Koh Phi Phi

We were off to Koh Phi Phi, or as the locals called it, PP Island for the day to explore and take photos galore of what paradise truly is here in Thailand. We set off on a trip to explore the Phi Phi Islands, and those in the nearby area for the day to see some beaches, monkeys, and gorgeous water.

First stop was Mosquito Island (which fyi is a horrible name for an island firstly because who would ever want to go to somewhere named after mosquitoes, secondly because we did not see a single mosquito... false advertising). Here we got to explore the beaches, check out the applicable tsunami evacuation routes and most importantly swim. All the turquoise waters and fluffy white sand beaches that you hear about in reference to Thailand were coming to light on this trip, and this was just the first stop.

From here, we were off to Bamboo, aptly named due to the large amount of bamboo trees at the top--they're super creative here--- for some snorkeling. As we anchored, they threw bread into the water and what followed was madness. "Piranhas of Thailand" flocked to the bread and after a few moments, they were so dense you couldn't see through, it was chaotic. Here we got to jump in and snorkel for a while, seeing some more aquatic life in its natural settings minus the bread and surveying the reefs. Unfortunately, the flocks of piranhas remained and if you stopped swimming for a period of time you became surrounded and it was terrifying...

After this experience, off to Phi Phi Don, the larger and inhabited of the two Phi Phi Islands for lunch, followed by a stop at monkey beach. Here our guide didn't allow us to get off the boat as the monkeys had a reputation for attacking humans so we got to watch as he fed them bananas from the bow of the boat. Interestingly enough, while we were there, a tourist from one of the boats that did allow them to get off and walk amongst the monkeys was chased into the water by an angry monkey that wanted more banana... Jon and I were both perfectly happy to stay and watch from the boat from that point on.

After watching monkeys attack people it was off for more snorkeling along the shores of Phi Phi Ley where they managed to withhold the bread and the fish were in much less of an attack mode...

Underwater James Bond

Phi Phi Ley

Swallow Nest Caverns

After this adventure we got a history lesson of the island formations, and passed by many caves along the way to the next beach. In particular, we passed by a cavern that was home to locals with a license to harvest swallow nest's for exportation to China. Apparently, it is quite the delicacy over there however the practice is extremely illegal without a government contract to do so.

Unfortunately, it was at this point that Mother Nature got mad at us all and decided to take away the perfect day that had been bestowed upon us thus far. It started to rain... Double unfortunately, rain on a boat hurts as denoted by Jon's face below. It was like little bullets and there truly wasn't a place to take cover on the boat so the only option left was to suck up and take it like a man which Jon did, I complained a wee bit though...

Thankfully, by some grace of Buddha, the skies did clear up just enough for us to have the opportunity to enjoy Maya Beach, more famously known as the filming location for the film 'The Beach' with Leonardo DiCaprio.

Maya Beach 

The beach would have been gorgeous if it weren't for the insane amount of tourists and guide boats at the location. Undoubtedly, the location had gained fame through its Hollywood debut and the tour trips were going to take absolute advantage of it... 

La Sala Bay

With a little exploring, we were able to come upon La Sala Bay not far from this location was about as picturesque as you could get, long-tail boats, turquoise water, cliffs... it had it all.

This was the last stop on our tour around the Phi Phi Islands sadly and it was indeed time to head home to Phuket, even sadder was the fact that the very storms that we had outrun before had now caught up to us and the weather had taken a serious turn for the worst.

Reading 'The Beach' on the
beach of 'The Beach'... oh the irony. 

The crystal clear, smooth waters that we had made the hour long journey from Phuket on had indeed developed white caps and swells during our time at Maya Beach, and the ride home was rough to say the least. Given the choice between the angry and irritable French and Indian family in the cabin or the amicable German group on the open bow, we went with the latter... The waves were intense and while the captain did an excellent job of navigating and not losing any of us in the process it was a rough ride to say the least. Furthermore, while the majority of travellers in the cabin were putting on life jackets, our first instinct was to go for the masks and snorkels to help protect our faces and allow us to both see and breath in the downpour... 

The first half of the journey involved us grabbing the sidebars with our lives, and complaining in unison as we took a hard landing from the top of a swell. Yet the second was distinctively quieter due to the swells shrinking just a bit and exhaustion undoubtedly. While during no part of the long trek home did either of us feel unsafe or unsure of the course ahead, the trip did in fact certify our journey to the Phi Phi Islands as an adventure. The islands and surrounding areas were absolutely pristine and gorgeous, and the day was going too perfectly for there not to be some sort of bump in the road, in our case a monsoon.