kuala Lumpur for New Year’s, and then hopped over to meet us in Thailand! Together, the three of us stepped onto this island of no cars or real roads and set off to explore. Before we knew it, within a few steps, we had already walked through and crossed the entire width of the island’s center and were on the sands of the opposite bay on the other side, Loh Dalam Bay!
Phi Phi Don’s geography is unlike anything I have ever seen. While it is
Don't Kiss a Fish!
Since there were so many party people on Phi Phi, guess it was necessary to post these signs, haha still one island, it is almost like two separate islands connected by a very thin isthmus. This “isthmus” rises out of the water like a sandbar in between two crystal bays, Ton Sai and Loh Dalam, and one day, in thousands of years, I imagine erosion will do its job and, along with rising ocean waters, will cause this connecting strip of sand to disappear and form two islands, an “East Phi Phi Don” and a “West Phi Phi Don.” In fact, in the great Tsunami of 2004, almost exactly 5 years ago from the date we arrived in Thailand, this entire strip of sand was underwater. Almost the entirety of Phi Phi Don Village was wiped out, which is why it downright
baffled us that the entire place was rebuilt, in the same place, right here on this thin strip of land, for which the foundation is pure sand. Of course it is tempting to rebuild here because this is where people want to be—right next to the ocean in all directions, and it is easy for every restaurant and bar and guesthouse to be “oceanfront”—but clearly it is against all instinctive building logic and practicality! But, it makes
Long Tails
tons of motorized long-tail boats dot Phi Phi money and people still flock here by the thousands, as we quickly noticed.
Arriving on Loh Dalam Bay, we parked ourselves down for lunch at a table about 100 feet from the lapping waves, and ordered smoothies and lunch while taking dips in the calm Andaman Sea between ordering and receiving our food. It was veeeeeery nice…but still, something felt off. This jaw-droppingly beautiful bay was not as idyllic as it seemed, and it took me a minute to figure out what it was.
Before I continue, I must offer a disclaimer: Quite frankly, Michael and I had not realized what beach snobs we had become after living in Kaua'i for four years, where a crowded summer day on the beach might mean I have only 2,000 sq ft instead of 20,000 sq ft of open, undisturbed beach to myself with unblocked mountain, waterfall and ocean views in all directions and warm waters at my feet. I know, friends warned me: “Really, you’re going to Thailand’s beaches? But…you live in Hawai'i……” But, we wanted to come see it anyway! I write this because I want to make it very clear that the following tales of Phi Phi’s beaches
Colorful Tails
Rows upon rows of long-tail boats are coming from a now-self-proclaimed beach snob whose views of tropical paradises are likely vastly divergent from people who do not get to call some of the best shores in the whole world, home.
So, as we sat there and swam in the ocean, on a tiny “secluded” island where there are no cars, it felt odd because there were still SO MANY PEOPLE!! Literally, thousands and thousands of beach-goers packed the shores so tightly that we hardly had a place to lie down. In between the throngs of people were rentable kayaks stacked high on the beach and long-tail boats with loud motors purring in the bay, waiting for their next customer (Phi Phi’s version of the tuk-tuk/songtaew is the long-tail boat). You’d be swimming in the water, and you almost have to be careful, as there is a motor whirring right past you. Despite being a car-less place, we certainly did not get to run from the sputter of loud engines.
The paradox of the place was extremely powerful for me— sheer exposed cliffs and mountains surround the bays, meeting the land in crystal clear waters...stock full of people sipping from their “drink buckets” (literal mini-buckets
Approaching Phi Phi Leh
Maya Bay is in there, where we will spend the night and enjoy the cove to ourselves! filled with alcohol and mixers), and all seemingly wearing the same new bikini that they purchased at one of the many identical tourist shops that line the cobblestone streets. I found it strange that there seemed to be no other economy here— where were the regular grocery stores for residents? Or the hardware store to buy something to fix your long-tail boat’s motor? What happens to all the residents and employees when it is low season? Surely, the tourist population alone cannot possibly support all these hundreds of shops that sell the exact same bathing suits, towels, and jewelry! Even every single dive shop said that all the tours are exactly the same and feature the same prices, as they all agreed on one set price so that they do not lose out money in competition. It somehow felt like one huge Club Med— a contrived world to serve one set of people all with the singular goal of getting a solid tan before getting drunk for the night. I was always waiting to find “real people” around the next corner—residents who lived here and perhaps worked in something other than these shops and guesthouses. I did not really find
Surrounding Islands
On our way over to Phi Phi Leh, we see these adorable little isles, which are great famous dive sites it (maybe came close on the last day, as you will read later, but not really…).
