We arrived at Koh Phi Phi via ferry on Sunday 11/30. Again it was still cloudy, but it's easy to look past a little gray when you're surrounded by such beauty. This place is amazing - bright white sandy beaches, high limestone cliffs, and hardly any motor vehicles! After weeks of dodging motor bikes and trucks, it's a nice change to be on an island you can navigate by foot. There's a very young vibe to this place, probably partially due to that fact that half of the island had to be rebuilt after the tsunami. At night the street bars and beach clubs are packed with young travelers (tons of Swedes).
We're staying in bamboo bungalows situated on the hillside above town. Again limited water and no warm showers, but at least we get a good breeze coming off of the bay.
We spent our first day wandering the island and checking out the different dive shops. Sebastian connected with some locals via Couchsurfing.com so we stopped by their shop for a quick visit. They've been a great help, pointing out good restaurants, hikes, and discounted kayak rentals. We met them out last night and bounced around some of their favorite bars. Within the span of a couple hours, we managed to watch a rock cover band, bad Muay Thai boxing (including tourists trying their hand), and danced on the beach ("Ibiza" style). It was certainly an interesting Sunday night.
Today we jumped on a long boat and toured around the islands. Phi Phi Lai is an amazing site. We saw the famous Maya Bay where Leonardo De"Crap"rio stared in The Beach. It's as beautiful as the movie makes it out to be, but it's completely overrun with tourists. I was more impressed with Pi Leh Bay, but it didn't have a beach for us to stop at. We snorkeled twice and saw an eel and a sea snake. The coral and fish weren't amazing, but I kind of expected that with such rough seas and high traffic.
Tomorrow we go diving with Mosquito Divers (Sebastian's Swedish friend). I'm a little nervous after my performance in the certification dives in Puget Sound. Hopefully I can get relaxed and enjoy the two dives. Wish me luck.
