See Simi Travel Blog

Adventures of a Travel Snob

You Down with Koh Phi Phi?

As “Extreme” was the tagline for Morocco and Europe (2005) “Magnifique” will be the new one for the islands of Thailand’s Andaman Coast.

Koh Phi Phi The flight from Singapore to Phuket was effortless and meeting up with Ganit was surprisingly “normal” despite the built up anticipation. Being thrifty, we opted for the mini-van to go to Phuket town. Poor choice! We waited for an hour before giving up and taking the bus.

As for Phuket town… nothing to report! We didn’t see anything… except “Walk the Line” at our hostel. We wouldn’t be so lazy the next day, as we were booked on the 8:30 am, 3-hour ride ferry to Koh Phi Phi (pronounced Pee Pee). During the last 45 minutes of the ferry ride, a man on a loud speaker pointed out the different islands, including the famous Maya Bay where the movie “The Beach” (starring “Titanic Man” himself) was filmed.

After booking our hotel, we went straight to the beach. Two coconuts later and tons of catch-up gossip, it was time for our first Thai massage. Ganit slipped into a coma during the one hour experience. Dinner was followed by drinks and the beach club called Ibiza where we did the limbo under an flaming stick.

The tour we took on the second day “Sunset Tour” started at 2:00pm… which was perfect since we only rolled out of bed at noon. Magnifique! On our “big boat” we made a first stop at Monkey Bay. Ganit swam to the shore (which she admitted was far) while I took a small boat. Next, we cruised through Viking Cave to see the harvesting of swallow nests for sale to Hong Kong (still have not tried the soup…) and ended up in Phi Ley Bay where we went snorkeling and kayaking. “Snorkeling” for me consisted of floating in a life vest while the boat crew threw bread crumbs in my direction so that the fist would storm me. I kicked one by accident. Kayaking was “magnifique” as well, with Ganit leading the way and myself steering the way.

The soundtrack for The Beach played on the boat as we approached Maya Bay. To reach “The Beach” we had to cross slippery rocks on foot, guided by rope that led the way through a small tunnel. The day concluded with fried rice and fruit as we watched the sunset over the ocean. The 5 hour tour was well worth the 550 baht.

More parties, beaches and massages followed before we left for Krabi and then on to Bangkok. Koh Phi Phi is one of the most beautiful places I have been so far… truly Magnifique!