Koh Phi Phi - Days 170-172
Day 15:
For us, Phuket was just a transit city on our way to Ko Phi Phi, the famous island tourist town known for it beautifully views and bro-y beach parties. The original plan was to go to Ko Samui for a taste of the islands but a google search of “November Weather Ko Samui” can easily change that. We landed around 10am after our 2 hour flight from Siem Reap, breeze through customs and step out into a sea of solicitation for taxi services. Ben, of course, scurries off to get a sim card as we make a decision of which company to go with. We’re heading to Rassada pier to catch a 1:30pm ferry and the ride should take about an hour, but Thai taxi drivers are pretty insane on the road and this gentlemen was no different. A couple close calls on the road, all while listening to remixes of American pop songs to the exact same drum and cymbal beat, we arrived at Rassada pier in a little under an hour. Plenty of time to get some food but options were a bit limited and there wasn’t much in the surrounding area. Bummer, I guess we’ll be wasting a meal on pier food.
While waiting for our food, we notice a boat getting boarded but don’t think much of it cause our ticket clearly says 1:30pm, which is over an hour away. Being a bit of a worrier in these situations, I go up and ask. Well, turns out it doesn’t really matter which ferry we get on and this one is going to Ko Phi Phi but leaves in 5 minutes. Sweet, we can gain an extra hour of island time so everybody shovels in their food and we board a bit early. Once boarded, a few of us opt to stand outside for the 2 hour ferry to enjoy the breeze (and for fear of sea sickness). The two-hour ride was a little cloudy but still picturesque as we floated past the classic limestone pillars jetting out of the water with flying fish jumping beside us. Soon enough, we land at Ko Phi Phi soaking in the views of a beautify cove. No wonder so many people visit this place. It really is quite breathtaking, plus it’s a walking city so there is no cars or motorbikes to contest with. Once we disembark, we pay our 20 baht a person park fee (eyeroll…) and set foot towards our beds at Voyager Hostel. Voyager is run by this very endearing host name Jui. Her english is pretty good and you can truly tell she cares about her guests. The place is a pretty minimal backpacker hostel but what more do you really need than a bed and a bathroom. Unfortunately, she only has 2 rooms and it wasn’t possible to keep our group of 7 together so the couples split to the left as Sally, Laur and I head to the right.
Besides transit, we didn’t really have much of a plan today so we settle in, put on our swimsuits and walk the 5 minutes to Loh Dalum Beach. Phi Phi water is super warm (earning the nickname Pee Pee water) and with low tide approaching, it’s super shallow. Once we soak up some sun, we decided to head into town and check it out, plus Sally was on a mission for a dry bag and saw one she liked near the pier. While walking around, I expressed some interest in a discovery scuba dive so we check out a dive shop called Barakuda while Sally gets her bag.
The rest of the evening mostly consisted of booze and food. Walking through the street, you’d see stall after stall selling cocktail buckets to-go so part of the group heads in that direction while Ben and I stick to 7-Eleven beers. Eventually, we decide to eat dinner at a place called Just Noodles, which served pretty much just that but it was probably one of the best Pad Thais I’ve had in Thailand thus far. Walking Changs lead to beach Changs lead to beach buckets and we finish our evening listening to the ocean and using our empty buckets in an attempt to build a sand castle. Needless to say, we got a little tipsy and stumbled to bed.
Day 16
Slow start today with last nights activities. In an attempt to get moving, Lauren, Sally, Ilya and I head to Ahoy Kaffine coffee shop only to find they’re closed for the morning. Weird. We eventually settle on a place call Grand PP Arcade only to find Ben and Meg walking there as well. No sign of Laur, she must be pretty hungover. After breakfast, we go to book our diving from Barakuda and head back to the hostel to find Laur just getting up. Laur and Sally don’t feel up for a discovery dive so their going to do a morning long boat tour of Maya Bay and Monkey Beach.
Plan for today is to eventually head over to Long Beach (about a 40 minute walk away) for sunset. In the meantime, we need to go to 7-Eleven and buy our plane tickets for Thai Lion Airlines. Yes, you heard that right. Apparently, Thai Lion Air doesn’t take US credit cards but they have an option where you can pay at a 7-Eleven counter in cash. I didn’t believe it either but Ben read up on it and I guess it works.
Once it’s time to roll out, we turn a dry sack into a wet sack with some ice and beer and make our way to Long Beach. Long Beach is a bit nicer than Loh Dalum Beach and we heard from Tyler, Kelsey, Jason and Katelyn that they had some good luck snorkeling over there so we hit up shark Point. No sharks, (un)fortunately, but we did see some sea anemones, clown fish, urchins and rainbow fish. Eventually the sun sets, we snap a few pics and head back to town to grab dinner at a place called Garlic 1992. Garlic was really good but the portions were a bit small so the boys decided to get a post dinner snack of Just Noodles to enjoy back at the hostel. We’re regulars now so we abbreviate it to “Just Noods.” Siting outside, enjoying our dessert pad see ew, we play some Sheepshead, plus Ilya teaches us a Russian trump game called Durak. Beginners luck, but I pull away with the victory and Ben ends up the Durak.
