Phi Phi, Pee Pee, PP, etc.

Our voyage to Ko Phi Phi wasn't exactly smooth sailing. We knew that we had a few transfers to make before boarding the ferry that actually went to Ko Phi Phi, but we weren't exactly sure where they were or when they left! All we knew is that the ferry took off at 1:30pm. So we went on our long tail boat ride and he dropped us off at a pier on the mainland in Krabi Town. He says, "Wait here," so we did. And we waited. And we waited. We started to get a little concerned. We didn't know if our next ride was going to be a boat or a car. Luckily, there were some very nice boatmen with cell phones and somehow they knew where we were going and who to call. So, they got some guy on the phone, and he tried to communicate something to us in his broken English(it's much easier to decipher in person), but that just left us more confused and worried about missing the big ferry. He did promise that the ferry would wait on us, but we thought "why would a big ferry wait on two people who already paid for tickets?" At about 1:30pm, a van finally pulled up to take us to the other pier to catch the ferry, and we discovered that we are not the only ones that were late! There were about ten others in the taxi van that were trying to catch the same boat.The ferry did end up waiting on us and we made it to Ko Phi Phi without further delay!











There are no roads on the island of Ko Phi Phi, which means that there are no cars and we only saw a total of two motorbikes. This makes sense, since the only path on the island is a five minute walk from one end to the other. One may think that this would result in a really nice pedestrian-only environment, but no, you can't forget about the bicycles! Let me paint you a picture. Imagine you are walking down the street, which is about as wide as a standard car, and there are people everywhere. Then, a local person comes barreling down the road on his pink bike with a 6 month old baby sitting in the basket attached to the front, ringing their bell, and running into you and everyone else as if they don't see anyone. Another scene, same road but with only you walking down the street. Enter local on bike with the whole road at his disposal, but where does he choose to ride? Directly into the tourist, of course. It's getting quite annoying and the next time someone tries to run me over I cannot be held accountable for my actions.





Beside the bicycles, I think that Ko Phi Phi has been one of our favorite destinations so far. The beach is fantastic and there are plenty of people, but it's not too crowded. And, of course, the views are great. You can rent a beach chair with an umbrella and laze around all day reading or swimming while hearing a steady stream of music like Jack Johnson drift unobtrusively out of the beachside cafes.





In addition to the beach, we have found not only the best hamburger in Southeast Asia, but also the best pizza, too! It's true.

And of course there is the night life! On our first full day on Phi Phi, we ran into some girls that we met back on the slow boat to Laos, as well as a couple more people we met in Ko Samui. The first night was a wild one that began with us all watching an amazing fire show on the beach. Next stop was the Muay Thai arena, where drunk tourists compete to earn 'free' buckets of booze. Free in terms of money, but they usually take a pretty good beating, as you see many of them bandaged up limping around the beach the following day. After these thoroughly entertaining matches, and a few buckets for ourselves, we made our way to the infamous beach parties that run well into the morning hours.

The next day can be summed up in three words... sleep, eat, repeat.





As with most places, there are boat tours to neighboring islands. We went on one that took us all around Ko Phi Phi Leh(we were staying on Ko Phi Phi Don), which contains the famous beach from the movie, "The Beach." This tour was on a long boat and the water was a bit choppy for my taste, but the reward was great. We got to see the most amazing, clearest blue water that we have ever seen. The bottom of the sea floor was all sandy making the water look even more amazing and the snorkeling was excellent as well. So many fishes and Julian even found Mattie a starfish!
























Included in our trip was a stop at Maya Beach, where they filmed the movie, The Beach,





























































and Monkey Island where there are monkeys galore living right on the beach!

















We spent one more day relaxing on the beach before moving on to Ko Lanta. Today on the beach, we were relaxing in our chairs and the guy who rents out the chair's cell phone starts ringing. What was his ring tone you ask? Why, it was Girlfriend by Avril Lavigne! I just thought that was amusing.

Before we left for Ko Lanta, we went up to the view point on the top of yet another mountain to see the splendor. Then hike wasn't as treacherous as past hikes but the view was just as cool.

















- Mattie and Julian

Location:Ko Phi Phi