Tongsai, Koh Phi Phi

Friday, October 23 - Kara and I leave for Ko Phi Phi - one of the most famous destinations in Thailand. Koh Phi Phi is actually made up of two islands - Koh Phi Phi Don (where everyone stays) and Ko Phi Phi Ley (where the movie "The Beach" was filmed, and is a popular day trip excursion for relaxing, snorkeling, and diving). Ko Phi Phi Ley is a national park, and one cannot stay there overnight, though many tour operators do offer "overnight" trips to Ko Phi Phi Ley, I believe you sleep on the boats, docked on the beach.

Leaving the Phuket Pier:

On the 2 hour ferry to Ko Phi Phi:

Along the way, we encountered a storm. Kara and I missed the memo about all luggage going on the lower deck. After boarding the boat, we immediately went upstairs with our rucksacks. During the storm, which lasted briefly as we passed right through, we had to shield our bags under the seats, while others took cover downstairs.

Beautiful Ko Phi Phi. Well, one of the workers on the boat approached us asking us which beach we were staying at. We have no idea. She explained to us that we will most likely find the cheap accommodations with availability on Tongsai - and that is where most people go. We asked about the other option - Long Beach. She said it is quieter and more relaxed. We opted for Long Beach. We arrive at Long Beach via a longtail boat. We scour the beach (which is quite small; easy to walk from one end to the other, if you're not dying of heat) for a place to stay. We find Paradise Resort - but they only have a deluxe room available for a price we are not willing to pay.

So 1/2 hour later, we find ourselves getting into a longtail boat taxi (the way you get around from beach to beach) to Tongsai - the main pier. Once on the pier, we are attacked by guesthouse hawkers. They have a stall set up with photos of various places to stay, rooms, books full of prices, etc. We have difficulty deciding - its already been a long day. We are unsure of how this works, and weary of the process. Many people arriving at the pier walk straight past. So we begin to walk away, but the man follows us, and leads us into one of the guesthouses. We don't like the area. We move on; we try again and again, getting more and more frustrated. We finally settle on this sweet guesthouse called White 2. We are happy.

The thing about Tongsai is the beach is really not that beautiful. It is the backpacker's haven, though. The entire inlet is chock full of market stalls, western restaurants, guesthouses, bars and clubs. If this is your idea of fun on a paradise island, then this is the place for you. While we enjoyed shopping and relaxing on the beach. It wasn't long before we decided to head to Long Beach - in 2 days. However, we had fun on Tongsai. I did an afternoon of scuba diving - 2 fun dives around Ko Phi Phi Ley. I saw 2 leopard sharks and a giant sea turtle, among droves of artistically colored fish, and moray eels.

Ko Phi Phi Ley - photograph taken from the scuba diving boat.

Just want to mention that the water really was this blue, if not more!!

Despite still getting over being sick, Kara and I had a fabulous sister time hanging out, walking through the tiny cobblestone market streets, relaxing on the beach, eating delicious seafood, and watching a spectacular fire show. These guys, at Apache Bar, swirled and flipped batons and whips on fire. They even had Fire Jump Roping and Fire Limbo: Fire Jump Roping below:

But, after 2 days, we wanted to be surrounded by the breathless beauty of the island - so packed up our stuff, hopped into a longtail boat taxi, and headed for Long Beach, Ko Phi Phi, just around the corner from Tongsai.