Phi Phi and Poo (Day 101 - 104 by Chris)

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Saturday 26th December 2015

Today we are heading to the Island of Ko Phi Phi. This would require us to travel by speed boat for 2 hours from the harbour at Krabi. After being picked up by minibus at 8:15am we were on the boat and off by 9am. We spent the 2 hour journey with Gemma sleeping and me catching up on these blogs.

We arrived at the island with approx 200 other people from our boat and perhaps at least 1000 other people arriving on other boats at the busy pier. We somehow managed to collect our bags from the crowded baggage store area on the boat and walked the short 5 minutes to our hotel, "The White", walking through some busy, small winding streets. Along the way we passed lots of restaurants, bars, banks, shops selling beach stuff, t-shirts, bags etc etc. We arrived at our hotel and was told we couldn't check in until 2pm, it was about 11:30am so we dropped off our bags and found somewhere to have breakfast. We decided to eat at what looked like an American bar called Beachers which sold a really good full English brekkie for about £2.

We had arrived in Phi Phi 11 years to the day since the Tsunami had hit and as a result some of the shops were closed in remembrance, but other than that you'd never have known. The town is complete developed now and any signs of the Tsunami have gone. The whole town is buzzing with locals trying to sell you stuff and holiday makers enjoying their break.

After we checked in we decided to head to the beach. We didn't venture far as the beach was only a short walk from where we were staying. In fact the town centre where we were staying was on a small strip sandwiched between 2 beaches. It turns out that the beach we went to on the first day was the less attractive of the 2, having said that though there was some stunning scenery of mountain jungle all around us. The sand was white and soft and the water a bright blue. On taking a dip in the sea though we realised that on closer inspection there was sewage floating on the surface as well as some rubbish and the sand beneath the water was a horrible sludge. It was like walking in oily mud, which is probably what it was as there were lots of pretty, but no doubt polluting, long boats in the harbour, which over time have probably had an oil spill or two.

In the evening we found a restaurant and sat down to order some Thai food. My stomach feeling much better now I thought I could finally order some of the spicy food for which Thailand is known for. Without realising it we had stepped into probably the only Indian restaurant on the Island. Still, we ordered some spicy thai soup (Tom Yum) green curry and naan bread and some beers. The food was actually really nice and came in at just under a tenner. We then decided to head to the beach to see what the bars are like by night.

We found ourselves a spot on some comfortable mattress like things and sat on the beach next to a stage. Over the next few hours we didn't move, drinking Chang beers and watching the fire show hosted by the bar. It seems that most of the bars down the beach had some sort of fire show on display, but having taken a quick look, I think we had stopped a the best one. We witnessed some of the most amazing kids (aged 10 - 22 I'd say) twirling sticks with each end on fire and swinging tennis balls attached to rope around their heads, also ablaze. Its safe to say that no health and safety inspector has ever visited here. As much as the show was fun to watch, it did lack any policing and without sounding like an old grumpy man, they should not have been doing half the stuff they were. At one point they were throwing the burning stick through the air, over the crowd of spectators for their partner to then catch. This would be fine if this was a well rehearsed move but it clearly wasn't as more often than not the catcher failed to catch and the stick would occasionally fall into the crowd. At one point as the stick was whizzing over head we felt water droplets on our clothes and arms. It turns out it was actually the paraffin dripping from the stick. I had a small blister on my forearm the next morning, but nothing to worry about. After the fire show (which although a little dodgy was really good fun) we headed home about 11:30 for some sleep. It was at this point we discovered that we'd checked into a hotel opposite one of the nosiest, busiest bars on the island. The bars were full of kids in their teens and early twenties playing beer pong and being generally rowdy. From our room all we could hear was 2 separate bars playing 2 very different types of music which was an assault on the ears and made it difficult to fall asleep, but we eventually did. We were then awoken at 5 am from the people in the room next to us coming back drunk and very noisy. It was at this point I realised that I am now old and actually looking for some peace and quiet rather than a busy night life. Shame :-(

Sunday 27th December 2015

We were up at 9am and headed out to Breakers for breakfast. We dinned on a breakfast of eggs, toast and coffee and then decided to take a walk up to the view point. The walk took 20 minutes and was easy to find using all of the sign posts that led the way. The hike was up a huge hill but thankfully had steps and banisters to help you up. At the top we spent about 20 minutes admiring the view of the bay below which clearly outlined the 2 dividing beaches as well as other island in the sea around us. It was a hot and sweaty hike but very much worth it.