Another disclaimer that I’ll grant is that we made the mistake of going to Phi Phi at absolute peak season, where the whole island was literally at capacity and every guest house was booked full. So, I imagine Phi Phi is much more pleasant in May or June, during the low tourist season.
But, diatribe aside, there is one thing that saved Phi Phi for us. Other than the sheer beauty of its physical landscape, which still could not be completely ravaged by the tens of thousands of bodies that covered it, our one saving grace was joining a tour that allowed us to camp and spend the night at Maya Bay on Phi Phi Leh, the smaller of the Phi Phi islands, where all major development is prohibited. Maya Bay is made famous from the Leonardo DiCaprio movie
The Beach, and I have to admit, after seeing that movie many times, that was part of the lure for me, as it was captured so stunningly in the film.
Normally, people go on day trips over to Maya Bay and Phi
THE BEACH
After swimming to shore, we enjoy twilight on Maya Bay! Phi Leh in general, renting their own long-tail boat or joining a group tour for the 30-minute ride over. They spend the day snorkeling, diving, and generally playing on the beach—this tiny magical little beach and bay supporting over 5,000 people a day! (That doesn’t sound like much, but this bay is very small, as the whole island that encircles it has an area of only 2.5 square miles, most of which you cannot walk on, so you can imagine how crowded that little space gets.) But, at night, all the boats and day-trippers go back to Phi Phi Don or Phuket, and currently the only group that is permitted to stay there overnight is the group we went with, Maya Bay Camping.
I am so glad we signed up for this, even though the group size was bigger than we anticipated, but 40 people is better than being there with 4,000 people! A few hours after arriving in Phi Phi Don, we hopped on a two-deck boat with our tour guides and fellow overnight travelers, and made our way over to Phi Phi Leh and Maya Bay. First, we visited the Viking Cave, where apparently locals guard the
Secluded Cove
Maya Bay empties out for the evening as fellow camper Mike enjoys sunset prized birds’ nests, which are stolen and used for a rare and expensive Chinese delicacy—birds’ nest soup. Then we took a loop around the small island to see its awe-inspiring green cliffs that seem to float on top of the water. Once in Maya Bay’s protective cove, we saw other day boaters starting to depart, leaving the place to ourselves. We immediately jumped into the waters from the second deck of the boat, and grabbed snorkels to check out the clear waters! The scenery was lively, with an abundance of fish and colorful reefs not far below us. Lots of interesting plant life, though I did not come across any particularly notable sea life other than many, many brightly-striped fish—still beautiful though, and very refreshing!
By the time we were done snorkeling, it was about 5:00p and it was time for us to pull up to the beach. As the tide was not that high and there was a lot of coral that our boat would hit if it tried to pull in, we had to hop onto a smaller long-tail boat to get to shore. Or, we could swim. About 10 of us opted to go for the
Fire
Local kids light fires for our beachfront party swim, and off we jumped from the boat again, swimming toward the beach. Of course, shores always look closer than they really are….After about 10 minutes, we began to wonder why we decided to swim over instead of ride over in a leisurely motorized boat! But, just as our arms were getting tired, we began to touch the ocean bottom (or the many coral and rocks), at which point, I promptly cut my toe on a sharp rock (we were warned of this!). By the time I made it to shore (all of us swimmers made it there long before the small boat did!), I was leaving quite a deep red trail of blood behind me…Fortunately, the cut occurred in salt water, so it was less likely to be infected than in freshwaters, but I spent a good majority of the rest of the night on Maya Bay re-bandaging my toe, tip-toeing in flip flops that didn’t fit me (the guides had forgotten to bring my flip flops from the big boat when we swam and left all our stuff for them to bring over), and using up all the band-aids in our first aid kit. All in all, no
Nice Hammock Spot
I drift into oblivion staring at the flames on this comfy hammock on Maya Bay big harm done and it was the first time I might have swum that far without any other apparatus (flippers, snorkels, surf board, etc), so I was still happy!
