Ko Phi Phi: An Island Paradise

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A two hour ferry ride from Krabi to Ko Phi Phi through rough seas that rock you back and forth without mercy. It wasn't the most pleasant transport we've had so far, but it brought us to one of our favourite places for sure.
Ko Phi Phi is a group of two small islands. Phi Phi Don; the larger of the two and the island that holds the entire tourist crowd including tons of dive shops, pancake stands, surf shops, tattoo parlours, hippie clothing outlets, bars and everything in between. The majority of the island isn't used whatsoever except for nature walks or lookour points. The entire village is crammed directly in the middle of the island where both sides branch off to long, beautiful beaches. Phi Phi Lay; the smaller of the two islands is the home to the famous Maya Bay, the exact spot where they filmed "The Beach" with Leonardo Dicaprio.
Chris and I had spent three days on Phi Phi Don without having visited the famous Maya Bay and the other beautiful spots around Ko Phi Phi. We decided it was time to head off and explore. Again, we were back in a longtail boat with a bunch of others and heading for Bamboo Island, a small island just north of Ko Phi Phi. There we sat in the shade and ate lunch just off the beach. Lunch was an unexpected fried rice once again!..though we enjoyed it still.
After Bamboo Island we took a long trip to the other side of Phi Phi Don to visit Monkey Beach. You can just imagine why they call it this, and if you can't...well you have no imagination. We docked up on the beach and found a huge crowd of tourists huddled in a large circle surrounding three monkeys. People were tossing every type of food they had at these creatures and marveling in the way they picked it up and ate it. Chris and I took a good look at the monkeys and saw how enormously fat they were. It barely looked like they could climb trees. I decided right there and then that if i was going to be a monkey in my next life....monkey beach is the best place to be.
After monkey beach we did a long crossing across the open sea from Phi Phi Don to Phi Phi Lay. We passed by Viking Cave and stopped at a few bays to snorkel and swim. It seems with every boat tour in thailland, you must snorkel, or else. The day had been very enjoyable but quite long as well so when our driver who spoke barely any english yelled out, "next maya bay", everyone in the boat was relieved. We hopped off in Maya Bay and headed back into the bush we remembered clearly from "The Beach". I wouldn't go so far to admit it was by far more beautiful than anyting we've seen so far, but it is quite secluded and one could see how beautiful it would be to be there alone, or with just friends and family.
We read and swam on 'the beach' and then sailed back across the sea as the sun set before our eyes. We arrived back at the pier just in time for dinner, so chris and I walked the long way back to our guesthouse, quite far from the main district, to get changed.

Watts and Hoag

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Photos

Ko Phi Phi
Taken from the viewpoint after an hour's hike up