Beaching Around

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Geo: 7.7455, 98.7754

Beach Time!! The infamous beaches of Thailand is too good to pass up, although depending on the type of person you are will reflect the type of beaches/islands you go to. So as the less party/get smashed type of people Anna and I are we decided to head towards Krabi and catch the ferry to the Island of Koh Phi Phi Don.
Our trip started when we tried to get to the bus station with some difficulty. We wanted to chill out in a park before going to the bus station at around 5 but the park we wanted wasn't really a park. So we ended up taking a train, walking, taxi, local bus and more walking just to get to the old bus station, so a further taxi ride to the new southern bus route bus station had taken us quite a few hours, but we got there in the end and set upon the 12 hour overnight bus journey to Krabi. The bus journey was fine and we arrived at Krabi Bus station a bit after 6am where we waited till 8am to get a lift to the jetty and then the 1.5 hour boat ride to Koh Phi Phi Don.

It had started raining in the morning and it didn't seem to want to stop anytime soon. As we were on the boat it got worse and as we pulled in to the Koh Phi Phi Don Jetty it hit an all time torrential downpour as a whole boat load of people tried to cram under one small hut.
Not the best start to a beach getaway.
We found refuge in a dive shop where an English guy who worked there helped us out a bit.
Koh Phi Phi Don is a small island where most of the surrounding is shear rock and cliffs and thick vegetation. The main town is settled in the only flat spot on the island which is only a few hundred meters in width between bays and beaches. Koh Phi Phi Don was badly hit in the 2006 tsunami that wiped out around 70% of the buildings and hundreds died. Scary to think as there is little room to evacuate.

The Island is well equipped now, with anything and almost everything a tourist needs, from countless dive shops run by foreigners to countless massage places, restaurants, pubs and bars, travel agents, cats and 7/11's.
We knew it was going to be pretty touristy, and that stuff is hard to avoid in these areas. We wanted to be able to tent it on the island or a surrounding island but I don't think is was possible.
Our first day was pretty much a write off as it it persistently rained for most of the day but it gave us a chance to recuperate from the overnight bus journey. The following day was extremely better, and we were in for an unexpected treat.
We were walking along the beach with no real plan for the day when we were asked by a few English guys if we wanted to join them on a boat for the day, cruising around some islands as a few of there friends had opted out due to different circumstances. We jumped at the opportunity to join them and for 300Baht / $10, it was too good to pass up. The usual price being minimum 450baht.
So just like that we were on a long tail boat with 3 English guys and 1 girl and a Israeli girl cruising around beaches and islands. We stopped at Monkey Beach and made our way to Koh Phi Phi Leh (the famous beach from the movie "the Beach" with Leonardo D'caprio) or Maya Bay.

Its a visually stunning beach with beautiful blue and clear water and with white sand and a green background of vegetation. I can just imagine being the first person discovering the island, peaceful, beautiful and alone, unlike today where speed boats line the beach and the masses of tourists lap up the sun on the beach.
We then circumnavigated the Island, stopping on the other side for a bit of snorkeling, something I had never done before and something I will remember for a long time as it was soooo amazing. The different fishes, colors and sizes basically within centimeters from you. The water is so warm you can stay in there for hours. I was so excited afterwards and keen for some more which we later did after heading back towards Phi Phi Don and stopping off in Shark bay for some more and then after stopping off at Bamboo Island for some food we went to another small reef for more snorkeling. Ah it was such an amazing day and we were lucky with the weather too. A good practice for when we get to the great barrier reef. I thought it was funny snorkeling as it sounded like I was Darth Vader in Star Wars

We headed back to Phi Phi Don around the back and finished up in a small little bay in which we weren't completely sure of but guessed it was the old tsunami village where it seemed as though something had happened and the beach was littered with rubbish. It's a sobering thought to think of the horrible devastation.
We set off back to where we started, happy and grateful that we were offered the opportunity.
One of our favorite little snacks that we started our mornings with was a banana and chocolate pancake, mm, so good. Much needed energy after a horrible nights sleep for both of us. The next day was spent on the beach, getting a bit of a tan and hanging out in a bar, playing some pool to escape the heat. Later on in the evening we went up the hill to the view point to see a bit of the sunset.
The following morning we were due to catch the ferry and bus back to Bangkok. It started raining for a while and we thought we were going to have a repeat of our first day, but it eventually cleared as we waited in a restaurant for our 3.30 ferry followed by a 12hr bus ride back to Bangkok.

What an incredibly beautiful area the Southern beaches are and we had an amazing time. Now it's time to immerse ourselves more in to the culture and head north to Chiang Mai with the possibility of a home stay.

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Comments

[Jimmy]

You didnt touch the cat did u?? haha