After watching sunset from within the protective cove of Maya Bay, the night’s festivities began. Mostly, this overnight trip is just a crazy outdoor party that happens to be in one of Earth’s most beautiful spots! The guides cook yummy Thai food for you, play loud music and guitar, drum, fire dance, set up bonfires, and there is even a tiki bar! We did not party the way some of the others did, but had a great time making new friends and most of all, at about midnight, several of us went swimming in the bay at high tide, with the full moon above us and the glowing plankton all around us in the waters!! It was amazing!! The night was aglow, the plankton were like electric fireflies in the water, and most of all, the waters were
sooooo clear that we were up to our necks in water but could still see our feet below us, through the water on the ocean bottom, IN THE DARK! It was
Thai Band
Our Thai guides sing and play for us, while Michael pretends to play bongos really fun and probably my highlight of the night. Shortly after, we all grabbed sleeping bags and mats, and found a section of beach to sleep on, underneath the moon, with the waves lapping at our feet (LITERALLY, as high tide really got high and we were left with nearly no beach!).
The next morning, the guides cooked us breakfast, we had some time to check out the other side of the island (about a 5-minute walk away), and then we were headed back toward Phi Phi Don, just as the day’s early arrivers were starting to come. I am very grateful to have experienced Maya Bay at night, to ourselves, in the splendor of its stillness and quietude.
Back in the craze of Phi Phi Don, Michael, Ian, and I bargained for a three-man kayak rental (which is really just a two-man kayak with a bit more room in between the seats for me to sit atop) and kayaked out of Loh Dalam Bay, hoping to explore. We headed out into the ocean toward Yong Kasen Bay, or more commonly known as “Monkey Beach,” just around the corner from Loh Dalam Bay. We were anxious
Slow Shutter and Light
We play around with the shutter speed and a moving light to spell our names in the night o Maya Bay! to arrive because we had heard stories about the crazy wild monkeys that live on this beach, jumping onto tourists’ backs or snatching food and jewelry away from you! Since we were arriving by kayak, I again naively thought that maybe it would be less congested, since maybe this meant it was harder to get to. I couldn’t have been more wrong!! After turning the corner, Monkey Beach came into view, and with it, probably nearly a thousand visitors and about thirty boats, all lined up alongside this tiny beach that stretched the length of maybe only two football fields. We hardly found space to “park” our kayak as we pulled onto the beach, and immediately spotted a crowd surrounding some rocks— monkeys!! These wild monkeys are quite accustomed to humans by now and really do take food right out of your hand! They can also be very feisty and temperamental, baring their teeth and swiping at you. We kept our safe distance, but enjoyed watching them for a long time, along with everyone else. There were even two babies, and, watching them with their momma monkey, who nurtured them in such a caring motherly way, it was quite evident
Full Moon
We swim with glowing plankton in the clear waters of Maya Bay under a full moon from whence we humans got our maternalistic instincts.
After Monkey Beach, we embarked on the kayak again and set off going a bit farther along the coast of the island, till the waters got rougher and we realized that there was not another bay to stop at for awhile. We decided to just turn around and return back to the big bay, and returned our kayak.
