Koh Phi Phi

After Koh Tao the plan was to come over to some islands on the west side of Thailand, our first stop was Koh Phi Phi. We left Koh Tao at around 9pm and hopped on an overnight boat to the mainland, that was followed by  a few hours in a mini van and eventually another ferry from Krabi to Koh Phi Phi, we arrived at about 1pm. Luckily a couple of people on our ferry didn't show up or it would have been pretty cramped, in the end it was really good fun but not the best night sleep I've had!

We'd been warned off Koh Phi Phi by a couple of friends, but heard from some other people that it was incredible so we were a little unsure of what to expect - it's a really small island and it was quite busy so we ended up paying a bit more for accomodation than anywhere else so far, and the room we had was by far our worst. We met some pretty cool guys on the ferry over and ended up staying with them which was nice.

Phi Phi is split into two seperate islands - Koh Phi Phi Don and Koh Phi Phi Leh. The former is the bigger of the two and where all the accomodation for the islands is, the latter is uninhabited and part of a national park, so if you want to visit it, it's by a boat tour of the islands. Phi Phi Leh is where they filmed The Beach.

To be honest, we really weren't fans of Koh Phi Phi at all, the island was pretty run down and smelt really bad, there was rubbish everywhere (it's quite hard to figure out what is a hangover from the tsunami and what is just down to bad infrastructure), but the result was anything but pretty (Maddy caught them in the morning sweeping all the rubbish from the night before into the sea - not cool). The beaches on Phi Phi Don were the first we saw that resembled something you might find at an overvisited Spanish resort - rows upon rows of parasols and built up resorts. The town and nightlife made you feel more like you were in Magaluf than Thailand, it really wasn't what we were hoping for - everything was overpriced and there was nowhere at all to have a chilled drink or two, was all big parties with terrible music. Despite that we still had a few things we wanted to do there so we decided to stay for two nights altogether.

The following day we took our half day trip around the islands by longtail boat to see the infamous beach and some other parts of the islands. This was really good and redeemed the islands somewhat for us both. We saw some monkeys and went swimming and snorkelling in some secluded bays which were really beautiful. The beach from The Beach (Maya Bay) was really nice, but full of tourists like ourselves there to see it which slightly ruined the vibe, that aside it was great. The sand felt more like flour and the water was crystal clear - but the same can be said of most of the beaches we've been to so far. The irony wasn't lost on me that the whole point of the story of The Beach is to avoid  the kind of tourist situation that was happening in Maya Bay, still, there we were.

'The Beach'

The following morning I went diving again, I was a little unsure whether to go or not because it was relatively expensive but I really wanted to see some Sharks and had been told by my previous instructor that there was a very good chance over here (the sharks around Phi Phi are Reef Sharks and Leopard Sharks, neither of which are dangerous). I figured it might be my last chance for a while so went for it anyway. Sadly the visibility wasn't great on the morning we went but the diving was incredible anyway. The marine life here was much more diverse than in Koh Tao so I saw a lot more stuff than I did the last time. Unfortunately no Sharks, but I saw loads of Hawksbill Turtles, a White Banded Sea Snake, a Cuttlefish, loads more Blue Spotted Stingray and a few massive Eels, there were also loads more fish I don't know the names of. The Sea Snake is apparently the second most venomous snake on the planet, but it has a really small bite so it can't actually get you. The Turtles more than made up for the lack of Sharks, I was swimming around about two feet away from them which was incredible. Still hoping I might get the chance to see a Shark somewhere, apparently the diving is good in Vietnam, and possibly Cambodia, so if my budget allows then hopefully I can go again there.

After the diving we headed straight to the ferry to leave Koh Phi Phi, I ended up with mixed feelings about it. Pretty much hated Phi Phi Don where we stayed, there wasn't really anything to like about that place for me. However the boat tour and the diving showed a completely different side to it. I could see myself heading back to Phi Phi for the diving alone, especially since I went on a day where the visibility wasn't great, i'd love to go back when it was!!


For Phi Phi related tunes, this one from Moby is in the soundtrack to the film, great chillout tune. Most of Koh Phi Phi was anything but chilled out, but it seems appropriate nonetheless.