We’ve been on Koh Phi Phi since October 5. We took the ferry from Phuket (about an hour and a half.) We were so excited to get to the quiet solitude of the beach after almost a week in the city. Instead, we were met at the ferry with absolute CRAZINESS on the pier. Someone from our hotel was waiting for us, with a sign. He had a wagon, into which he loaded our backpacks. He walked with us to our hotel, which was about .25 miles away. We soon learned that that there are no cars and almost no motorbikes on the island, with the exception of police. There is also one guy who has a white motorbike, and we think he must be the mayor of Koh Phi Phi or something like that.
We checked into the Nice Beach Resort, which was located away from the noisy, crowded streets, on a lovely stretch of beach. It was clean and cheap and we stayed for a few days. We then moved to the Choukoa Phi Phi Lodge, which was right in the heart of the action, with shops, restaurants, bars, and tourist information booths all within a few blocks. Despite being on the main drag, our room was quiet. I would recommend this hotel. It had a nice pool, WI-FI in all the rooms (although sometimes a bit slow,) clean and spacious rooms, and it was not expensive (about $25 USD per night.) The only complaint from Kirk was that the bathroom door was a little short. Haha.
We spent our days exploring the island on foot and sampling all the various delicious Thai food. We loved the fruit shakes especially, which are so refreshing on a hot day – just fruit and ice blended. All of the tiny family-owned places were our favorites, including Tom Yam, Basil Bistro, PP Bucket Shop were among our favorites.
Koh Phi Phi is known as a party island, and one of their claims to fame is the “bucket” drink, which contains a pint of liquor of your choice and a mixer of your choice. For the truly insane, you can also add a small bottle of Thai energy drink. These are mixed together in a plastic bucket with a straw. Have fun with that. As you can imagine, the night-time party scene here is pretty nuts. Full of young backpackers from all over the world. Being the older people that we are, we preferred to watch the partiers rather than participate too much. But it did look fun!
We found an awesome place called Banana Bar, which is a Mexican food restaurant, and it has an amazing rooftop bar. They claim to have the best Mexican food in Thailand, and while that may be true, don’t expect it to be the best Mexican food you’ve ever had. Haha. Our favorite thing about this place was the nightly movie they showed on their huge outdoor projection screen TV’s. There were comfortable bean-bag lounge chairs right in front of the screen, and they served food during the movie. For the adventurous…they have 2 for 1 buckets all day and all night. And for the even more adventurous, you can feel free to partake in herbal refreshment, especially at night. The movies were mostly brand new releases, although they do show “The Beach” at least once per week. We enjoyed “Jason Bourne” and “Star Trek and Beyond.” Pro-tip: the movies start at 7:00, but if you want to enjoy the best seats in the house (the bean bag lounge chairs,) get there no later than 6:00. Those seats go fast.
One thing about Koh Phi Phi that I didn’t particularly care for was the constant onslaught of vendors hassling you to purchase their wares or services, as you walk down the street. The dive shops, massage shops, and taxi boat drivers were the worst offenders. For a few days, we acknowledged every person, saying “no thank you,” but after a while, we just ignored them. “Hello massaaaage!” and “Taxi boat!” every five seconds gets obnoxious very quickly.
One thing I usually love about islands, and Phi Phi is no exception, is that there are cats everywhere. Hardly anyone has dogs, but everyone has cats, and they all roam around freely. They are all well-cared-for and friendly and will approach strangers for pets and attention. This was a source of comfort for me, because while we were on Koh Phi Phi, we received a terrible phone call that our sweet 9 year-old kitty, Cheeto, had passed away that day. We were so devastated that he died while we were gone, but thankful that he was in the care of loved ones at the time.
Up until now, we have posted only one blog entry per location, but since we will be on Koh Phi Phi for a total of 14 days, I think it merits two posts. More exciting excursions and travel tips for Koh Phi Phi coming very soon!
