It was time to get off mainland and head to an island where Koh Phi Phi was the first stop. Throughout Ao Nang we'd heard mixed opinions about Phi Phi as a place to spend your time, but in Thailand (and in life, I suppose) its better to find out for yourself - you may end up surprising yourself.
On the boat over to Phi Phi, we'd heard there are no taxis there and its true! Phi Phi is Thailand's version of Venice, the streets are too narrow for cars and there is a clear tourist presence. The main problem, however, is that Phi Phi is dirty, littered, smells of sewage and doesn't have charm comparable to Venice. By the end of our stay here, I couldn't wait to get off the island. But alike all those mixed opinions we'd heard in Ao Nang, our group had mixed opinions of their own, so there must be something worth visiting Phi Phi for. I guess the fire shows at the beach bars are worth visiting for.
Despite the place itself, it is without question that we'd had our best day of the trip so far - shocking! And it all came to life when we went on an island tour one day. It consisted of a boat trip to Maya Bay (where 'The Beach' was filmed), Monkey beach (with real monkeys on it), and Bamboo island (there was bamboo... apparently). Most of Maya bay is full of tourists, and because me, Josh and Lucy are afraid of the sun, we spent our time spying on unsuspecting tourists where we saw a Japanese family wearing identical outfits - pretty strange to say the least! Next up was a bit of snorkelling which was incredible, an abundance of fish in the clearest waters. I'm convinced I saw the entire cast of finding memo down there. Josh definitely saw an eel, much to Meg's disgust.
Monkey beach had some cheekiest, fattest and most greedy monkeys you'd ever come across. Just don't take bananas because you're asking to be ambushed. But nonetheless it was great to be so close up, not an everyday occurrence in England. Afterwards we kayaked from the boat to Bamboo Island, bit more snorkelling to see some coral and some failed attempts at body boarding. On the way back, we kayaked back to the boat but due to the choppy sea and pull of the tide, myself and josh tactically battled our way through the waves and then let the tide pull us over to our boat. The girls, however, are convinced to this day that me and josh were heading to the wrong boat before realising that ours was further over. Sorry girls, it was just ingenious navigation :p once on the boat we headed back with our tour guide called Rambo, who confessed he'd learnt English by listening to Bob Marley songs.... yeah that certainly explained a lot!
Anyhow, after some sing-alongs on the boat, Rambo invited us and a few other people out for dinner that evening. Having had such a good day so far we couldn't refuse. Whilst at the restaurant, food started coming out in 15 minute internals - the true Thai way. Rambo kindly offered us some of his garlic bread starter, however, he soon took it upon himself to offer out Lucy's onion rings to everyone on the table without her consent. Soon they were snatched up by the hungry Polish dinner buddies and lucy was left to go hungry - poor Lucy. We had a good laugh at her expense though! And as the main courses were coming out, the Polish were at it again. Finishing off dinner plates thick and fast, but it was halfway through their meals that they realised they were all eating each other's food. No problem, they ordered more dishes and yep, you guessed it, they managed to eat the wrong dishes again. It was funny to say the least! Soon realising this night was turning into a circus, we made a dash for it. We'd simply had enough entertainment for one day.
After 5 nights on Koh Phi Phi it was time to escape the smog and head somewhere a little more scenic.
Some travel advice:
Go to Phi Phi if you like booze, mediocre beaches and dirt. And if you do go, do the boat trip - it is incredible!
Avoid Rambo if you can! He's sings the wrong lyrics in songs, steals your food and stalks you around the island. His name should have said it all!
Stay at Phi Phi dreams, the rooms are very nice and you can walk to the bars and mediocre beaches very easily from there.
Ayden
