Koh Phi Phi, Thailand

Sunday-Wednesday, Aug 9- 12Thailand! It is everything you expect- and then some. We arrived in the airport, collected our bags, cleared customs, even had a vague idea of where we wanted to go, found an airport shuttle to take us... and then waited. For enough people to fill the shuttle to make it worth their while to take us about 40 minutes to the town of Phuket, which is supposed to be less touristy and seedy than Patong. Finally after a lot of hassling and threatening to just take a taxi instead, and then actually recruiting 2 newly arrived backpackers to come with us so we could all immediately take off, we were on our way. En route we were easily convinced that Phuket town was not worth bothering with, and we would just take the ferry that day to Koh Phi Phi, a smaller island about an hour away that is renowned for its beaches and night life. Tough decision.
Once again, we got a taste for "Thai time". We were dropped off in a hurry, but the ferry didn't leave for about 4 hours and there really wasn't anything there but a semi covered platform with 2 benches, a tiny stand selling drinks and chocolate, and at least a dozen dogs. The time ended up passing fairly quickly as we were distracted with a couple of thunder storms and made a bunch of new friends. There were a couple of Irish guys, David and Paddy, who were on holiday and it was their 4th visit to Koh Phi Phi, so they gave us some good tips (ie don't even brush your teeth with the tap water). We also met Carol from England and Loon from Australia. We actually ran into everyone numerous times on the island it was so small, so it was nice to have familiar faces!
After boarding the ferry and being handed little plastic bags for sickness, we promptly fell asleep as is the best idea. When we arrived we were met by a crush of "tour guides" though apparently here they are a legit group that will pre book everything for you. We were taken to a little stand at the end of the dock where we were shown pictures of all the hotels in our price range (about $20 a night, pricey for Thailand but Koh Phi Phi is for ballers). Carol from the ferry had been told about the Phi Phi Princess and convinced us it was the best so we all booked in and had a man cart our packs over. There are no cars or scooters on the island, so things are much more laid back and peaceful. Also, having someone else move your gear is glorious. Perhaps next time I shall travel with a porter.

The hotel ended up being very nice and in a fantastic location. Even our initiated Irish friends were jealous of our find!
Tiffany, Carol and I made the hike to High Point to watch the sunset. From the top of the mountain you can see the little stip of sand where the ocean comes in on both sides. The view is so expansive you can apparently go there for spectacular sun rise as well as sun set, and while we had the best of intentions, we never actually made that! The natural beauty really is astonishing, even on a slightly overcast evening.

Koh Phi Phi was one of the islands greatly effected by the tsunami in 2004. Most of the island was covered in water, destroying most of the buildings and claiming many lives. Always a tourist destination, after the tsunami visitors stopped coming and livlihoods were lost. Thanks to a lot of aid both physical and monetary, the island is coming back to life. Even when we visited 4 years later, you could still see many reminders of the destruction. The Phi Phi Princess along with many other buildings were still under construction and a lot of restaurants and business had signs thanking specific donors for helping them put their businesses back together. At the summit of the mountain there is a photo of the view taken a few days after the tsunami, and it is surreal to see the piles of debris and destruction in what seems to be such a peaceful setting.
After hiking down the hill Tiffany and I decided it was well past time to eat (all we had was McDonalds 14 hrs earlier!) and got a meal at a cute little place built on a platform in the tree canopy. Hellooo mosquitoes! The food was ok, the portions were small, and we were clearly not satisfied. So clearly, we went to a different restaurant and had second dinner. No one would have guessed it was our second meal in an hour, we ate like champs which makes people here really like you! We practically became regulars at Garlic 1992 (clearly the name of the restaurant) over the next few days. The man who seemed to run the place told us to come back tomorrow and go on the boat tour of the surrounding islands, he would offer us the best price and the best value. Turns out he was telling the truth!
We showed up in the morning for breakfast and ran into Loon who decided to come with us on our boat tour. A couple sitting next to us overheard us and decided they would come too. As it turns out, Jodi and Ulysses are from San Francisco! Such a small world.

We were taken through the back streets (ie people's decks and yards) to the longtail boats. We got masks and fins for snorkling, and waited another hour or so to take off. Our driver and guide went by the name Superman. His friend was called Spidermonkey and they would yell at each other whenever their boats got close. While we were waiting to leave Superman would come over, look at us, and say "5 minutes? Every one happy happy?" and then disappear again. We watched as he filled the fuel tank from a barrel he kept under the front plank "seat", using a plastic hose and the classic- stick one end in the fuel barrel, suck on the other and stick it in the boat before it gets in your mouth. I cracked a joke about how I was glad it was a non-smoking section, but then he proceeded to light a cigarette. I kid you not.
We finally got on our way and the beaches we saw were incredible. White sand, turquoise water, monkeys (scary!)... you really couldn't ask for more! Our last stop of the day was the island where the film The Beach was shot with Leonardo DiCaprio. Boats couldn't come onto the actual beach, so we swam from the boat to a rocky outcrop, grabbed onto some ropes to pull ourselves up over the sharpest rocks ever, walked across the island, and finally made it to the beach. It was an effort, but it was outstanding.

We also saw the caves where swallows make their nests out of spit, and men climb rickety bamboo ladders and pick the nests which are worth a lot and used in medicines and birds' nest soup (typically in China). Saw lots of limestone cliffs and beautiful beach huts. It was pretty amazing.
We got back at dusk and the tides were out. The boat got stuck on rocks in the shallow water, so we all had to get out and pull it in then wade to shore. Tiffany and got maybe our most memorable meal. We were starving and ordered enough food for about 4 average people. The waiter didn't seem to believe us, and they had trouble fitting all the plates on our table. We proceeded to eat it all, and women from the kitchen came out to look at us and smile. When we had finished the waiter jokingly asked if we wanted dessert, and we said sure, why not? We ordered the fried bananas (and when offered the choice of chocolate sauce or honey asked for both) and when they brought the plate out there were probably 3 whole bananas on there, even though the menu indicated about half as many. I think they were testing us. Clearly we finished it all, and were well liked in that restaurant.
The night life was no less interesting. There were lots of bars and people handing out fliers for the ubiquitous "buckets", which are, well, buckets that you put a 5th of booze into, a bottle of real Thai Red Bull (it comes in a brown glass apothecary looking bottle and apparently still contains amphetamines) and a can of soda with some ice and a few straws. They are as dangerous as they sound. In addition to typical bars and dance floors, there are DJs on the beach which is pretty amazing, as well as a place that had Thai boxing every night. After real boxers fought, they were open to volunteers. The prize for volunteering was a bucket. It was amazing. Koh Phi Phi lived up to all the hype- and then some!