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Published: July 29th 2008
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The boat arrived in Surat Thani (the mainland) around 5.30am and the painkillers Mark had left from his foot injury had done the trick to relax us, however the rough seas meant sleep had not come easily! Bleary eyed, we were escorted from the harbour to a nearby travel agency and waited outside on the street until a car picked us up around 6.30am. This car prompty drove around the corner and dropped us at another travel agaents and we were finally picked up by a bus around 7.15am. The large bus had very few passengers and we were able to spread out and catch a few more hours sleep.
We arrived in Krabi, a town on the west coast of the mainland, around 9.30am and the final part of our journey to Koh Phi Phi was onboard the fast ferry which only took a mear 90 minutes. As we walked onto the island we were amazed by the amount of people in such a small space. As the temperature was not too hot we began wandering around resorts looking for a good and cheap place to stay. After an hour we had reached the far side of the island
and found a cheap, comfortable room with good views of the surrounding bays.
We were both pretty dazed from the long night of travelling but after a quick sort out, we went for a walkaround the island and ran a few errands before finding a food market for some lunch. By this stage the weather had begun to turn and the rains started to fall. We enquired about boat trips and excursions around the area and then headed towards the look-out point. We climbed the numerous amount of steps to the top of a nearby mountain, which also doubled as an evacuation point in case of future tsunamis. The weather slightly ruined the views and visability was low but it was interesting to see how much of the island had been rebuilt after comparing it to a photo just after the tsunami struck in 2004.
In the evening, we became trapped in our room due to the enormous storm raging outside. Eventually, we braved the rains and with a 'borrowed' umbrella and our very under-used waterproof jackets we made it to a nearby restaurant without becoming too damp. We had a rather tasty dinner and met a couple
of girls who had also sheltered in the restaurant from the rain. After a couple of hours the rains eased and we headed off but we now had the added problem of huge puddles to navigate. As we looked for a bar we came across yet another problem. It was "Buddha Day" and this meant no alcohol was allowed to be served. Luckily we found a restaurant which was willing to serve us beer in paper coffee cups. This was perfect and we enjoyed a couple of 'cold coffees'! As the evening progressed we found a shop willing to sell alcohol and we purchased some beers and took the party home. For some reason, Mark was very tired and fell asleep, only to awake at 5am the following morning, not knowing where he was and discovered he had been bitten to pieces by some sort of unknown bug. Bites on his left arm added up to over 50 and by this stage he no longer wanted to count the damage anymore!
Day 2
We woke very early and decided to make the most of the nice weather as a quick look at the forecast had predicted rain for the
forthcoming week. We booked a boat trip around the surrounding bays and islands went for some breakfast. The boat departed at 9am and the weather was glorious. First stop was Koh Phi Phi Leh, the islannd where the film "The Beach" was filmed. Unfortunately the sea was too rough and our large boat couldn't get close enough to dock so we had to remain onboard. The next few stops were good for snorkelling and we enjoyed swimming around the clear waters amongst all the fish (Ollie put his waterproof camera to full use!). Lunch was delivered to the boat and after so much swimming we were very hungry. In the afternoon, we headed to Bamboo Island which had beautiful white sands and we faced our fears by getting back onbaord a kayak, however this time without incident. Our final stop was Monkey Bay. This basically consisted of tourists and guides tormenting the monkeys that inhabited the bay until they either attacked or chased them back into the sea. A few laughs were had by all especially when a rather large Amercian lady was attacked and fell with such force that we feared another tsunami may occur! In the evening, we
Monkey Beach
Crazy monkeys attack people for food! found a very good local restaurant and stuffed our faces before hitting various bars and enjoying the talent!
Day 3
We decided to relax one more day in Phi Phi as we knew then next week would involve a great deal of travelling and no more beaches. Unofrtunately the weather was pretty dull and we spent the morning eating and generally irritating shop owners. We purchased some toys for the beach but as the tide was in there was very limited space for us to play in and so that idea was scrapped. In the afternoon we took another walk around the island and decided that bed was the most appealing option. We slept for a few hours as the hangover from the night before was still lingering! The sleep revived us and we headed for dinner at the restaurant we had visited the previous night. Not wanting to completely waste the day, we headed to our favourite bar and spent the latter part of the evening loitering and 'enjoying' the local whiskey!
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