Later that evening, we hiked up to several viewpoints located at the top of the mountains. There were three, each one going higher in elevation and affording magnificent, sweeping views of the entire island of Phi Phi Don and the surrounding islands. The hike up was unexpectedly steep, but not too unmanageable, and fortunately, at the top of the first and second viewpoints, there are cafes to sell smoothies and ice cream of all kinds! Not a bad way to enjoy a fresh coconut smoothie and sunset, which is exactly what we did. From up here, you realize just how small and vulnerable the entirety of Phi Phi Village is, crammed and busting at the seams between two opposite-facing crescent bays. The color of the ocean was surreal and the cliffs across
Morning over Maya
High tide at Maya Bay in the early morning light is beautiful from us (on the opposite mountain) were verdant and lively. From up here, you wouldn’t have guessed there were so many bodies down there, sweating and bronzing in the thick smoldering heat.
Few people seem to go to the third viewpoint, which we decided to do. It’s only several hundred yards from the second, but for some reason, most people stop at #2, so Michael, Ian, and I got the entire third viewpoint to ourselves, with the exception of one adorable black kitten that looked just like Nama! (Our little baby back home!) Viewpoint #3 is unique because it does not face the same direction (west) as the other two, which looks back down on Phi Phi Don itself, but rather, faces toward the northeastern seas, offering mystical views of the surrounding small islands of Bomboo, Mosquito, and several others. A dark storm was rolling in from a distance, causing powerful but beautiful clouds and rain that we could visibly see tumbling across those islands and coming toward us.
That night would be our last real dinner in Thailand. I had earlier communicated with a fellow French CouchSurfer who owned and operated a restaurant in Phi Phi Village,
so we found the restaurant, La Mamita, and decided to go there. Since the guy was French, I was so looking forward to amazing French cuisine, but it was really a fusion of Italian, Mediterranean, and Thai (but a great one, I might add!). We all had our fill of delicious pastas, risottos, and beef kabobs; enjoyed meeting the CouchSurfer/restaurant owner (whom Ian would go on to spend two nights with); and after walking the streets of Phi Phi once more, said goodbye to Ian. He would go on to travel through Thailand for a couple more weeks on his own.
After a very deep and much-needed sleep, Michael and I enjoyed a beachside buffet breakfast the next morning and spent the last couple hours in Phi Phi checking out the western part of Ton Sai Bay. This area west of central Phi Phi Village is much more local and less developed, seemingly still not completely rebuilt after the 2004 Tsunami. At last, we had unintentionally come to an empty secluded beach with crystal waters that was only a few steps away from town! While there were still motors and some long-tail boats in the water, they were far
Photo Shoot haha
Ian plays with his pano camera against a ridiculous Maya Bay backdrop less intrusive than those in the other bays. Here, we spent a couple hours sitting in rented beach chairs and umbrellas, reading. Then it was time to catch the ferry. A smooth and uneventful ferry ride brought us back to the streets of Phuket Town, where we had quite a few hours to kill before we needed to head to the airport for our very, very long journey back to Hawaii. As we did not really spend any real time here, I cannot really speak for Phuket Town, but we were able to find an adorable café in which we ate, got on the Internet, and read for about 3 hours! I stepped out to find the “Khao San Road” of Phuket Town and bought some last minute souvenirs, and then we were off to the airport.
Bidding farewell to Thailand would take longer than we would have liked: first, we had to catch the short flight from Phuket to Bangkok. From Bangkok, we grabbed the redeye over to Shanghai, where we laid over for a couple hours (fortunately in the business class lounge’s “slumber rooms”) before the flight from Shanghai to Tokyo. One would think we would
Breakfast?
Mike caught a dead crab be halfway done by now, but our layover in Tokyo was 5 long hours!! The mini snacks, free drinks and wine, open wifi, and large amount of comfortable chairs and sofas were still not enough to make the time pass fast enough (though it certainly helped make it very tolerable)! Only after this were we finally able to begin our eight-hour flight back to Honolulu, where, after going through immigration, we hopped our final puddle-jumper over to Kauai!!
Note to self or other traveler: never plan to go directly from one tiny little hard-to-access island to another tiny little island in the middle of a massive ocean. It will never be direct enough. Over 30 hours later, we found ourselves back home, where our systems were promptly jet-lagged and confused, yet dazedly happy as we settled in for sleep at 1:00 in the afternoon, dreaming of Thai memories with a smile and a full heart.
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