Ko Phi Phi

---

After our trip to Ko Phangan I figured I had a pretty good handle on what the tropical topography of the region was like, but as the fast boat to Phi Phi approached the island I realized I was totally wrong.
Ko Phi Phi is an archipelago of 6 islands. Phi Phi Don is the main island and the only one thats truly inhabited. Phi Phi Ley, the island that most of the movie "The Beach" was filmed on is fairly close to Phi Phi Don and both of them are strikingly beautiful. The vast majority of the exterior of both of these islands are sheer rock faces that plunge directly into the water and continue downward for who knows how far. It ends up looking like these beautiful paradises are protected by these fortress walls that ring most of the outside, protecting these little bays on the inside.
Take a moment and google Ko Phi Phi and take a look at just a few of the image results to see some of these insanely beautiful cliffs.
Ko Phi Phi Don almost feels like two seperate islands linked by a large sandbar in the middle. Its on this 'sandbar' that the majority of the population rests and where all the activity and nightlife takes place.
We arrived on the island in a similar manner to Ko Phangan; with the boat crew launching our bags onto the pier and the massive crowd of new arrivals jostling to try and dig their belongings out. We found our bags and slowly filed down the pier. There is a 20 baht fee to get on the island which is apparently to help keep the island clean, which we paid before heading into the town.
There are basically no vehicles on the island, so all of the little brick paved streets are foot and bicycle traffic only. The whole town isnt particularly large and is nestled between two large stretches of beach. Everyone walks around mostly in their beach attire, partly because you are always 5 minutes from a beach and partly because its constantly 30+ degrees. It makes for a really great atmosphere and you feel incredibly relaxed almost as soon as you are amidst the streets.
Niki already had an idea of where to stay and we walked into the maze of streets looking for a place called Matt's Joint. It didnt take us long to find it but sadly there were no rooms available. Niki already had a back up plan and we ended up staying in a small place called Sacha's for the night for about 600 baht.
Once we were settled, Niki and I headed out for some food and a drink and she signed herself up for a dive the following morning at one of the local dive shops.

---