Day 17
It’s diving day! I’m pretty excited about the discovery dive because if all goes well, I’m hoping to get certified in time for my trip to Equador in February to hopefully do some diving in the Galapagos Islands. Goal today is to just make sure I don’t have some irrational fear of diving that I can’t overcome, so here we go!
Lauren, Ilya, Ben, Meg and I make it to the shop around 7:45am, we’re briefed and head to the boat. We’ll be broken up for our first dive as Ilya, Lauren and I go through the training exercises but we’ll all be together for the second. For the first dive, all goes well with the training and we’re allowed to go under. Visibility was a bit cloudy but there was certainly a ton a fish and it was pretty cool to come across an amore eel, a cuttlefish and even a small school of squid, but I was going a little heavy on the oxygen and my tank was down to 50 so it was time to head back to the surface. We regrouped with Ben and Meg who mentioned finding a more aggressive amore eel enjoying a morning fish snack as the boat headed to Maya Bay for lunch and some swimming.
Time for our second dive and it was sweet that we could all go together. Right away, we were able to see a couple black tip sharks swimming towards the bottom, along with another amore eel and another cuttlefish. Lauren saw a turtle too but she was a little bit behind us so the rest of us missed it. All in all, I felt I was a little bit better at air conservation and we stayed beneath the surface for a good 50 minutes. Crazy how fast time felt down there when all you’re doing is breathing and looking.
After diving, we snag some Just Noods (3rd time in Phi Phi for those counting) and head back to the hostel to catch up on Laur and Sally’s day. Some opt for beach time while others want to rest up. Eventually, we meet up with one of Ilya’s childhood friends who has been living on Ko Phi Phi for couple months now at the Banana Rooftop Bar. We hang out there for a bit but it eventually starts to rain and it doesn’t look like it’s going to let up. We stay for a few, say farewell to our fellow Wisconsinites and are eventually joined by one of our Hostel roommates, Hannah.
We’re all hungry but it’s also pouring out so we hop from full restaurant to full restaurant getting pretty wet until eventually one owner suggest we head to Papaya for dinner. It turned out to be really tasty, plus it was B.Y.O.C (Bring your own Changs). Once we ate, we headed back to the hostel to enjoy some games in the common area. We played some Monikers with Hannah from California and Ross from Edmonton, Canada and it was pretty comical to have Ross try to explain some of the specifically American things like Puxatony Phil. After Monikers, it’s off to bed. Kind of sad that our last day on the island was a bit raining but not much we could do about it.
Day 18
Adding to the sadness, today was my last full day in Thailand. :( We had a 9am ferry booked so we woke up and packed. It was pretty cute that our hostel host Jui got us all a small gift and asked to take a picture with our group before we checked out. After a quick toastie breakfast at 7-Eleven, we set off for our 2 hour ferry to Krabi, 30 minute taxi ride to the KBV airport and then an hour flight back to Bangkok.
Once we land in Bangkok, we split up to find our final beds. It’s Hotel Indigo for Sally, Laur and I which i was able to snag with my IHG employee discount but Ilya and Lauren book a place further West on Sukhumvit and Ben and Meg are even further West. Taylor’s back and is somewhere in Bangkok but is staying at a hostel by Ben and Meg. We’re arriving at what appears to be rush hour and the process of getting an Uber out of the airport was a bit rough, but the plan is to meet back up at the Hotel Indigo to enjoy the sunset at the rooftop infinity pool and then head out on the hunt for one last street food meal in Thailand. On top of all that, it’s also Sally’s birthday at midnight to we’ll need to do a celebratory drink when the new day hits.
Once we’re all together, we come up with a street food plan at the hotel and then take the BTS (public transportation) to head to Victory Monument. We read there tends to be some food stalls set up there. All in all, there wasn’t as much street food as anticipated but we all find something to eat. I end up playing the “point and pray” game. Turns out I ordered chicken feet soup with pig blood curd. Wanting to be an adventurous eater, we give it a go. The pig blood curd wasn’t too bad but I probably won’t nibble on a boiled chicken foot any time soon. Eventually, we found the restaurant recommended to us by our bell hop which offered 12 baht bowls of pork noodle soup. We ate up but I was still antsy for the street food experience we had back in Chiang Mai so we head closer to Ben and Meg’s place to eat at a local market they remembered.
Once we were sufficiently stuffed, it was time to find a bar. We ended up at a place called Backstage Cocktail bar which was pretty stylish with a bit of a speakeasy feel. Drinks were tasty but on the expensive side (especially for Thailand) but we have one, agree Meg made the best choice, cheers for Sally’s birthday and call it a night. I have to be up in 4 hours to head to the airport for my 8am flight and still need to rearrange my luggage a little bit. Once we walk back to Sukhumvit, it’s time to say farewells and get in one last hug. Wish I could stay longer.
What a blast these last three weeks have been. I honestly don’t think we could have fit anything else in, each day was full enough. All in all, it was thrilling to see Ben and Meg in this new element. I joked with them along the away that this has felt like a master class in travel and I’m thankful for the tips and tricks I’ve picked up along the way.
To my fellow readers, I apologize for getting a bit rambly at times but I hope you enjoyed the stories and got a peak into the inside jokes. Don’t worry too much about Ben and Meg (or Taylor). They’re all doing well and hopefully they got a little taste of home to carry them through the rest of their journey.
Until next time!