KOH PHI PHI
Koh Phi Phi, where to begin. This is definitely my favourite island, scenery wise...It is so beautiful. Looking out from the white sandy beaches there are a few smaller islands not too far from shore that have jagged peaks and limestone cliffs...And they're surrounded by turquoise water of course! So stunning. We decided to fork out a couple of extra dollars to share a place on the beach that had two double beds so we could all live under one roof for a change.
My flu reached epic proportions our first night there--My temperature was dangerously high and I was really out of it. The next day I couldn't get out of bed so Megan decided to nurse me back to health while Xtine and Laura checked out downtown Phi Phi. Our resort was about a 20-30min walk/hike (depending on daytime/night time and alcohol consumption) through a scary, muddy, dark forest. We had fun with it though. There are lots of resorts in the main area but the beach there isn't as nice and its a lot more crowded...We were done with crowds after the full moon party. There is a beach inbetween our resort and the main area (There are 3 main beaches on Phi Phi) but it hasn't re-opened since the Tsunami. We could definitely see the effect of the Tsunami on Phi Phi. There was construction everywhere, you could still see how much damage it caused on this tiny island. They sold tsunami merchandise (postcards, t-shirts)in a lot of stores, it was pretty disgusting and I didn't see one person purchase any of it.
We went on a boat cruise that took us to the islands across from Phi Phi on our second day. Our first stop was a beach inhabited by monkeys. We snorkeled from the boat over some nice coral to get to monkey beach. We were given bananas and attacked when we got to shore. The monkeys were not afraid of us at all, as I'm sure they're used to all of the boat groups giving them food every day. They all really liked Laura and kept touching her...I'm pretty sure she's carrying some kind of monkey disease now. Our second stop on the tour was a lagoon surrounded by towering limestone cliffs in crystal clear water. The girls and I hopped in our kayas and explored the little caves and beaches within the lagoon. It was soooo stunning. The last stop was an island with Maya Bay (THE beach in the movie "The Beach") located on one side of it. The water was too rough to get into the bay so we had to anchor the yacht (hah) on one side of the island and swim to shore, go through a cave that had a natural waterslide that you had to climb up, and follow a trail for a few minutes. Swimming to shore was difficult because there was coral everywhere (I've already been scratched by coral enough on this trip and have the scars to prove it) and once you got close to "shore" it turned out to be less of a shore and more of a cave wall with sharp rocks on the sea floor. The waves were crashing pretty hard against the cave wall so we all got swept away, everybody either got dragged along the rocky sea floor or splashed up onto the cave wall. It was not fun at all but I just kept telling myself it would all be worth it. Only in Thailand would a tour operator do something sooo dangerous. I was right though, the beach definitely was worth it. I can't put it into words, it was so breathtaking so you'll just have to see for yourself when I get my webshots album sorted. Or watch "The Beach." The swim back to the boat was better and we were rewarded with dinner and drinks and first aid for those who took a beating from the waves/rocks.
We checked out a sweet bar that night. They had a drinking competition that only Laura, Megan and a bunch of guys were daring enough to participate in. You had to chug a beer, run down the beach, chug a whiskey/coke bucket, run down the beach again and down 3 shots of vodka. The funniest part was the prize for winning...A free bucket of alcohol! The last thing any of those people would want. Megan and Laura held their own against the boys but didn't win. There was an unbelievable fireshow for about half an hour later that night, and we had front row seats.
The rest of Phi Phi was spent lying on the beach or in a hammock, just taking it all in and relaxing. Laura had to return to her teaching job back in Northern Thailand and Megan wanted to go on a solo adventure to some more islands so Christine and I spent an extra day on idyllic Phi Phi before heading to Koh Lanta. Which is, surprise surprise, another island.
My flu reached epic proportions our first night there--My temperature was dangerously high and I was really out of it. The next day I couldn't get out of bed so Megan decided to nurse me back to health while Xtine and Laura checked out downtown Phi Phi. Our resort was about a 20-30min walk/hike (depending on daytime/night time and alcohol consumption) through a scary, muddy, dark forest. We had fun with it though. There are lots of resorts in the main area but the beach there isn't as nice and its a lot more crowded...We were done with crowds after the full moon party. There is a beach inbetween our resort and the main area (There are 3 main beaches on Phi Phi) but it hasn't re-opened since the Tsunami. We could definitely see the effect of the Tsunami on Phi Phi. There was construction everywhere, you could still see how much damage it caused on this tiny island. They sold tsunami merchandise (postcards, t-shirts)in a lot of stores, it was pretty disgusting and I didn't see one person purchase any of it.
We went on a boat cruise that took us to the islands across from Phi Phi on our second day. Our first stop was a beach inhabited by monkeys. We snorkeled from the boat over some nice coral to get to monkey beach. We were given bananas and attacked when we got to shore. The monkeys were not afraid of us at all, as I'm sure they're used to all of the boat groups giving them food every day. They all really liked Laura and kept touching her...I'm pretty sure she's carrying some kind of monkey disease now. Our second stop on the tour was a lagoon surrounded by towering limestone cliffs in crystal clear water. The girls and I hopped in our kayas and explored the little caves and beaches within the lagoon. It was soooo stunning. The last stop was an island with Maya Bay (THE beach in the movie "The Beach") located on one side of it. The water was too rough to get into the bay so we had to anchor the yacht (hah) on one side of the island and swim to shore, go through a cave that had a natural waterslide that you had to climb up, and follow a trail for a few minutes. Swimming to shore was difficult because there was coral everywhere (I've already been scratched by coral enough on this trip and have the scars to prove it) and once you got close to "shore" it turned out to be less of a shore and more of a cave wall with sharp rocks on the sea floor. The waves were crashing pretty hard against the cave wall so we all got swept away, everybody either got dragged along the rocky sea floor or splashed up onto the cave wall. It was not fun at all but I just kept telling myself it would all be worth it. Only in Thailand would a tour operator do something sooo dangerous. I was right though, the beach definitely was worth it. I can't put it into words, it was so breathtaking so you'll just have to see for yourself when I get my webshots album sorted. Or watch "The Beach." The swim back to the boat was better and we were rewarded with dinner and drinks and first aid for those who took a beating from the waves/rocks.
We checked out a sweet bar that night. They had a drinking competition that only Laura, Megan and a bunch of guys were daring enough to participate in. You had to chug a beer, run down the beach, chug a whiskey/coke bucket, run down the beach again and down 3 shots of vodka. The funniest part was the prize for winning...A free bucket of alcohol! The last thing any of those people would want. Megan and Laura held their own against the boys but didn't win. There was an unbelievable fireshow for about half an hour later that night, and we had front row seats.
The rest of Phi Phi was spent lying on the beach or in a hammock, just taking it all in and relaxing. Laura had to return to her teaching job back in Northern Thailand and Megan wanted to go on a solo adventure to some more islands so Christine and I spent an extra day on idyllic Phi Phi before heading to Koh Lanta. Which is, surprise surprise, another island.
posted by Heather Short @ 12:54 AM
1 Comments:
At 3:08 AM,
Laura Davies said…
#1 - you make me sound like an alcoholic 'outbreak' patient
#2 - i know this post took you two trips to the internet cafe today
#3 - I miss you more than I miss Phi Phi.
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