Koh Phi Phi

Hello again everyone. Well as expected this trip just gets better and better. The last few days really have the been the best so far and it definitely feels like this is what it's all about. Living life in search of epic beaches and lying in the sun reading books and listening to the iPod, occassionally falling into the sea to cool off.

We left on the ferry from Phuket a couple of days ago and the trip to Koh Phi Phi took about an hour and a half. The first three quarters of the trip was about as exciting as cruising out of Durban Harbour on a cloudy day with the best view being the one of seeing beers being drunk at Thirsty's, but the last section of the trip was a nice taste of what was in store for the next few days. Wherever you go around Koh Phi Phi you are greeted with these massive plunging cliff faces that drop straight down into the sea and generally all around them are awesome coral reefs. We've done a bit of snorkelling while we've been here and it's been pretty good. Perhaps not as good as the Red Sea but still very impressive and we've made some good sightings, but more about that later.

The first day we spent here we hit the beach and lay in the sun, read our books and as I mentioned earlier, occassionally fell into the sea for a cool down. The vibe has changed considerably compared to what Phuket and surrounds was like. We've basically come from some kiff beaches where a whole lot of foreign ballies wearing banana hammocks hang around, and have now moved onto a 20's and 30's type jol with more young people all doing the same thing as you than you could ever imagine. It's unbelievable how many people my age are doing this and I can't help but wonder what it must have been like to come here when the word wasn't out yet about how good Thailand is, and make no mistake it's pretty insane. It must have been crazy to be some of the fewer earlier arrivals to Thailand before the tourist industry ballooned and the Thai's realised that thay had something special on the cards. Having said that I'm surprised that it isn't all that crowded. The place is definitely cooking but it's not uncomfortable at all and everyone just gets on with their own business.

Take a look at this picture. We had just arrived and were in desperate need of a bite to eat. This is the restaurant we ate at. Pretty siff background hey???

Our second day was spent doing much the same thing but you just don't get bored of it. This time though, we managed to find a more secluded beach with less people around and it was a quieter day than the previous. On the main beach you have bars all along the main stretch and they pump all forms of music out onto the sea. Awesome if you like what's playing and helluva irritating if you don't. One of the more pleasant things though about Thailand beaches is the optional use of the bikini top for the ladies.

The next day, which was yesterday, has gone down as the best day of the trip to date. After arranging the night before that our skipper would be ready to launch his long tailed boat at 7 in the morning we arrived to him telling us (with a surprised look on his face) that he couldn't launch the boat because it was low tide. How he didn't realise that the day before at the same time it was also low tide baffles me. Actually it doesn't. One thing we're learning as we go is that Thais feel nothing to lie to you, that sounds a bit harsh but it's something that's proving to be a common and regular occurrence. They won't steal from you, and so far this has felt like the safest place on earth but, shoo, these buggers can spin you a yarn hey. Anyway after much exchanging of hard looking expressions between skipper and passengers we eventually struck a deal and set off.

The first activity of the day was watching Bren successfully pull a decent sized Baracuda out the sea while trawling our way to Maya Beach. Earlier that morning we bought some bait from this guy on the side of the street and he said he'd cook whatever we caught, for free!!! So we had fresh Baracuda for dinner last night and it cost us next to nothing (the price of the lure).

Next on the list was stopping into Maya Bay which is one of the locations that they used when filming the movie "The Beach". This place gets packed to the rafters by mid morning so we did well to be the first ones there with no one on the beach but us. Quite simply, one of the most awesome little bays I've ever seen in my entire life, but then again I'm comparing it to the only other bay I know and that's Rocky Bay on the South Coast, so it was an easy victory for Maya Bay. Well done Maya Bay!!!.

The rest of the day was spent cruising around stopping every now and again to drop in for some snorkelling. I've bought myself a set of goggles, fins and snorkel which I feel could be the investment of the trip. So far we've spotted huge jellyfish, Puffer fish, a Moray eel, a Sea Snake and then yesterday we went to a dive spot where you're guaranteed to see reef sharks. And see them we did!! The biggest one was probably about 5 foot at a guess but the buggers are so not keen to hang around that you've got to paddle like the clappers just to keep up with them. So the snorkelling has been good so far with plenty more to come.

Last night we finished off the night with a fire show, a lady-boy cabaret and some Thai boxing - as you do. The fire show was great with most of the performers being young kids with some pretty extreme talent. The cabaret show was disturbing, and the Thai boxing was unbelievable. I'm trying to upload a video I took but am having some trouble. The video is better than me describing how it was so hopefully I'll get that on soon.

We left Koh Phi Phi on the ferry this afternoon and are now camping out at Krabi. Tomorrow is mission day with some more bike riding in store. The plan is to head North and try find some cheaper accommodation. From here we'll just play it by beer and take each day as it comes. The only next thing "to do" is get to Koh Phangan for the Full Moon Party on the 2nd of Feb.

So that's all for now and to finish off I'll leave you with a few more pics. Shot guys for the comments and keep it up, good to hear from you guys from all over the place. Cheers, Baj





Laura tentatively placing an order from one of the side street vendors. This was a major break-through for poor Laura last night but she's getting braver by the day. Bless....