Ko Phi Phi

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I've taken a ferry across from Krabi to Ko Phi Phi, a famous island known as the spot where the movie The Beach was filmed with Leonardo Dicaprio. This place is a huge tourist attraction, and it's obvious why due to the stunning beaches and amazing scenery. Basically this place is two islands connected by a large sandbar on which all the mass of tourist shops, bars and restaurants are. There are no cars on this island - all the roads are small walking roads. Hidden behind all the build up tourist stuff, though, is a lot of rubble and garbage - the effects of the tsunami, which hit this island hard.





From a mountaintop on Ko Phi Phi - two islands connected by a sandbar





Another view from the mountaintop





From the beach





Limestone cliffs which make up the island





"The Beach" beach where Leonardo DiCaprio's film was made


I've been here about six days now, three of which I just spent taking a scuba diving course. I got 4 dives and I'm now a certified scuba diver. The diving was pretty awsome, tons of colorful fish everywhere. I saw some other cool creatures too including eels, shrimps, a sea snake, sea turtles (right up close) and leopard sharks (right up close).

It's pretty expensive here compared to other places in Thailand, although I managed to find some pretty cheap accomodation which is far cheaper than anywhere else on the island. It's dorm style living accomodations, which I like because it's easy to meet a lot of people. On the other hand, there is a lot of partying that goes on in these dorms, far into the night. It can be pretty hard to get some sleep when you need it, for example when you have to get up early for a scuba diving course. A couple days ago the party was still going on when i got up at 7 in the morning for my scuba diving. Crazy. This whole island is a big party, which is fun, but not for too long. I think I'll get tired of that pretty soon and move on in a few days or so. For now though, I'm really liking it here.

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