The Beach...but where's Leonardo?

Arrival into Thailand on Valentine's Day...another long day taking about 10 hours to complete a 5 hour journey. At least, I'm still laughing. We left Malaysia via ferry into Satun, Thailand. Upon arrival at the pier, we were bombarded with tour operators vying for our attention and our Baht to take us to our destination. Its quite a funny scam to engage in, as all the guys who want to sell tickets work for the same agency and EVERYONE ends up on the same bus.

Into Krabi by bus, we then took a Songthaew into town. This was my first experience with a Songthaew, the taxis of Thailand. Pickup trucks with benches in the back and covered by a roof. Backpacks are thrown on the roof (but not tied down) and people cram onto the benches while the vehicle flies down the roads.

Our first 2 days in Thailand were quite exhausting because we had a lot of difficulty finding accommodation, but that has settled. In Krabi, we trekked around with our backpacks for over an hour before finally finding a room as the sun was starting to set. Can't complain - it was clean, only 150 Baht (thats $3 for the night between 2 people) and we were just staying one night, but security was a bit iffy, the walls were thin (trust me, I heard EVERYTHING next door that night!) and I wasn't a fan of the squat toilet. My evening brightened I ate some delicious authentic Thai food and some nice Irish man gave me an orchid - it was Valentine's Day afterall.

The next morning, we hopped the ferry to Koh Phi Phi and engaged in another dramatic game of "where to sleep tonight?" There are no roads on Koh Phi Phi so once we arrived at the pier, we took a water taxi to Long Beach. Water taxis are the way of the island - a longtail boat that seats about 10 people. Travellers in clothes and accessorized with heavy backpacks walk into the sea (don't lose your thongs) and climb into the boat. The boat drops passengers off on the beach and we trekked from bungalow to bungalow in the sand with our packs. Hot, hungry, tired and sweaty, I began to get frustrated with hearing there were no rooms at every place we checked. They kept asking if we had reservations - I'm thinking, yeah, with my Thai and your English, making a reservation would be SIMPLE! The trek continued...until we reached Phi Phi Hill, which really should be named Phi Phi Cliff. We climbed a SUPER steep set of ricketty stairs to the top of the cliff, were greeted with a glass of water and to our luck, we found a room! I thought it was expensive (from all the stories I've heard about how cheap Thailand is), but we figured it was a nice place with a great view and we were in the tourist mecca of Phi Phi. In hindsight, it was the cheapest place on the island. (Note to Backpackers going to Thailand - average bungalow on Phi Phi is around 1000B...crazy I know. Try Phi Phi Hill though, it was 650B).

Anyway, with the bungalow issue out of the way, I was finally able to relax and enjoy the island. Koh Phi Phi is absolutely stunning! Jagged rough, limestone cliffs jet out of the crystal clear blue water. Tropical fish are everywhere. There are no roads on the island, so longboats are the main transportation. Its also possible to hike along small jungle paths, over rocks, across neighbouring beaches and through the sea. Phi Phi is also VERY touristy. The movie THE BEACH was filmed here about 8 years ago, and since Leonardo's appearance, the secluded paradise has turned into a mecca for topless women and speedo-clad man. It's no wonder though, the scenery is amazing (minus the speedos of course).

Phi Phi also hit the world stage after the Tsunami in 2004. Two years ago, the Tsunami hit western Thailand quite hard and wiped out much of what has now been rebuilt on Phi Phi. The people are still rebuilding. I saw arial pics of the island pre-Tsunami, covered with dense palm...now it looks bare. Palm tree stubs are everywhere. The town of Ao Thon Sai was devasted with a lot of damage to the hotels and shops. Cracks on the pavement are still there today. It was incredibly moving to speak with some of the Thais that survived the disaster and also to see their strength and perseverence. I admire them greatly.

Linds and I chilled out for pretty much our whole time on the island. We thought we'd stay 3 days...and ended up staying almost a week! Our routine was quite simple: eat, lie on the beach, flip to the other side, swim, sleep on the beach, read, repeat. Oddly enough, it doesn't even get that tiring! We bought each other Valentine's Day presents - Traditional Thai Massage on the beach. Awesome, and highly recommended! Some of the positions, I didn't even know my body moved that way, but I felt fabulous afterwards.

We met this really cool guy named Tom from the UK. One night we went into town for dinner, and then went to this bar called Carlitos. Linds, Tom and I shared our first Bucket. For 300 B ($10 CAD) we were given a sand pail (like from our childhood days) filled with a can of Coke, a mickey of Samsung (STONG Thai Whiskey) and a can of Redbull that is illegal everywhere else in the world besides Thailand. This stuff is deadly!!! Good thing we had 3 straws! What a fabulous night - dancing, laughing, telling stories. The bar even had a fire show where the "dancers" throw balls and sticks of fire while beats play in the background.

The three of us went on a snorkelling tour around the island that hit a whole bunch of sites including Maya Bay where The Beach was filmed. I looked for Leonardo, but no luck. We travelled in a longboat for about 6 hours and saw all sorts of colorful fish and coral. At our final spot, the sea was a bit rough and I was attacked by the coral. Ouch! Okay, I'm being a bit melodramatic...I have a small war wound on my foot that is healing...I think I'm going to survive.

We left Koh Phi Phi yestereday, (February 20) for another long day of travel. A 2 hour ferry to Krabi...wait...a 2 hour minivan ride to Surat Thani...wait...and then we boarded the night ferry. Seven hours at sea, and we arrived on Koh Phangan bright and early (and alive! as apparently these ferries flip easily). If you have the chance to take one of these while in Thailand, do it! It is definitely an experience. We boarded the the ferry at about 10:30pm. The top floor is lined with mattresses, each with a number above the pillow. Unless you're a size zero and five foot nothing, be prepared to be squished and friendly with your neighbour. Luckily it wasn't full so we all had quite a bit of room to spread out. AND with the rocking of the boat, I had one of the best sleeps of my trip.

We arrived early in the morning and will be staying on Bottle Beach in Koh Phangan for the next bit.

---

---