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Published: June 29th 2012
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Koh Phi Phi
Upon arrival at Koh phi phi (pp) we noticed just how divine the Indian ocean was - azure blue, emerald and crystal clear warmth. Yum. We weren't sure were to stay so trace suggested Rantee Bay which was quiet and lovely and away from the magaluf feel of the town centre (a posher magaluf mind you). We arrived at Rantee bay and got shown our shack by the sea (Runtee bay sunset resort - resort a loosely described word here!) - it was just that, a shack. We both thought that it was a little under what we could cope with but we would cope, that was until Tash lifted up the mattress cover to find a swarm of ants all over and in the bed... That was it - luxuries we can do without but ants in the pants whilst in bed is a definite no!! Tash found the owner and in her usual subtle self told him that we had a problem... He was very good and promptly took us a nicer, much newer room at no extra cost. Result even though the surrounding pavement had potholes and stones! We don't want much do we?!
We set about snorkelling in the gorgeous reef on our doorstep until tracy says she has been stung by something... Hmm. The first rule of snorkelling as you may know is never to stand up on the coral, well Tracy was drowning in her mask so put her foot onto a black urchin with spikes as sharp as needles, one of which punctured her Achilles. Doh! SHe was alright though and no medical care required. We then saw some locals playing volleyball and we joined in - so good to have some exercise for the first time in ages!! The Thais were brilliant, the Australian, pretty shit and us two good! It was really good fun. We then got called to go fishing with the owners on his long tail boat. We had hand lines wrapped around plastic bottles with squid as bait and between 6 of us we only caught about 10 fish... Even so, we took them back and the owner cooked us a couple! Yum! We then went into town centre to find a place that was showing the eng v sa rugby. We had a few buckets of vodka and mixer and enjoyed the game, shame
about result however.
We were due to meet our longboat taxi man
at 1am on the pier as that is the only way to get to our shack. He was also waiting for 2 other guys and us so we woke him up swinging in his hammock and waited for the guys...
2 am passed and trace wasn't happy! Still no sign despite the driver going to look for them.
At 2.30am the driver told us to get in the other longboat that his friend was driving as he had no idea when the boys would arrive... We did just that and long tailed it back in the dark in our longboat! Best cab ride home ever!!!! We found out next day that the boys never turned up at all and poor driver was waiting until
8am for them - what rude, selfish boys they were!
Next day we hired our very own longboat for 2000baht (£40) for half a day to take us to all the surrounding islands. All other tourists were packed into tour boats and we were living it up with our very own chauffeur. First stop was Maya Bay which is the beach in the film 'the
beach'. Boats can't go into it so he stopped in the bay behind and we had to swim to the rocks and clamber out whilst being pounded by waves. Interesting! We staggered though then made our way through the massive rocks to the beach. Tash had seen the film so knew what it might look like and was not disappointed - what a stunning bay! In the film, mountainous rocks cover the whole back of the bay but in reality, there is a big gap which heads straight out to sea. We were two of only 10 people on the beach before they left and it was just us two for about half an hour... Amazing and so so beautiful. A lot of people complain about the volume of tourists that go there but we were alone and loved the serenity of the place. That was until we headed back to the boat and saw no less than 50 tourists about to head into the beach. We had missed them all and got a view that few see. If you come here, do it this way, leave
at 1pm not
3pm - SO much better than the tourist crowds!
We
then passed Viking cave which is where Thais climb on rickety wooden scaffold to get swallows birds nests for birds nest soup, a delicacy in china - where else?! Won't be trying that! We then snorkelled some more and it was Tracy's turn to squeal as a swarm, and I mean a swarm, of reef fish swam around her as a bit of bread was thrown in her direction. It was hilarious and Tash nearly drowned as she can't laugh hysterically and swim at the same time she discovered! Tracy's mask (what else) was her excuse and she too nearly drowned albeit in 4ft of water.
Then we headed to monkey bay which is home to some lovely, cute spider monkeys. We got onto the beach and started taking photos after being warned by our driver to be careful as they can bite! Another group of lads were there too and Tash went up close to take a picture of one before daddy monkey jumped up her leg, Tash jumped and squealed and shouted at Tracy for not warning her it was there and that sparked a fierce response from a group of about 10 monkeys who all looked
at Tash and started toward her... She absolutely shat herself as a group of them started to chase her and she fled, running the fastest she has ever run, to the safety of the sea, camera held aloft in the hope it survived this monkey attack!!! Tracy and the lads were doubled over laughing their heads off whilst Tash was left in the sea, in shock at her near death experience. Laugh you may, but these animals are crazy!!!! That's the last time Tash will shout at trace in the presence of animals! Bloody doctor Doolittle! Tash managed to calm down and keep a safe distance from a mummy monkey with her new born, a monkey paddling in the sea with arms aloft which was hilarious as he clearly didnt like it and two monkeys shagging... A delight! Will try and post photos for you all. They then got bored of us and we helped driver collect clams for a while before heading to town for a few bits then back to the shack. What a day - a highlight for sure!
Next day we were up early to head for Koh Samui- the island that the film the
beach is based around. Hard times these!
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