Go Pee Pee
Monday, September 27, 2010
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Beach week – A week where Odyssey lets us loose in Thailand to relax/swim/dive/meet family/do what you want wherever you want. To the east: Koh Tao, Koh Phang Nga and Ko Samui were host to some Odysseyers but we opted for the quieter west coast Island of Koh Phi Phi with Neill and Kylie.
We left Bangkok on an overnight bus which dropped everyone off at their hop off points to their chosen Island. Krabi was our hop off point which didn’t look like it had too much to offer, but we didn’t get a chance to find out as we quickly hopped onto our ferry to Koh Phi Phi.
Koh Phi Phi was one of the many unlucky islands that was struck by the Asian Tsunami in 2004. The island has a narrow isthmus between two bays; Ton Sai and Loh Dalum which were devastated in the disaster but little evidence of the Tsunami can be seen today. Bamboo huts, buildings and boats which were washed away have been replaced and the centre of Ton Sai (the main village) is once again a bustling little area with busy restaurants, dive schools and guesthouses all around. A memorial park has been created for the 4000+ locals and tourists killed in the disaster and a small Tsunami village has been created high into the hills to house those left with nothing after the devastating freak of nature. They have also toughened up on communication and evacuation sites all over the island. It’s quite strange seeing Tsunami evacuation routes and designated safe buildings to flee to in the case of a tsunami, but its reassuring to see.
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Our plans were to stay for a few days then head to Phuket then Ao Phang Nga National Park before catching up with the group in Khao Sok National Park but as soon as we arrived we decided this was the place for us and a few days turned into the whole week. We had booked Bamboo Bungalows for the first night but didn’t last long there as the rooms felt like saunas and for half the price we could have something better. A piece of advice if you travel to Koh Phi Phi, wait to book your accommodation when you get there, the internet is not cheaper and you can hunt around for good deals for all budgets! Also when you arrive you get charged 20baht for “pavement tax” so be prepared.
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There are tour operators and diving schools all around offering the best deal for one trip or another. On our first day we opted to do a day trip around Koh Phi Phi Ley, an uninhabited island off the South West coast of Koh Phi Phi Don (our island). The trip took us to monkey island, pirate cove, a stunning lagoon and then Maya Bay otherwise known as “The Beach” from the film “The Beach.” The beach is stunning but not quite as serene as the film due to the masses of boats and tourists. We were able to snorkel and swim at these stops and in my case get injured at nearly every stop. A cut here and a bruise there before getting stung by a jelly fish – no Taylor didn’t pee on me – but I looked like the walking wounded by the end of the day surprisingly didn’t get sunburnt (it’s a miracle)! After lunch we headed for Bamboo and Mosquito Islands for some more snorkelling before heading back to the pier. We hoped to watch sunset from the boat but the weather wasn’t on our side.A short sweaty hike up to the viewpoint the next day was well worth it, the view was stunning! We later moved hotel rooms and our luck was in as our new room overlooked the whole island - spectacular so we sat and watched the sun go down from their with some Sky Wine Coolers and Chang Beers – This is the life!
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Kylie and Neill left the next day for Railay beach back on the mainland. We stayed put and went out in search for accommodation with a swimming pool. We finally settled in a resort just off the main stretch of town for a bit of luxury, our first upgrade of the trip £14 per night for a bungalow with AC, a swimming pool and all you can eat brekkie, can’t really say no!
We did very little the rest of the week, walked to other beaches, swam in the sea, swam in the pool, read some books, ate some amazing seafood and watched time fly by it was great just to stop for the week. Tomorrow we head for Khao Sok to meet back with the group. This national park is an Odyssey first so we’re really looking forward to it also need some exercise after our lazy week by the sea!
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