69) Koh Phi Phi - the setting of a blockbuster

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Ten years ago we had travelled extensively in Thailand for one month, but had not been to the southern part of the country. Coming from Malaysia it seemed natural to us to make a stop on our way to Bangkok, and our destination of choice was Koh Phi Phi. People unanimously are crazy about the landscape, the wonderful beaches and the impressive underwater life and the local population definitely needs all the money they can get for reconstruction after the tsunami.

It was supposed to be a long way from Georgetown, so we left by mini van at 5 a.m., crossed the Thai border in a couple of minutes (a visa free of charge included) and headed towards Hat Yai. Everything was well organized, there the tourists were split up according to their destinations, like Koh Samui, other famous beaches and Koh Phi Phi, where the least of them went. We had to wait some time for the next mini van, so Stephan could withdraw the first Thai Bhats without any problems. The following uncomfortable vehicle took us to Khrabi, another popular holiday destination, from where we took the boat to Koh Phi Phi, arriving there around 4 p.m. Unlike the boat driving to the Perhentian Islands, this one was really big and fully packed with tourists, much to our surprise. The whole trip was very well organized and had been rather expensive, but we would not have managed to reach our destination in one day when travelling independantly. We did not completely enjoy it, the mini vans were quite uncomfortable and we missed the local touch. However, we arrived at beautiful Koh Phi Phi without a hitch and were set upon enjoying its natural wonders.

The devastating tsunami of December 2004 had hit Koh Phi Phi badly, even nine months afterwards the scars it had caused were still numerous and easy to detect. Nevertheless Koh Phi Phi is still a major tourist destinaton and it is very likely that accommodation on the island will become scarce around Christmas trime, since allegedly 70% of the guesthouses had been destroyed. Strictly speaking, Koh Phi Phi consists of two islands: Phi Phi Don, the inhabited one, and Phi Phi Lee, a national park area where only rangers abide. The whole area, Khrabi included, is special for its spectacular rock formations, ragged cliffs falling dozens of metres into the sea, all covered by lush tropical vegetation. Phi Phi Don is topped by two hills, one of which can be climbed, and in between lies a rather small stretch of sandy ground on which most of the bigger and more expensive hotel complexes used to stand. As this area is narrow and without any natural shelter, the big wave swept over it unhindered and either engulfed the smaller buildings and ruined the first two floors of the big hotels. The future of this part of the island is still undecided, several experts warned the Thai government against reconstruction on this fragile area, but the local population believes that some rich businessmen will start reconstruction even without the authorities’ consent. When we were there, they had not really started it yet, but then it was still low season and a lot of tourists were expected for the winter months. On the other side of Phi Phi Don, right-hand of the jetty, reconstruction was further advanced but by far not completed and they were frenetically working in expectance of high season. Our hotel was relatively quiet but a French couple we met said they had the impression of living on a construction site. What is unique about Koh Phi Phi’s landscape apart from the fantastic rocks and cliffs are the bays. Many of them are rather small, rounded and surrounded by elevations so that you get the impression of swimming in a very large pool. The waters are warm, clear and calm, no strong currents or waves, perfect for swimming, snorkelling or diving. Also the famous beach at Phi Phi Lee used as the location for the movie 'The Beach' is an example of this, only the camera position made it look closed in.

The settlement on Phi Phi Don is completely oriented towards tourism, we doubt that his island was inhabited before the arrival of sun-seeking Westerners, maybe there were some huts of fishermen. But the tourist really finds everything he might long for in all price ranges, luxury bungalows or simple guest houses, all kinds of food - typical Thai meals are rather hard to find, but we ate some delicious sea food at a tiny place by the beach; there are plenty of bars where the latest fashion is to serve strong liquids in the bucket with several straws for the jolly clique, souvenir shops selling cheap jewellery alternate with travel agencies selling snorkelling trips, diving excursions or trips to any other destination in Thailand. There is enough for everyone not to get bored, sports activities for the active ones, many kilometres of unspoilt beaches for the lazy bones, remote spots for the solitary ones, videos and other animation for the night owls. Many restaurants and bars show several movies per day starting at 3 p.m. and usually the first one shown is ‘The Beach’. The population is very proud that their island had been chosen as the location for a Hollywood blockbuster.

We were not especially keen on this kind of entertainment, drinking whisky out of a bucket or watching Thai boxing do not count among our favourite pastimes, we preferred active days and subsequently rather early nights. Koh Phi Phi is an ideal place for water sports, the water is very warm and the visibility is good for diving and snorkelling, thank God the tsunami had only touched a limited area so that the underwater flora and fauna is still thriving. Once we went to Long Beach, either over the cliffs, which is relatively easy, or swimming. It is a rather isolated place, with full luggage it can only be reached by boat, but the location is beautiful and quiet, ideal for those who want to relax in a peaceful environment away from hectic home. On the northern tip we went snorkelling and were immediately accompanied by numerous fishes, it almost felt like swimming in a huge aquarium. Another time we walked to Monkey Beach, where the big hotel complexes once throve. Unlike the other beaches, this one had not yet been completely cleaned of the consequences of the tsunami, house debris was scattered all over. This did not bother us much, as we wanted to go swimming and not lie on the beach. We did not do any snorkelling there, but observed some birds perched on the remnants of mangrove trees, as well as a lot of flying fish, even a whole school of them. It is so fascinating how many things you can discover, all it needs is a little bit of patience. The pictures we publish do not reflect the complete reality but Stephan is rather reluctant to make pictures of ugly or unpleasant things, so you will mainly see deserted beaches while Phi Phi Don is quite populated.

