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So I think we got as far as Koh Phi Phi ....
With it being the start of the Chinese new year celebrations a lot of the islands were bombarded with travelling Chinese folk looking for a good time so we made sure to arrive on the island early to get a good place to stay.
I love the lazy ways of the Thai people. They absolutely hate walking and do everything in their power to avoid it if they can and when they do walk they drag their feet along as though they're walking to their death. They think that everyone shares this feeling and whenever you ask where somewhere is/how to get there it's always 'far.. very very far.' Phi Phi is full of these type of people, the touts in particular. When we were dropped off at the pier we were told it would take us an hour if not longer to walk across the whole island and therefore should trust them and stay in their guesthouse which is very close! In reality, it takes about 20 minutes to walk across the whole island. Luckily, we weren't so naive as to believe them and set off on our way.
We found a lot of places to be full but stumbled across the Harmony House which seemed nice enough and had fairly cheap rooms. Due to the fact we had arrived at 10am we were told we'd have to wait until 12pm as the room hadn't been cleaned etc. We didn't mind so much, it meant we had the time to indulge in a nice western breakfast of fried eggs and toast (real bread too, it was like heaven!!) After wandering the island 12pm came around so we headed back to see if we could check in. Come back later they said so off we set. 1pm comes and it's still 'come back later.' 2pm comes and we decided to stage a protest and stand in front of them until they let us in (we were pretty hot and tired by this time!) It wasn't such a nice surprise to find that the room we had booked into was located in the hostels kitchen/dining area. Luckily they had another room available, slightly more expensive of course, but it was on the third floor with a great view of the island so we decided to bite the financial bullet and take it.
Phi Phi itself is quite a beautiful island but so overrun with tourists that it's beauty has been somewhat ruined. What used to be a deserted island is now infested with foreigners selling t-shirts... so many tshirts, Irish bars and tattoo parlours but it's still a nice island to spend a few days on. Whilst we were there we went for a drink in the Rolling Stoned bar. Two guesses on who wanted to try that bar! I should have known what I was getting myself in for when Dan ordered a bucket of Whisky and coke but I went along with it all the same. Much to our amusement there was an Asian Stones tribute band playing. Two or three or four buckets later they were sounding pretty good. A young couple came to sit at the table we were at and we got chatting and it turns out that the guy is from Lincoln wheyyy! Anyone who I went to school with will remember ginger Heather and her special video that she kindly shared with the whole 6th form, the chap I met was in the same band as the guy from the video. Of course this gave us lots to talk about and we had a great time talking about all things Lincoln. As the buckets of rum flowed Dan got more and more into the Stones' band and took it upon himself to dance (if you can call it dancing) on his own in front of the whole bar. He got a little over excited and gave himself neck pains from all the 'rocking out' he did. He is just too cool.
With heavy heads we spent the next day crying and feeling sorry for ourselves. After vegetating for at least 9 hours we decided to go for an evening stroll which turned into a hike up the mountain to the view point. Hard work on a hangover but so worth it! You can see the whole island, there's a few pictures of it I think. Really nice place to chill out.
The major downside to Phi Phi is that we had two of my debit cards stolen from our room. But that's a story for later...
Whilst Phi Phi was fun, I don't think I'd want to go back nor would I reccomend it to a friend. In comparison to some of the other islands we've been to it's far too touristy and not really my type of place. Lots of booming dubstep and lads on the move.
Our next and last island (though it's not actually an island and is on the mainland of Krabi) was a bit of a wild card. When speaking with Ross and Mindy , the couple we met in the Cameron Highlands, they had reccomended we vist Tonsai. The Railay beaches which were just next door are very popular with travellers and Tonsai is very much a smaller, less visited version. Whilst the beach is on the mainland it has the feel of a deserted island. You take a long tail boat from Krabi town to get to the beach and it's absolutely beautiful. It's a really popular place for rock climbing as the cliffs are incredible. It's great at night as the beaches are full of climbers, mostly free climbing their way up the rocks. It was a shame it was so expensive to join the climbing trips as I would've loved to have a go!
One evening we discovered that when the tide was out you could climb over the rocks to visit the Railay beaches. Equally as beautiful as Tonsai but definitely more touristy, lots of big resorts and more t-shirts (will we ever escape!!?) It seems to be run by monkeys, they are everywhere. There was a cave on one of the beaches that was a bit bizzare. The legend has it that the cave houses a spirit, who (I assume) has something to do with fertility as the cave was full of giant wooden willies. Either it's the spirit of fertility or the locals of Tonsai are massive perverts. Either way it was interesting!
Next stop Bangkok ....
(Nearly up to date, I'm useless!!)
- comments
Karen Pittaway Keep it up Sara, you're doing brilliantly. Imagine if we were waiting for Daniel's contribution! He'd always be about to blog but somehow get distracted! Sorry Daniel, but you know it's true! Sounds like you're having way too much fun... I wonder if we'll ever get you back. xx
lydia McGill Just watch out for those fertility caves! x
Karen Pittaway Can I just second Lydia's comment!!!