Koh Lanta to Koh Phi Phi Thailand - Day 3

I think I actually was awake before the rooster today, but it didn’t stop him from crowing…

Breakfast was the same, in front of an empty beach, listening to the sound of waves gently rolling onto shore, being served breakfast by the same courteous, friendly Thai woman and so happy to be surrounded by great company.

We hurried to get our bags and wait for the taxi to take us to the pier so we could catch our 8 AM ferry to Koh Phi Phi. The taxi arrived almost a half hour late, making us worry we’d miss our chance to see the place where ‘The Beach’ was filmed. The ‘taxi’ was also not a typical designated taxi or driver but rather a truck where we sat in the bed of the truck with our luggage and the guy looked like a local friend of theirs who was doing them a favor by taking us. Nevertheless, it was thrilling as we drove across the island, slightly fearing we might fall out (the bed of the truck was almost as high as the rails/ bedside). It was the first time we’d seen the island really since when we arrived it was dark out and the following day we never went the opposite direction. We were surprised to see how desolate the island was. Not long after we were in the truck, we stopped to pick up more tourists and then more and then more until we were full- back packs were resting on everyone’s laps and people were holding onto the bags since there was nothing else to hold onto. Two of the people we picked up were from Spain which immediately caught my attention. Of course I tried to hold a conversation with them in Spanish but Chinese words kept slipping out and trying to think of easy Spanish words that I would normally not have to think twice about, took me too long to think of or rather lost their attention.

Tracy was fearing this boat ride since we first heard we’d need to take one- She and Lizz both get sea sick and Tracy especially didn’t fare too well when we went on a snorkeling trip in Costa Rica. She stayed put inside while Lizz and I sat up on the bow of the boat, trying to catch our stomachs as the boat dropped after each wave. I loved it ☺ Towards the end of the trip, Lizz got quiet and I knew the roughness of the sea was starting to affect her. However, not too long after the waters became calm as we were approaching the island and the wind was blocked by the islands steep cliffs. Suddenly we were surrounded by turquoise waters, and then aquamarine and then cyan. It was nothing short of striking to see the multitude of blue waters.

When we docked, we walked the short distance to our ‘nice’ hotel for the trip which was actually a narrow isthmus. It was here on this exclusive strait that the 2005 tsunami wrecked the most havoc. Although Thais claim the island looks the same, they also state it certainly doesn’t cost the same due to the demand of building sturdier hotels instead of ‘wash-away’ bungalows. Nevertheless, for the girls, who are on the US dollar, this island is still one of the cheapest paradises in the world.

Long tail boats lined the aqua shore as we walked the few yards of sand to our hotel. Upon seeing our view after we walked into our room, the only instinct we had was to drop our bags and immediately run to our balcony and take it what was before us. Throughout the whole time we were on Koh Phi Phi we never did get over our vivid seascape.

Eventually we left our balcony in order to explore the tiny island, try one the infamous fruit smoothies, and hire a ‘long tail’ boat to take us to Koh Phi Phi Leh- our island’s uninhabited sister, also where the movie, ‘The Beach’ was filmed with Leonardo DiCaprio.

Our island was very small- we meandered through the maze of paths that was surrounded with restaurants, souvenir shops, bars, hotels and more scuba diving shops than I’ve ever seen. We grabbed our smoothies, ate some street food and were in search of a good price for our day trip to the other island. In doing this, we had to bargain. Hard. We found a driver who offered us a good price for three hours and included snorkeling.

It was one of the best days yet in Asia. We rode to the other island, saw the Viking Cave (an area where bamboo scaffolding reaches the rood to collect nests that are built up on the cliffs-apparently these nests are really, really expensive). We also visited ‘Monkey Island’ where we were surrounded by wild monkeys on the narrow strip of the shore. Unfortunately, we were so disappointed to see baby monkey’s picking up people’s trash, such as coke cans and drinking from them. Then we went to a lagoon where there were only several other boats and just spent time trying to get the perfect ‘jump’ picture and swam around. Following the lagoon, the driver took us to an area that had great coral reefs where we snorkeled for a while. After, we made our way to Ao Maya, which was where the setting of Leo’s movie was held. It was overwhelming just how impressive such a place could be. We felt so lucky to have gone in the low season. In most of our pictures there wasn’t ever another person in our way or on the beach. It was like we had found this isolated beach ourselves. Boats aren’t allowed to enter the small bay so we had to do some extreme walking on rocks while the waves pushed us forward and climb over a little cliff to get there. It was a fantastic day- one in which I got very, very burned but c’est la vie. At least the Chinese appreciate my fair skin. Lizz, on the other hand was so afraid they would think she was ‘country folk’ since she’s naturally so dark ☺

We luckily had great timing when we decided to walk to dinner. Immediately after we entered, a mini monsoon began, which as a result, the employees pulled down their hurricane shutters and suddenly it felt like we were trapped in. The food in Thailand was exceptional. Lizz and I drank a Thai Tea almost every chance we could- It was a nice change from Green Tea all the time.

Another early night and I’m sure an early morning awaits…