We then headed back down to sea level and to the beach where we had been the previous day. We then spent hours lying on the sand sunbathing and reading only stopping to eat crisps and drinks some coke. We were joined on the beach by lots of other people which wasn't a problem really as we can hardly expect to have our own secluded spot on Phi Phi.

We then left the beach and booked 2 tickets for 800 THB (about £8 each) for an excursion the following day to some of the other islands around us. We then went back to the hotel for a shower and headed out for food. We ate quite a lot for just under £10! We had a papaya salad (spicy) stir fried morning glory (very garlicky) Pad Thai and a curry with a few beers. We then headed back to the room to sleep and prepare bags for the boat trip the following day. Again we were kept awake by the music and noisy neighbours. Ah well.

Monday 28th December 2015

We had breakfast in a cafe just opposite the tour office where we would be picked up at 10:15am. We were then walked to the pier where we boarded our long tail boat with 6 other people who had also paid for a full day boat trip. We were quite happy as the other boats around us were packed with over 20 people per boat which looked quite cramped and uncomfortable. They were actually doing a half day tour, so paying for a longer day actually meant we had less people with us - winner!

We were using the services of a man and a long tail boat. The boats aren't huge and are just wooden boats that stand about 8 foot high and maybe 20 feet long. Certainly not boats for the open water, but fine for skirting the coast line. We headed out and stopped at a place called shark point which as the name suggests is popular with sharks. We jumped into the water to snorkel but found it difficult as the water was a bit choppy. The boat man (are they called captains??) explained that there had been a storm out at sea so there were quite a few waves. We persevered though and did see some fish before joining the boat and heading to our next stop. We traveled for about an hour through some slightly choppy water which was fun bouncing up and down before arriving at Bamboo Island. Here we stopped for lunch which was a packed lunch of fried rice. We sat on the beach for a while and swam in the water. The island was quite small and the spot of beach we stopped at was no longer than 20 metres wide. The sand was soft and the sea cool and blue.

After 45 minutes on Bamboo Island we were off and meant to be going to the island we could see about 1km away, Mosquito Island, but the driver said because of the choppy sea we couldn't stop there. We weren't that bothered because if the captain says its not safe I suppose you have to listen to him. Not arguing, we set off back to where we had started the day and to an area called Monkey Beach. The trip took about 45 mins and the water was noticeably more bouncy, but not a huge issue. We arrived at Monkey Beach and jumped off the boat and waded to the beach. The sand was unbelievable. It was so soft and white and the water was see through. Around us was jungle and its was the most beautiful setting. Also around us were about 50 other boats anchored in the bay and there were also the entire population of Beijing. Ok, this might be a slight exaggeration, but I have not seen this many Chinese people since leaving China. It seems every boat had a Chinese tour group, all with their red life jackets just bobbing in the water. Undeterred, Gemma and I decided to have a swim in the water which was gorgeous. As we stood to take a picture, a poo bobbed past us. At first we were appalled as to who would take a poo in the sea. We then realised there are quite a few monkeys around, hence the name, but this was too big for these small monkeys. We then decided that a human must have taken a poo whilst swimming. Returning to the beach with a sour taste in our mouth (metaphorically speaking) we took a picture of the monkey who could've been the culprit, but we also inadvertently took a picture of a Chinese tour group who were probably the likely culprits.

Back on the boat and a little shaken because of the poo, the boat man told us he would now take us to Maya Bay, which is a beautiful beach located on Phi Phi Lae. Phi Phi Island is split into 2 separate islands. The one we were staying on is Phi Phi Don and is a place where tourists and locals live. The other Island, Phi Phi Lae is about 5 km across the sea and is a national park and as such uninhabited. This is also the Island where the Danny Boyle movie 'The Beach' starring Leonardo DiCaprio was filmed. The 'Beach' itself is called Maya Bay and is a very popular trip for tourists. To get there, we had a journey of about 15 minutes across from the Island we were on Phi Phi Don to Phi Phi Lae. It was during this journey that everyone on-board, other than the driver thought we were going to die. Ok, this is perhaps another exaggeration, but we definitely thought we were at risk of being thrown overboard. During the day, the sea had got rougher and rougher and now we were heading from one island to another, basically leaving the relative calmness of the coast and heading into more open water, we witnessed the sea's power first hand. The journey started off as a little bumpy, but it had been like this all day so nothing to worry about. About 5 minutes in and now closer to the other island we were going straight into the waves and as a result bobbing up and down quite high. The worst bit came when we made it to the coast line of the island and suddenly were cast into darkness. We had rounded the bend and into the shade, and as if by magic we were in water similar to what I can imagine white water rafting is like. We had to drive side on with the waves and instead of bobbing up and down, we were now swaying side to side. We were so close at point to water pouring in over the sides. I was trying to put a brave face on, but there was a German girl in front of me crying and her boyfriend was having a tough time consoling her. They turned and asked me whether we should be wearing life jackets. I turned around to ask the driver who to my surprise was singing and seemed to be having a great time. He told us it was fine so we just hung on to the frame of the boat and bobbed into a lagoon which was our next stop. Gemma and I, along with everyone else were happy to be out of the rough seas. The lagoon was not flat enough for our driver to allow snorkeling, which was the point of this stop so he said we would continue to Maya Bay. This meant heading back into the rough water. We hung on again for a few minutes, before we turned into an opening and into the flat calm waters of Maya Bay.

