Our time on Koh Phi Phi Don

The latter part of our trip was to be spent on the popular island of Koh Phi Phi Don. It was hard to leave the serenity of Coral Island, but we were looking forward to a more "upbeat" atmosphere if you will.

We made our way back to Phuket and took a 48 km ferry ride to the island. Ferry safety regulations aren't up to par here (they're loaded with people....well over its allowed capacity) and once Jamie and I got on the ferry we made our way to the top instead of taking shelter in the air conditioned cabin. We heard that it's best to stay in an open area in case something happens to the boat as the cabin only has one door. It was hot up top, but we were lucky enough to get a ferry with a covered deck. Ironically after Jamie and I had discussed our reasoning to staying up top...this is what we saw on the way to our destination.

Thankfully everyone on board managed to escape and no one was injured...that is what we overheard anyway.

Once we arrived at the pier, we walked around trying to find a place to stay. Rich and Ali stayed at Phi Phi Charlie's, so we decided to check in there. We instantly hit the beach and were a bit overwhelmed because it was very different than what we had been used to (we were spoiled).

The landscape was awesome...there were loads of tourists relaxing/drinking/swimming...there was music in the background....food kiosks everywhere and TONS of longboats. Here are some random pictures -- to view the rest check out our Flickr site.

One HUGE difference we found was in the price of food. Because there was only 1 place to eat on Coral Island...they took advantage of that by charging quite a bit. It was all absolutely delicious, but not as cheap as we had anticipated. There are tons of places to choose from in Phi Phi ...Italian/Western etc, but Jamie and I decided to stick with the local cuisine and chose a place in the "food corner" to eat. We stopped at this one place because the sign in front caught our attention -- try clicking on the picture to view it so you can read what it says. Lunch was delicious and the fruit shakes were to die for and the best thing was our total bill cost almost the same as one entree did on Coral Island! It was so good we went back for dinner...then the next day for breakfast/lunch/dinner...then the next day etc.

We also continued to eat there frequently because of the owner Samee (or Mr. Soda as the Thais call him). He is such a kind, humble man who is so unbelievably thankful that he is alive today. He was trapped under about 3 meters of rubble from the tsunami and it is obvious that he cherishes life and is genuinely grateful for all the people who eat at his restaurant. Him and this perfectly mannered teenage boy named Nop work 14 hour days in the blistering heat and serve everyone with the biggest smiles ever! They do this for less then $20 each a day!!

Samee makes the best fruit shakes ever! We tried mango/coconut/watermelon/pineapple and banana. There were all good, but the banana ones took the cake! We had about 3 a day!

Samee's place is covered with signs from people showing their gratitude. Practically all of them are written in a different language...ours stands out because it is the only English one.

We love this kid! His english is all right...by the end of our trip we were cracking jokes with him. We will remember him and Samee for a very, very long time!!!!

One of the most memorable things I saw was in front of Samee's restaurant. He has a statue of a Buddha that is missing it's arms. I didn't know what the significance of it was, so after we got to know him better I asked him. After he was rescued he had found this statue...one arm was missing while the other was dangling by some nails. He grew fond on the statue and began asking everyone he knew on the island if it belonged to them. Nobody had claimed it as their own so he decided to keep it. He has no idea where it came from, but the tsunami had somehow brought it to him...perfectly intact except for its arms. Just hearing that story and seeing how the effects of the tsunami are still lingering on the island......I don't know....it really tugged at the heart strings!

You can see in these photos how slowly things are starting to be rebuilt.

View from our room at Phi Phi Charlie's.

If you want you can stay in one of these huts. Pretty cool but I CANNOT imagine how hot they would be inside!!

The next day we rented a kayak and hit the waters of the Andaman Sea. We could see a few mini islands and rock-faces from the beach, so we thought it would be great to check them out up close. We also rented some snorkeling gear with the hopes of finding a secluded area to swim in and see some more cool fish. Thanks to our trusty waterproof camera bag (a.k.a - the 500) we were able to take some pictures.

The first place we went to was "Monkey Beach". As the name states, it is a gorgeous beach inhabited by tons of monkeys. It was neat to see them and even a baby, but it is really unfortunate how domesticated the animals have become and how obvious it is that they rely on humans for food.

We were out on the water for about 3.5 hours and got in just as the thunder started and the black clouds rolled in. Overall it was an amazing experience to kayak on & snorkel in the crystal clear water next to several beautiful, rugged cliffs.

Day 3 we decided to check out the swimming pool and give our bodies a break from the salty ocean water. The infinity pool had an amazing view, great drinks, and awesome music. We spent the majority of the day taking everything in and sulking in the fact that it was our last day in Thailand :( After watching most of the sun go down, we were informed that the pool had closed. We found it odd that they would close it down before the sun had actually gone down. Oh well....it was great while it lasted.

We went back to the hotel...washed up...and made our way to Samee's for our last authentic Thai meal :(

The next day we woke up at 7am and caught the 8:30 ferry back to Phuket. From the pier we took a cab to Phuket town. We dropped our bags off at a backpackers hostel because frankly we had 3 hours to kill and it was too hot to lug them around. We found this part of Phuket to be the older part of town. The shopping and variety wasn't as extensive as other parts we had seen...so that was a bit disappointing for me because I had held off on buying a couple of things in Phi Phi figuring I could buy them in town. Oh well!!

We got to the airport 2 hours early to find that our flight had been delayed an hour. We were bagged from the heat and eagerly awaited our flight. The one hour flight took us to Bangkok. The 2 hour layover flew by....thanks to my shot glass mission...HAHAHAHA...and we discovered that the Bangkok airport is gorgeous!!

The flight back to Osaka was half full, so we practically had the back of the plane to ourselves. That was great because we were able to take up 3 seats each, lay out and sleep!!! After almost 24 hours of non-stop go go go....it didn't take us too long to crash. That was nice because it made the ride home fly by. As soon as we got off the plane...I saw the cell-phones being pulled out and the texting start!

All in all this trip was beyond amazing! My theory has always been...this world is a massive place...there are so many countries to explore...why go to the same one twice? We absolutely fell in love with Thailand and would go back in a heartbeat!!! The beach part of it was wonderful, but next time we would really like to check out the culture of Bangkok then head over to the east side and check out more beaches (i.e. - Koh Samui).

So.....to Thailand....THANK-YOU and bye for now!

To view all 200+ pictures we took on our trip...click here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/33808451@N00/sets/72157600175441323/