Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Phi Phi is 'the dream'. It's most certainly 'our dream' anyway. Who would have thought that such a tiny island that withstands the brutal forces of nature could be so appealing? If you've ever spoken to me about travelling, I will have no doubt brought up Phi Phi. I loved the place when I first arrived, even more the second time, and this time was overwhelming. Only a couple of weeks ago a fire struck the town centre and a good number of homes and businesses were destroyed. While the world is away at war, PP lies in all its glory and tranquility, waiting peacefully for the next blow Mother Nature will deliver, so that it can rebuild again. As a friend said to me, 'First the water, then fire, we just wait for the wind.' This island is beautiful. Beautiful is an understatement. Not just with physical attraction. although who would deny it of its egg-timer shaped land with giant soaring limestone cliffs jutting out into the clear waters bearing every shade of blue and green possible. White, sandy beaches with the odd long-tailed boat dragged up againt the rocks. The islands residents and locals are constantly smiling even though, chances are at some point, their lives would have been wrecked. So anyway, what the hell did we do on this island of luxury?
We practically ran off the boat, so excited to be in the presence of such beauty, and I don't think I have ever walked so fast to find our accommodation. Hols called me Apollo Els, as when we arrived at the horse-shoe shaped huts, circling a swimming-pool, I don't think I have ever sweated so much! The place where we were staying was the place I stayed in before, only good God, had it changed! Instead of walking over rubble to get to our room, paths were lined out, artistic wooden carvings to make chairs were strategically dotted around the grassy area that had once been dried up earth. Our first night was crazy. Introducing Hols to the legendary place that is Hippies Bar, and so convieniently located just infront of our hut right on the beach, we sat and melted at the singer, Amir's voice who sang Eric Clapton, Damien Rice and various other emotional-f***wit songs. After a few buckets, the night got going and the fire show was indeed mesmorising. Unfortunately, our dancing was, not surprisingly, shockingly embarrassing. The fire dancing stage magically turned in to our very own personal dance floor and suddenly, our alter-egos burst out- Hols becoming the one and only Shakira, and myself, Beyonce.
The next morning was a bit nasty, especially as we bumped in to a girl that happened to video our lunatic dancing, and then made us both watch, cringing, at our drunken antics. Oh well! Life goes on! We spent a week in PP, mostly lazy days and lazy nights. One lazy evening in particular, whereby Hols and I thought it would be a fantastic idea to play frisbee in the dark and lost the frisbee to a tree. Our lazy days were spent mucking about in the pool and playing poi with a couple of friends we met along the way, mostly including the bar staff whom became very good friends! Our neighbours included Polly (an Irish girl) and Adam (her Thai boyfriend) who both worked at Hippies, and Sophie and Jacob (an Ozzy couple who were acrobats and were doing an acrobat set at Hippies for a month.) We were accepted in with the Hippies staff immediately; Amir, who is the singer and poi player and does nightly acoustic sets and introduces the fire shows as well as plays in them, became good friends with us and as well as teaching me new poi moves and letting me sing with him in the evenings, he took me on a tour of the island one afternoon and showed me all the things that were being done to it- building wise. He showed me where he ran to when the tsunami struck- a water tower on the roof of our hut. Another poi dancer, Mou (also known as Lucky) told us how he was caught in the middle of the wave and was trapped underwater for ages, hence being called Lucky. Polly was scuba-diving and said it was like a washing machine. The first time I went to the island, it was a state and was incredibly sad to see. However, this time, both Hols and I felt very moved to hear all the personal stories from people.
Another day, we got a boat trip around he island. We got to jump off our boat that had stopped in a small cove. As we surfaced, we just cracked up laughing- it was so surreal; the water we were in was so clear and cool, the sheer rocks that formed around us framed the bluest skies with whisps of cloud. We couldn't stop laughing for some insane reason! We also visited Maya Bay (where 'The Beach' was flimed), and a couple of snorkel places. When we arrived back, we both got tattoos sponteanously! While Hols was having hers done, I went and painted and decorated banners for the party that Hippies was having that evening. Cheap day, actually, minus the boat trip and our tattoos- Mou gave us a free lunch, and Amir and some others gave us a giant plate full of freshly caught shrimp! That night was a heavy one- great fun though! We will both miss this place. But onward to Phuket and Ko PhaNgan! Whoohoo!
- comments