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Published: December 13th 2007
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Ko Phi Phi is truly paradise!! We arrived early in the morning after a great boat journey from Railay, where me, Donna and Kim sat outside sunning ourselves. At this rate my tan will soon be as good as Kims (actually who am I kidding - I'll never be as tanned as Kim!!). However we had already visited on a day trip the day before. On the day trip we went by speedboat around the island and also to a couple of neighbouring islands, Bamboo Island and Ko Phi Phi Ley (where the film 'The Beach' was set) where we went snorkelling or sunbathing. Everywhere we went was stunning, with the clearest water I've ever seen with loads of colourful fish and white, powdery beaches. I can see why they chose to film 'The Beach' here!! The only disappointment for me was Maya Bay, the place where they filmed 'The Beach' as there were just too many people. On my last trip me and Nat visited here on a day trip, it was just after the tsunami and our boat was the only boat there and it had been paradise!! So to see so many people (there were about 20 speedboats
and 20 longtail boats!!) was really shocking. It definitely didn't feel like the paradise I remembered it being. Overall though it was a good trip and had made me feel exciting about staying on Ko Phi Phi the next day.
When we arrived at Ko Phi Phi we had a hunt for somewhere to stay and as Ko Phi Phi fills up quite quickly we took the first place within our budget - so we ended up at a place that cost 1100 baht a night (very expensive....we moved the next day!!). Kim and Donna decided to spend the rest of the day sunbathing, but since I get bored sunbathing I decided to wander around on my own - I'd heard that there was a stunning viewpoint you could climb up, so set off towards that. The viewpoint turned out to be even more stunning than I expected, however it was also a harder walk than I expected and I arrived at the top bright red and drenched in sweat. It was worth it though!! The only bad thing is that you could really see just how exploited Ko Phi Phi is - I had bought a postcard earlier
with the view from this viewpoint a few years ago and where there were lots of trees, now there are very ugly buildings. You'd think they could at least build structures inkeeping with the surroundings. Oh well, I guess people like me travelling are the reason that all the shops and guesthouses are being built, so I can't feel too bad. I wish the government had been a bit stricter though. I'd have prefered to have to visit on a day trip and see a really unspoilt place, then see a tropical paradise almost destroyed (although that is a bit harsh, it is still really gorgeous).
That night me and Kim had a bit more of a wander around and did a bit of shopping - the shopping in Ko Phi Phi is amazing!! The best we've come across yet - lots of gorgeous little dresses are everywhere, so I was in paradise. My budgeting is not going too well, so I restrained myself and didn't buy too much, but I so wanted to just get everything!! Later that night we set off towards a Half Moon Party that was happening at Hippies - the main late night bar
on the island. The Half Moon Party seemed quite good fun, but I wasn't really in the mood for it as I still had a hangover from the night before, I should really have just started drinking again and I'd have been alright, but I just felt like an early night, so headed off home.
The next day was just a chilled day, I actually spent some time sunbathing for a change!! I got a bit too much sun though as later on felt really really ill. I went up to the viewpoint again for sunset and this time there were loads of people up there. The sunset was gorgeous and it was just such a nice feeling watching the sun come down over Ko Phi Phi. By the time I'd come back down though I felt ill again. Kim was feeling the same (maybe we ate something dodgy?) so I ended up staying in that night. What a lightweight eh!! Two early nights in a row...so not like me!!
The next day me, Kim and Donna had decided to check out a different beach, Long Beach where the snorkelling is supposed to be amazing. However first I
wanted to see the sunrise from the Viewpoint (think I'm getting a bit addicted to walking up there now!!). The walk up there was amazing this time - there was nobody but me and I saw hundreds of butterflys everywhere and a giant spider - which surprising didn't scare me. Think I only get scared when they're inside my room. At the top there were only two other people up there and the atmosphere was just so peaceful and chilled that I could have stayed there all day. Since it was early morning everything looked so much clearer, it was just stunning!! That night I was determined to stay out, even though I had a snorkelling trip the next day at 6am. I ended up having a fantastic night. We went to a bar called The Reggae Bar, which is a huge two storey bar with a boxing ring downstairs where you get a free bucket if you fight someone (I can't believe how many people are stupid enough to do it!!). Upstairs is a dance floor, which is where I spent most of the night dancing on the stage. If you dance on the stage you get free tequilla
shots poured straight into your mouth...well you know me, never one to turn down free alcohol!! At about 3am we got thrown out of Reggae Bar, so Kim went home and me and Donna went off wandering to try and find out where everyone goes at that time. We headed towards Hippies Bar but somehow never made it and ended up drinking on the beach til late with loads of random people! It was a fantastic night, but I got in at 5am and had to get up at 6am to go swimming with sharks.
At 6am I was sat waiting for the lady from the travel agent and she didn't turn up til 7am - how annoying, I could have had an extra hours sleep after all!! Swimming with sharks though, was awesome!! It wasn't scary at all, they are just so beautiful, I could have watched them swimming through the water forever. None of them came very close, which is a shame - I think the closest was about 2-3 meters away. I definitely want to try scuba diving one day though. The rest of the day I spent in bed with a hangover - I swear
my hangovers get worse each time. I decided to have an early night again that night as we're heading to Ko Pha Ngan next, I've been there before and the partying is 24/7, so I want to have enough energy to cope with that!!! It was sad saying goodbye to Donna the next day as we've spent the last week travelling together and I can't remember what it was like without her there. I guess this will keep happening on the trip....meeting people who I really bond with, but have to say goodbye to. Ko Phi Phi has definitely been amazing, I would recommend it to anyone.
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