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Published: December 24th 2012
We spent four amazing days in koh phi phi - the craziest and best island by far. After arriving at the pier following another long boat journey we soon realised that this island has no cars and we were going to have to drag our backpacks to the other side of the island. Low and behold the rain came when we were within 5 minutes of our resort. We arrived absolutely soaking wet and proceeded to the swimming pool bar aided with a couple of changs to numb the pain of another treacherous journey.
That evening we headed to the beach for a few drinks and seem to have stumbled across a circus of fire dancers. The infamous slinkys bar held the most amazing fire show where extremely talented Thai guys were doing all sorts with ropes, batons and balls of fire. This included tight rope walking, limbo and skipping. The foreigners were allowed to join in with the fire skipping which was interesting - we saw one guy set fire to his shorts and another man set fire to his face/afro. The day after we saw so many people with an array of injuries from these kind of activities. Health and safety eat your heart out!!!
After checking the weather forecast, the second day seemed to be ideal to take the boat trip to maya bay ('the beach' beach - enter Leonardo dicaprio). We paid a bit more to do a few extra activities along the way. After setting off it seemed like we had picked the worst day to go with high winds. Within 5 minutes on the boat it was like having been on tidal wave at Thorpe park - drenched again and the winds weren't exactly warming. Our first stop was snorkelling which Jonny and myself were very eager to do as we hadn't had much chance to try out our new snorkelling gear. The water was gorgeous - clear and full of life. Very pleased with the purchase of our underwater camera as it took some great snaps of the tropical fish. There was some squid and sea snakes and we were told the possibility of sharks but unfortunately they didn't show up as they are apparently more active in the mornings - we will just have to wait til Australia...
What we have all experienced in the sea in Thailand is that we all feel stings in the water but cannot see anything that might be stinging us. The sting doesn't leave a mark but feels uncomfortable for ten minutes or so. I later found out that this was coral in the water and you can't see it in the day time but it glows in the dark and is absolutely beautiful - worth the sting!
After snorkelling it was maya bay - such an incredible beach. The sand was like powder and the water is a beautiful shade of blue. Of course anywhere like this is unfortunately swamped with tourists and that day was no different.
The guides then took us to monkey island - the name is self explanatory. On getting off the boat you see an army of hungry looking monkeys and thankfully the guide had some pineapple to offer. Some of them can even open bottles of water and drink out of them - extremely clever creatures. I handed one the remnants of a pineapple and it just got thrown on the floor - ungrateful! The babies are a bit friendlier but if you get too close the parents will chase you away!
The last part of our trip was the icing on the cake. Our boat started heading in a strange direction away from the island and towards the sound of some Bob Marley music. We shortly arrived at a hidden cove where we had our own private BBQ and beach party while chilling out to Bob. There wasn't a better way to end the evening.
On the third day lunch was a bit of an experience. After ordering our food we heard a bit of a kerfuffle at the bar and saw the chef and another member of staff throwing punches at each other. The chef stormed off down the beach and we debated whether we would actually get our food anytime soon when suddenly he had returned with a samurai sword. Needless to say all the tourists scarpered and we didnt return to find the outcome. We spent most of this day relaxing and walking around the market stalls.
We found koh phi phi very reasonable for money and they have some great restaurants. Sometimes you have to go off the beaten track to get away from the 'magaluf-like' party life which is exactly what we did yesterday. Having asked around we were told of a beach to go to that was quieter cleaner and more serene. We had two options to get there. Either pay £2 to get a boat there or walk through jungle and clamber over some rocks for almost an hour - you guessed it; we walked. Nothing seems to phase you after a few weeks in Thailand and I was glad for the exercise. The day was lovely just spent reading a book and taking in the views.
Our trip ended on a comical note last night, whilst I queued in 7/11 (food shop) I was at the counter and next to me was a stand of lollipops. I felt someone pushing behind me to get to the lollipops and turned around to find it was a monkey!!
Crazy crazy Thailand!!
In Phuket now for Xmas - have a lovely Xmas all and I'm sure Sean will be filling you in on our shenanigans shortly after
Laura xxx
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Emma taylor
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This sounds amazing. Merry Christmas to you all. Love you lots Emma x