Day 10 - 12: Koh Phi Phi

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So we set sail for Koh Phi Phi (for those who are unaware Koh Phi Phi is one of the main locations where 'The Beach' was filmed). Phi Phi is split into two islands Phi Phi Leh and Phi Phi Don. Phi Phi Leh is a National Park only accessible by organised trip or by hiring a boat and has no accomodation. We arrived at the harbour of Phi Phi Don in the early morning and were quite surprised to find out we had to pay to enter the island - something that had only started 2 days prior!! However it is only 20Bht per person and apparentley it goes into protecting the island (or someones pocket!! hopefully not the pocket!). So when we arrived we hadn't booked any accomodation and were a bit worried. Although Bon had read good reviews about the Viking Resort - at 1500 Bht a night it seemed a little pricey, but apparentley the whole island is, so if you don't want to stay in a dive you need to pay a little more. We jumped into a long tail boat and raced another couple who seemed to be heading the same way! Turns out we ended up in the slowest long tail boat in the world, they beat us. Viking Resort as it turns out is situated just before long beach and has its own private secluded beach - it looked stunning - very impressed, fingers crossed they had some space. Bon went up to the counter and I think we managed to swipe the last room available room, a traditional bungalow set back in the hill overlooking the beach - amazing and all for 1,100 Bht!! We spent the rest of the day sitting on the beach - crystal clear waters and white powdery sand, surrounded by trees - really lovely. Viking Resort is actually a really beautiful place to stay, the reception and dining area are situated in a giant wooden hut, decorated with abstract art paintings - can't really describe it - you can see what it's like from the pictures. We spent the late afternoon relaxing on our balcony in the hammock as a light shower passed over and decided to add an extra night! We also managed to wander into town in the evening so Bon could watch Chelsea defeat Man United - All I can say is i'm glad they won!

The next day was spent relaxing on the beach in the morning - the trouble is after 11am it just gets too hot to sit out and enjoy the day, so we had a drink at the bar then headed out for the afternoon to Phi Phi's viewpoint high up in the mountain. The walk was disatorous, just because of the heat, we had to climb step after step after step and by the time we reached viewpoint 1, I think I had lost half my body weight in sweat - Nice! Anyway we sat in the little cafe to rest and the guy that owned it came over and started to tell us about the Tsunami - it really puts it into perspective, looking at the before and after photos and hearing what he had to say. He actually watched it all happen from his little hut on the hill - it was really interesting. He also recommended we went to viewpoint two to watch the sunset - which was two hours away but we thought why not. It was too hot to walk back anyway. So that's how we spent our afternoon, on the rocks looking over Phi Phi watching the sunset. It was only then that we realised we hadn't brought the torch with us for the trek home! The longtail boats charge and extra 50bht person at night so we thought 150bht was a little much and the walk really isn't that far - about twenty minutes, then we ate at home. Service is a little random out here, dinners never come together and tonight unfortunatley I think mine was left on the side, because when it did turn up, Bon had already finished his and mne was cold! Oh Well. We also decided to sign up for the snorkeing tour for the next day.

We woke up early ready to experience the snorkeing trip which takes you all around both Phi Phi island including the famous Maya bay where the movie was shot. Unfortunatley for me this trip runined my views of Phi Phi slightly. On the surface - there are crystal clear waters and white sandy beaches and the islands look almost untouched - however snorkeling is a different story. A lot of the reefs are broken up and dead, which really is a shame. I really hope the money they took from us as we entered really is being put to good use. Anyway not to put a damper on the rest of the trip, we saw some amzing beaches and some beautiful fish and overall the trip was really enjoyable. Tommorrow we leave Phi Phi behind and head to Krabi to book our tour off Khao Sok National Park!

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