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Day 74 9th feb
We reluctantly get out of bed.... It's 06.50 and if we've had an hours sleep I'd be surprised..... There's absolutely no doubt about it.... Ko Phi Phi certainly is a party island.........
We are scheduled to meet at the dive companies shop that's located on the beach.... It's a different shop from where we booked the day but find it with ease... We are there in good time so head off to a local shop for a breakfast coffee and croissant.....
The dive company is made up entirely of western employees which I'm happy about... The Thais do seem to like living life on the edge....
We board the boat from the pier and head out to a smaller island a couple of miles off the coast.... It's an island called Ko Phi Phi Le. This island is uninhabited and has a striking similarity in shape to Ko Phi Phi only it's about half the size at most.....
The boat drops anchor within a natural bay with a lovely sand beach in the centre and vertical cliff faces either side.... It's called Maya Bay and its a common dive spot because its so sheltered, and because it's the beach that " The Beach" was filmed on...
We run though a series of hand communications for when we are in the water and have ample time to get familiar with our own dive equipment before getting into the sea.... We are separated into groups of four and each group of four has one guild.... Shiree has use of the snorkelling gear and jumps straight in and we get fitted out in are scuba gear and enter the water too.... It's pretty heavy stuff when your on the boat, but once in the water we inflate floating jackets that hold us at the surface without having to do any work.
Once we are all in the water we individually run through a few under water tests with the guild... These involve removing the mouthpiece and throwing it over your shoulder, then showing you can retrieve it, clear it of water and not drown in the process..... Needless to say we all passed this so as a group we all drop down following the guilds lead.
Clearing your ears of air can be a tricky process but once you get the knack it's easy...
Within a couple of minutes we spot a large turtle that's not bothered by our presents at all... We stay under for around 40 mins whilst loosely following the cliff side.... There's a multitude of different fish... Some are almost transparent whilst others display so much colour they'd put a rainbow to shame... There colouring swirls across there body creating the most impressive patterns, whilst others are just bright blue, or bright yellow....it's like swimming inside an aquarium....
We surface for lunch on the boat and relax spend an hour jumping off the top desk or snorkelling before lifting the anchor and heading to a second dive sight thats located out of the bay... Shiree's in the water first and paddles away whilst we clamber around on deck with all our equipment... She's only been in the water 30 seconds when I hear her shouting back.... Shark ! Shark ! She's spotted a shark... But doesn't seem in the slightest bit concerned and floats off for a second look..... That girls mental....
We jump in and follow the guild down again and it's not long before we have also seen shark..... Lots of them... There called a Blacktip Reef shark and are around 6 feet long... We spot a puffer fish, barracuda and a cornetfish along with many colourful clown fish....
We drop down to around 10 meters at our deepest point... The water temperature changes without an apparent cause... It's not depth related.... You can stay at the same depth and notice large swings in the water temperature around you.... It's been a really good experience and I've thoroughly enjoyed both dives.... Once back on the boat and up on the top deck the heat of the sun quickly dries you off.... The boat deck is so hot you have to poor water on it to cool an area to place your feet....
It's maybe an hours boat trip back to the harbour pier in Ko Phi Phi and although it's hot, it's nice to be up on deck watching all the other boats....
Once back on dry land with the formalities completed at the dive shop we head back to the hotel room for a shower and just spend a few hours bathed under the air conditioning machine.....
We do venture out again around 18.00 as the temperature drops and make our way back to the pier side beach.... The guy we booked the dive with recommend a small beach to the side of the pier and after a short walk we find ourselves there.... It's a quieter area and is really nice and chilled out by comparison to the rest of the town... We grab a drink and claim two deck chairs on the beach for an hour or so, and send a few pictures to people back home.... Mainly because we know the weathers awfully wet at home.... And it's awfully hot here.....
Having sat out on the beach till the light had gone we turned our attention to food and found amoungst the madness of the tightly packed pavement lanes an area that had been fenced off earlier in the day when we had passed....
It's call the Ko Phi Phi arcade... But I'd liken it more to a sanctuary..... It was lovely..... There is a large tree in the centre that has a type of climbing weed all over it.... The climbing weed is fine and hangs from all over the tree..... It makes the tree look like its got hair.... Specially as it's all cut just above head hight creating a flat bottom....
The trees surrounded by tables and chairs and then the surrounding buildings that are all built into a large triangle.... The entrance is one corner of the triangle and is easily missed among the mayhem but now we're found it and enjoyed the food we will return...
Whilst here we receive a response from Joe... Joe had received a gloating text message picture from us and after a while we arrange to Skype them in an hours time.
From here we go back to the party beach ( not pier side ) and enjoy another great fire show whilst stood on the sand with our backs to the warm sea that laps around our feet..
Once we are back in our hotel and having made a lengthy Skype call we call it a night.... We have no real hope of getting any sleep... The party beach music is booming loud and clear... But we climb into bed, and show willing...
This time armed with ear plugs.....
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