We also booked a snorkelling trip, the boat simply takes you to good spots which are too remote to be reached by swimming. There we saw Marie and Renan again, a French couple who we had met the evening before in a small restaurant serving nice authentic food. Like us they were on a long trip around the world and we had many things in common. They gave us some good addresses in Bangkok, while we shared our experience on Malaysia with them. The trip was long and intensive, but we were rewarded with wonderful sights. We also stopped at the national park of Phi Phi Lee, where we unavoidably visited Maya Beach, the setting of the Hollywood film ‘The Beach’ featuring Leonardo di Caprio. Maya Beach is no longer a quiet deserted spot, the sheer amount of boats anchoring there was absolutely amazing, and we found the beach rather dirty. But once you moved away from the famous beach you are surrounded by nice vegetation and few tourists, like on Phi Phi Don there are two beaches separated by a narrow strip of land. But unlike on the inhabited island you cannot cross from one beach to the other because access is blocked by rocks, but you can peep through a hole drilled by the salty waves. Some of the water constantly manages to sweep through and forms a small shallow pool of warm water. The rocks are regularly interrupted by caves of all forms and sizes, we even discovered some that had been used by fishermen. Lunch was included in the trip and we enjoyed it on one of the most beautiful beaches we have ever seen. It was quite wide, made of extremely fine and almost white sand and rose gently from then sea, magic! On the last snorkelling spot we were immediately surrounded by a large number of fish once again. We were literally swimming with the fish! While Klaudia and Marie boarded the boat earlier because they were exhausted, Stephan and Renan could not get their eyes off the pretty fish. Out of boredom the girls decided to feed some of the pineapple peels (leftover from lunch) to the fish, amused about their stupid idea. This had a stunning effect! The fish devoured the vitamin ration as if they were starving! Never before had we seen so many fish on one place fighting for their prey, we guess that piranhas behave the same way. This excitement was not big enough for our men, so they took the pineapple peels and slices into their hands, and the fish really ate out of their hands. Several of them could not clearly distinguish the fruits and slightly bit their fingers. We were really amused! Koh Phi Phi is a perfect place to watch many kinds of fish in high quantities whereas the Perhentian Islands offer better corals and are much calmer. We are glad to have seen both places.

The next leg of our trip should take us to Bangkok. On Koh Phi Phi we were told that it was impossible to reach the capital during the day, the only possibility was travelling over night, by train or a bus. We could easily have arranged our trip there, but did not fully trust this information. So we only booked the boat to Khrabi, where we bid farewell to Marie and Renan heading south to Malaysia, then we took a bus to Surathani and hoped to find some other means of transport there. We by far preferred the train to the bus in the night, but the train was fully booked, just as we had been told on Koh Phi Phi. Once we could not avoid the night bus, and although each of us had a small bench for ourselves, Klaudia did not sleep very well. In Bangkok we took a room in the guesthouse that Marie and Renan had recommended, in a quiet street close to THE famous Kao San road. We did no sightseeing this time, having seen a lot of Bangkok ten years ago, but organized our following trip to Myanmar, for which Bangkok was the perfect place.

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Photos

Dream beach at Koh Phi Phi
One of the most beautiful beaches we have ever seen

Enjoying our holidays
We do love monuments but from time to time it is wonderful to relax in such a fantastic environment

Long Beach at Phi Phi Don
This is only the beginning, the beach was really of the longer sort

Mangrove trees
Klaudia loved the hammock ingeniously strung up inside the trees

Our captain
During the snorkelling trip our boat was in good hands

The boat
Some people could not get enough of the sun and moved to the bow of the boat

Isolated beach
Looks like out of a holiday catalogue, doesn't it

Spectacular rock
Koh Phi Phi is famous for its rock formations and cliffs covered with tropical vegetation

Bigger rock
Displaying cliffs falling sharply into the blue sea

Caves
It seems that some of them were still being used by fishermen not so long ago

Typical bay
On Koh Phi Phi, the bays have a special form, they are very round and look almost closed

View from Maya Beach
The location of the movie 'The Beach' is no longer isolated but populated by hords of day visitors

Maya Beach
Only a fraction of the many boats that take tourists to the famous beach, hoping to get a glimpse of Leonardo di Caprio

Phi Phi Lee
Maya Beach and another beach are separated by a strip of land, but access to the second beach is blocked. If you look carefully, you can see the sea glittering through a small hole

Goodbye Koh Phi Phi
Probably our last beach for a considerable time

Comments

[Dan]

Amazing
These photos are incredible and appear professional, they make me want to be there. Hope it was as amazing as it appears.