Kho Phi Phi

Krabi & Phi Phi 017
Originally uploaded by susiebarber

I’ve always heard how stunningly beautiful this place is and it is physically very beautiful – better than Yosemite, Crater Lake and the Gorge. I first heard about it when Mark and Holly got back from their Thailand vacation probably 12 or so years ago. I then saw Phi Phi Lei in the movie “The Beach” (great book, mediocre movie, but stunning scenery). I was so sad when the tsunami struck – this place got the worst of it in Thailand. Nearly every building was decimated and the island was evacuated for a few months. I was getting my reservations together in ’06 to come here. Re-building was just starting and there were very few places open. They say that it was back to the way it was 20+ years ago. I had even contacted Habitat for Humanity about helping out for part of my time here. Then I had my accident and had to cancel my trip.

I can honestly say that this place is nothing like I expected. I should have known when I boarded the ferry and saw nothing but college aged kids, some behaving suspiciously like frat boys and sorority girls, but with accents.

This town is one giant tourist trap. It’s full of dive shops, bars, tattoo parlors, massage places, and lots of little boarding room places. The beach is bordered with tiki bars just blasting music all over the place. I only saw 1 other person near my age and he was working in a dive shop. Everyone else was drunk on the beach running around with next to nothing on trying to get each other in the sack. Guys were playing macho on the beach and strutting their stuff and the girls were topless and flirting. It was kind of like Isla Vista, only amplified. This is not what I thought I was signing up for.
Anyway, after checking out the beach and then sitting in my air conditioned room for a bit (it’s incredibly hot here with no sea breeze) I meandered out to see if there was anything else outside this town. I did find a couple of very nice, quiet beaches with little air conditioned bungalows. I also found a beach where locals lived and the chickens play in the sand. And I came across a soccer field with a couple of kids teams playing, the parents cheering, and an announcer calling the plays. I’m so thankful. I’m going to see about moving to one of those bungalows tomorrow.

The other thing I might do is another “tour”. Maya Bay is where they filmed the movie and I’ve always wanted to see it. I saw a sign in a tour shop today about a night at the bay. They take you there for a beach BBQ dinner and to watch the sunset. You can play with the monkeys, swim or whatever you want. And then you camp on the beach. The next morning, they serve breakfast and then bring you home. It sounds a lot better than fighting the crowds during the day and I think it’s a bit too expensive for all the spring breakers (a bit more than I’m paying for the room I’m in). After that, I’m outta here pronto!

But it is stunningly beautiful.