Maya Bay being a national park means that there is a fee to actually get off your boat and walk on the sand. The fee is 400 THB, about £7 each, but we were eager to stand on 'The Beach' so paid up and waded onto the beach. The beach was full of tourists, but as it was quite late in the day, about 4pm, the lunchtime crowds had left so it wasn't as packed as we were led to believe. If you've seen the movie, you can picture the scene, but for those that haven't, take a look at the pictures. It was stunning! We were set in a lagoon, with a small opening to the sea and the water was crystal clear, not a poo in sight. The sand was like flour and soft on the feet. Behind the beach was a track into the jungle. Despite the jungle not being left in its original form and most of the trees being cut down, there was still enough for it to look rough and rustic enough, but also allowing space for people to wander around. They had kept this beach well maintained and it was clean, despite reading reviews that there was rubbish everywhere. They had also prevented people from building shops and restaurants and as a result there was a small, hidden snack bar and this wasn't very well signposted, so your views weren't ruined by nasty looking signs. We spent an hour swimming in the water taking photos and sitting on the soft sand commenting numerous times that "Leonardo DiCaprio probably walked here".

Having had a great hour sitting around admiring the view we had to get back on the dreaded boat and make our way back to the hotel. We left the bay and headed back into rough water. The driver said we could snorkel and watch the sunset. I asked everyone on the boat if they wanted to head back to the pier and everyone nodded. I then told the driver to take us back to our island. This meant another bouncy, choppy ride across the sea. This time he took it really slow and what would usually take 15 minutes took about 30, but this meant we didn't capsize which we were happy about. We all got back to the main pier and believing in karma, we tipped the guy for not killing us and walked, legs wobbling back to the hotel. We showered and rested on the bed for an hour before heading out for dinner which consisted of Pizzas and then we went home to sleep. An unforgettable day in terms of beautiful sights and near death experiences.

Tuesday 29th December 2015

After a manic day yesterday, we decided that today would be a much slower pace. We woke up at 5am due to noisy neighbours and then again at 8:30am to get up and start the day. We had breakfast at our usual spot in Breakers, consisting of bacon sandwich for Gemma and a huge bowl of muesli and yogurt for me. We then walked, following signs around the coast to 'Long Beach'. The journey took about 30 mins and involved us walking through some jungle and up and down rocks. When we arrived at Long Beach we found a spot on the sand and spent the next few hours moving from towel to water again and again. We had lunch at a beach side restaurant, Pad Thai for us both and then moved down the beach to a quieter spot. Here we snorkeled in a roped off area so the long boats couldn't run you over. We saw lots of fish in the clear water, just swimming around the rocks. The water was very cool and clear, so much so you could actually see fish swimming around you without a snorkel. The water out at sea looked as choppy as the day before and as a result there were some pretty big waves crashing on the shore a little later in the day. After we'd had enough sun we returned to the place we had lunch and bought a drink whilst playing with a cat that was on the lookout for food.

After a long day on the beach we took a long tail boat taxi around the coast back to the main pier. We didn't expect it to be choppy as we weren't heading out to sea, but it was. It was just as bouncy as the previous day, but fortunately this was only a 5 minute ride. When we landed at the pier we headed home to shower and then popped out for some dinner. We then returned back to the hotel and watched 'The Beach' movie and spent most of it saying "we were there!" and we then went to sleep.

Today marks our final day in Phi Phi as tomorrow we are heading to another Island, Koh Lanta. Phi Phi has been an amazing place. Everywhere you look you are surrounded by natural beauty and it has a relaxed feel to it, until night time when it turns into Magaluf. We look forward to returning to Phi Phi some time in the future.

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