Ko Phi Phi Don, Thailand
April 19, 2014
Having finally dragged ourselves away from Koh Lanta we set out for pastures new in the shape of Ko Phi Phi Don and Phi Phi Leh made famous by the film ‘The Beach’.
The journey there from Koh Lanta was quick and easy. An hour and half on a boat is all it took and we were slowing down to dock at Phi Phi Don, the bigger and only populated island out of the pair. The trip there though short was good as a shoal of flying fish burst across our bows as we neared the islands. An impressive sight they were as they covered 20ft at a time with each arc of their flight, it was a nice welcome to our next destination.
I’ve been to Phi Phi before about 9 years ago not long after the Tsunami and it was a beautiful quiet but recovering island following the tragedy. I guess I had no idea of how different if any it was going to be compared to my previous visit here but I had spoke to many people on the previous islands who said it was now a party island so I wasn’t sure what to expect this time around.
Within 5 minutes of leaving the boat and trekking to where we were staying I knew exactly what the island was like now. It was a swarm of tourists and travelers crammed in amongst the narrowest of streets with the maximum number of bars offering buckets. I felt a little out of place for a brief moment as although I had the vest top and shorts on I did not have the matching beard, sunglasses, cap and full sleeve tattoo that is apparently required to make you a 100% bona-fide traveler these days. (replace that for cut off shorts, vest top, bandana and thigh tattoo if you are a girl) The place was ghastly at first sight.
Kebab shops, bucket stalls, 7-elevens and tattoo shops had replaced hermit crabs, empty beaches, dirt tracks and no wi-fi. I’m not one to miss a party don’t get me wrong but what had happened to this little beautiful island seemed criminal in comparison to the islands we had come through so far. Eventually I mellowed out a little and settled into our place, wise enough to realise that I’m no different to these other travelers. Everyone goes in search of their own trip, their own adventure and it’s unreasonable to think you are the only person doing it. I too need somewhere to stay on Phi Phi, somewhere to grab a beer, somewhere to eat. I just didn’t expect the sudden culture shock that it was from the previous islands and my previous experience here. What I’ve noticed as well is that there are a lot of young travelers who seem to have a massive budget these days. Even on Phi Phi you can still find cheaper local places to eat if you go looking enough but every time we passed somewhere that was really busy with young travelers and we checked the menu as you do, they were all crazy European prices. I guess students have a much bigger budget now than when I was a lad.
October House where we stayed was pretty decent. It was a good clean room and cheap compared to a lot of places in the Tonsai bay area the downside was that on a night it sounded like we were staying in a nightclub. But that was all part of the fun and several buckets later out on the streets without having actually gone in a bar we were the last people out drinking in Phi Phi, stumbling home with the company and guidance of the many cats that live here.
We spent the next few days mooching around Phi Phi Don. Checking out anywhere to snorkel and wandering around loose tracks in search of other beaches along with a good helping of Sang Som (Thai whiskey) to keep us going. Once away from the crazy bay and it’s never ending supply of £3 a day beach loungers its still a beautiful island and a pleasant way to spend a few days getting lost and that’s pretty much what we did. One day ran into the next and before we knew it another few days had slipped by in paradise. We needed to go and check out Phi Phi Ley and get moving again.
We had eyed up many different ways to go and visit Phi Phi Ley and eventually settled on a full day trip thing that included Mosquito island, Bamboo island, and Phi Phi Ley as well snorkeling at shark point. Back in the day you could hire a dude and his taxi boat for as long as you wanted for a tenner and tootle around where you wanted when you wanted. But they are too clever for that now and all the island is ran by groups. Most likely Russian as they seem to be taking over the Thai islands piece by piece, they are everywhere, by far the largest population of visitors on the islands. No boats are unaccounted for these days and there are standard minimum prices applied by every company so no free lance boatmen to haggle with anymore.
Once out the trip was pretty cool. We didn’t see any sharks at shark point so I may start a petition for it to be renamed and the snorkeling was pretty average there but the rest was great. Mosquito island is about half an hour away and has a pretty decent reef there off a secluded beach only accessible by boat with loads of fish to see. Bamboo island was really nice as well if not a bit overcrowded by day trippers (me included!) After a bit lunch it was off to the cliff jumping point. I’m a complete girl when it comes to heights and such like so I opted out of that part, and maybe regret it now but hey I’ll live. Dani however did the jump and impressively managed to land with her legs out horizontal in a seated position. Not the best when your looking for a good clean streamlined entry to cut into the blue liquid. So a mighty slap into the sea has now matured into some beautiful full length leg bruises, an interesting alternative to those full sleeves and thigh tattoos all around us.
From there it was across to Phi Phi Ley and a quick stop at the Viking cave. The Viking cave dates back hundreds of years and they know they were used by Pirates to hide out in during the monsoons. The bit that doesn’t make sense and gives the place it’s name are the drawings on the cave walls inside. They depict Viking style long boats even though the Vikings did not get anywhere near Asia so it remains a mystery who these people were who stayed there many years ago. The cave is now populated by sea gypsies who farm the birds nests from the cliffs around. The nests command a high price in the birds nest soup market which is a delicacy in certain Asian countries and reportedly they farm around 10 million euros worth of produce over a six month period every year. 10 million! Oh and they live in a cave and hang their washing out on wooden poles, such is the life of a sea gypsy millionaire. It’s crazy money so I suspect they may retire from the cave at some point soon. Just past the Viking cave is a beautiful lagoon with waist height water all around that we stopped off at for a short while and then we rounded another small corner into Loh Samah bay for a bit more snorkeling. The waters there although shaded from the sun by the high limestone cliffs are very clear and really busy with life now. A lot of the coral is dead around here following the tsunami but it is good to see that some of it is recovering with new soft and hard corals thriving amongst the old dead ones now.
As the tide got lower we stopped snorkeling and were guided across to the craziest rope ladder I’ve ever seen to climb over and then down the other side to enter Maya beach where some of the film was shot. We ended up stuck on the wrong side with a trail of about 100 people people coming towards us down the rope steps and eventually after becoming frustrated we wormed our way through a small opening underneath the ropes where workmen were moving logs through. The beach itself has changed a lot since I was last there. Before you only accessed it from the front when the tide was high enough but now they have started to developed behind the beach to include toilets and a cafe and tourist shop and also a rear access, the one we just used, so that it’s accessible all the time no matter what the tide level. Still the place itself is stunning. High tide, low tide, it doesn’t matter it’s a very striking place to be. The limestone cliffs rise for hundreds of feet all around you and the water is clear and calm. Within the cauldron of cliffs and water is a 200 yard long stretch of beautiful white sand. It was nice to sit there for a while and quiet as well as it was approaching sunset. Alas it was time to head back to the boat and then back across to Phi Phi Don.
We had planned on leaving the following day but then hit a barrier of where to head next. Phuket I didn’t fancy, straight to Bangkok seemed a little too soon and sharp a contrast after the islands so we ended up hanging where we were for yet another day before deciding what to do next. Eventually we settled on a place called Railay on the mainland near Krabi town. It sounds somewhere in between the island life we have become accustomed to and the mainland infrastructure we have coming up so hopefully it will ease us back out of the past few weeks. The islands have been amazing and it’s very easy to get lost here and not move on from each place. Even Phi Phi was easy to get lost in. It’s taken it’s toll and I’ve drank far too many buckets and slipped into the party way. Let’s see how long we stay at Railay for!
