Ko Phi Phi Don Hotels
|
  | |  |
Phi Phi Island
Entry 67 of 88 | show all | print this entry |
|
Though you may not have visited Phi Phi Island, I'm sure you have seen pictures or video footage of it back in 2004 after the massive tsunami that hit 12 countries after the earthquake near Sumatra.
To refresh your memory, the tsunami happened on Dec. 26 and among the many countries it affected, Thailand was hit pretty hard. 5,395 were killed, 8457 injured, and 2932 went missing in Thailand alone. I remember seeing video footage on TV of an island being swept over by the wave, and we hiked up to the viewpoint where that footage came from. When we arrived on the island, we were talking to a fellow who ran a tourist shop and I asked him if he was on the island when the tsunami hit. He said he was, that he ran for the hills, and then he showed us a DVD that some English guys made who were on the island during the disaster. It was pretty intense and very raw footage of pre, during, and post-tsunami on the island. While wandering the beach there I kept trying to imagine what that would have been like to experience such a tragic event. The island has recovered quickly in terms of rebuilding all the necessary components for tourism...there is no shortage of accommodations, restaurants, taxi boats, tourist offices, or souvenir shops. We found out pretty quickly that Phi Phi is not a place you go to get away from it all in peace and quiet, but it is still a beautiful place with its clear water, sandy beaches, and limestone cliffs.
We took a ferry ride over to the island where we were met by a porter from the resort where we were staying who lugged our bags along the dirt path in a cart. What a treat that we didn't have to carry them since it was HOT outside. When I say resort, I refer to the name of the place we stayed, but our room was far from what you picture a resort room to be! There are all types of accommodation on the island, and for $31, which is actually pretty pricey in Thailand, we were in what we like to refer to as "ghetto row". It was at the back of the property and was definitely not the priority of the place. It had what we needed though, with a bed, fan, and toilet. The bathroom, however, was pretty nasty and the toilet, well, I am still not sure how we were supposed to flush it. There was a small shower hose right next to the toilet and no way so we just sprayed that into the toilet bowl and hoped that enough water pressure would get rid of it all! At this time in the trip I had not yet experienced public bathrooms yet, so the fact that we even had a toilet bowl with a seat was pretty plush. (Public bathrooms are literally a porcelain hole in the floor over which you squat....you wash it down with water from a bucket next to the toilet-hand pour of course-and you'd better have your own toilet paper because you are drip drying if not!) Don't you love all this detail? Ha!
We stayed on Phi Phi a couple of days and found a stretch of sand where we spent time reading, resting, and cooling off in the water.
It is beautifully clear and warm and super salty. The tides are very extreme too so at low tide you can walk further down the island to parts that are only accessible by boat during high tide. We loved spying on all the sand crabs going to and fro, trying to make sense of their exposure to us. They make me laugh with their sideways crawling. One of my most favorite experiences on the island, however, was the thing I have been dreaming about since we started the trip...a beach-side massage!!! And I found it, for $10 an hour. I could not have enjoyed myself more, with the sound of the water on the shore the only sound I could hear. Amazing! James is not such a keen lover of massage so he didn't indulge like I did.
We also spent one of our days there doing the boat tour to other parts of Phi Phi Don Island (the one we were on) and to Phi Phi Lei, the island nearby where there is no accommodation, only beach. This is also where they filmed "The Beach", the movie starring Leonardo DiCapprio. The actual beach featured in this movie is called Ma Ya Beach, and we could not believe how crowded it was! It was actually comical to see all the tourists and speed boats and water taxis stopped at this beach. The better parts of the day, though, were snorkeling and swimming. The reefs are pretty nice with plenty of fish to spot.
We spent our evenings near a restaurant called Carpe Diem that had seating right along the sand. It was really relaxing and considering it was a popular tourist resort, the food was reasonably priced. It is definitely a place for all types of people...the young party crowd can find its scene, families can enjoy themselves, and older folks too. One of the best parts of our time there was hiking up to the viewpoint from which you can see 2 of the bays, Ton Sai where the pier is and Loh Dalum (this is also where tsunami footage was taken as I mentioned before). On our way up there, we walked past parts of the island that seem to be less traveled by tourists, and this is where we saw a lot of the housing of the island folks. It was pretty shocking and depressing, and we struggled through conversation and thoughts about how we called our little abode the ghetto, when really it was nice compared to what we were seeing. We had 4 walls and a door and that was more then most of the places we saw. Here we are on an island that thrives off the tourists who come and spend money, drink and eat and merry themselves-which is not in itself a bad thing, don't get me wrong- while the people who serve them are living in less then ideal conditions, definite poverty. All I am saying is that knowing that I am a part of that tourist crowd, the ones who can afford to come and spend their money so easily, makes me a little uncomfortable.
Wrapping it up, we caught another ferry heading east to the town of Krabi. At this time we were just starting to learn about the incredible number of islands dotting the southern coast and gulf of Thailand, and our experience of island life was about to be changed forever...
|
|
If you like this entry, search for other entries from Thailand or try a new search. |
| |
Back to Entry - Back to Home
|
5 votes 
