Sweet But Sour

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The day started at 6AM. I had not woken up that early since India. Being awake was not the hard part since there was a proper tropical storm occurring. My hut reverberated to the crashing rain. The hard part was packing. I had been in the resort for a week and my hut definitely looked that way, and more. Clothes were strewn everywhere and the mosquito net was nothing less than a complete inconvenience. Coincidentally, at my pick time, the rain subsided. This meant that my University of Manchester Cricket Club Waterproof had to go back to the bottom of the bag once more.

The trip started with a short hop across the water by ferry, to the Ko Phi-Phi main harbour. Already I could see the scenery change. Quickly, a French couple, large Thai family and I hopped onto a longtail boat. The boat transported us to the uninhabited Ko Phi-Phi Leh. This island is the smaller of the two Ko Phi-Phis.

The beauty of Ko Phi-Phi Leh was obvious. Even the five year old on the boat was in awe. Sheer limestone cliffs jutted out of the sea with some trees growing out of them horizontally. Various caves at different heights could be seen. Some caves actually appeared to be inhabited by small families or tribes, although I could be completely wrong. Suddenly the boat took a sharp right to within the island. What was revealed was a magnificent cove. As usual, sparkling crystal blue water filled the cove, where 270 degrees of view were limestone cliffs towering above me. Due to our promptness, we had the whole cove to ourselves. We leapt off our boat and we all aimlessly swam around in the transparent blue water. A moment that made it more special was the drizzle. Does not sound great initially but when I was floating on my back with my eyes closed, the droplets really refreshed my face and I really was at one with the elements. A truly breathtaking place that began to be spoiled by the growing number of tour boats.

We meandered around this tiny island and after some snorkelling we came to another cove. This one was also astounding, in its own way. A small white sand beach met the water and this was to be our lunch spot. It is very hard to become bored of cliffs gazing over me. It is a completely foreign environment and such a contrast to what I get at home, in the UK. The weather also turned. The clouds had dissipated and the bright sun broke through. The water now even began to sparkle. I dived in to my rice, chicken and vegetable curry, while sitting on a beached log with a huge grin on my face. Awesome!

The last tour stop was virtually in the harbour. It was to do some snorkelling. Most probably to the huge amount of tourism, even during low-season, the fish numbers and variety were far lacking. In a one hundred metre radius there had to be five hundred people in the water. No wonder the coral was dying a the fish were nowhere to be seen. Amongst all the positives, this was the first negative sign of my visit to Ko Phi-Phi.

My boat tour was over though I still had a tour on-foot to conduct myself. The walk from the pier through the town of Tonsai was odd. Ninety-five percent of people here were Westerners. Girls in nothing but bikinis; guys either had a Chang Beer vest or no top at all and everyone seemed to have Ray-Bans. I thought I'd grounded somewhere in the Mediterranean. To get away from it all I trekked it up to the "Pee Pee Viewpoint". I also had decided to climb when the sun was at its peak. I became part of the no vest crew after this mission. The climb was steep and unforgiving. All worth it when I reached the top. A cold bottle of water was waiting alongside the sight for sore eyes. The hourglass shaped island with double-sided beach is something from a fantasy. I could actually see this place with my own eyes. I can imagine only a handful of the tourists below make it up here. Such a contrast from the hustle and bustle below with a soothing hill top breeze to boot.

I had become so used to peace and quiet that the Phi-Phi nightlife blew me away. After playing connect-4 at the "local" Irish Bar, I headed to the beach where pumping Drum'n'Base could be heard. It started pleasant enough watching fire breathers and fire dancers. When this stopped, the headless partying really began. One guy almost drowned because he was so pissed and the girls were throwing up. This was not Malia! The beach was also full of rubbish being swept up by the lapping sea. How could somewhere so beautiful turn it something so grotesque. I was probably so appalled because I was so unprepared for the lack of shame of the Westerners. Maybe if I had not just come from the quiet of Koh Lanta it would have been better. That is still a maybe though! I upset one girl in a conversation about the island. I explained that no matter how amazing the island is, one cannot feel special here due to the shear amount of white people. I also added how many people try to hard to be cool. The shear amount of guys dancing to a completely different rhythm was astounding. She was more hurt since she was due to spend the next ten days there. Oh well. She will get over it. I think I'm becoming a miserable old man too quickly! I had to leave as soon as possible so I took the first boat I could to Phuket.

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Photos

My Lunch Area
The second cove

My New Buddies
These Gibbons are firmly my favourite animal