Koh Phi Phi

Our ferry to hotel "transfer" which was included in the price of the tour we arranged in Bangkok consisted of a Thai boy who looked like he was no more than 14 and weighing in at much less than 100 pounds. He insisted on carrying our bags...but before we even got off the dock he recruited another worker, a much bigger guy to assist. I was surprised at the sights of Koh Phi Phi...The dock seemed to be situated in a valley between 2 large limestone formations on either side. It was as if the island was pinched in the middle with bordering mountains...

We headed straight towards the "village" (looks like every other market in Thailand except with prices 3 times what we're used to) where Hadas and I bought coconut and banana fruit shakes. We thought we were headed towards a vehicle, but no...we found ourselves walking, and walking, and walking some more...the roads were small with vendors lining the sides. We were almost run over several times by entire families perched on ancient bicycles with little bells warning us much too late to move out of their way...and every time we methodically insist on moving to the right side even though we know by now they drive on the left! Every other vendor was a tour agency or diving shop. And we quickly realized that we were in fact going to 'walk' all the way to our hotel...

We turned a corner and on the right side was a hill with shacks haphazardly placed above what appeared to be a cesspool of garbage with an indescribable odor. If I really had to nail down this particular scent, I would say it resembled dead fish mixed with human feces. Altogether, overwhelmingly unpleasant...but a clear reminder that while the island may seem to be back in full swing, it hasn't yet fully recovered from the tsunami of 2004. That and the fact that tourism is booming here and maybe this small island just can't keep up? On the left side was a beautiful garden which seems to be some type of 'water conservation project'. We eventually came to the bottom of a steep incline where we loaded our bags onto a pickup truck and hopped on ourselves for the remaining 20 feet to the top of the hill and our resort..."Bamboo Mountain Resort", rightfully named. We checked in and received our key attached to a shiny piece of wood. There was a beautiful blue pool with cushioned chairs to the right and a nice restaurant with wooden tables and chairs which also served as the lobby.

Climbing the stairs to our room was reminiscent of the delapidated stairs of the ancient temples of Angkor Wat. By the time we reached our level we were both out of breath and sweating in the heat...and we weren't even carrying our bags! These poor guys deserved medals!

We were led down a narrow walkway made only of bamboo slabs that felt as if my foot would pierce through at any moment. Our room consisted of thin bamboo double doors attached with a padlock. Yes that's right, we lock our door with a padlock. But the views of the rest of the island were just breathtaking. We had two beds topped with mosquito netting and a bathroom with a concrete floor leaning towards the hole which served as the shower's drain. Cold water only of course, but it is so damn hot I cannot even imagine getting a hot shower!

We ran down to the beach just in time to watch the sun dip below the limestone cliff on the left side of Loh Dalam Bay. The water was calm and clear and the beach was full of tourists and locals alike. A large group of locals spoke loudly in Thai while they played hacky sack. I was disappointed to see so much littering all over this beautiful beach...and it was sobering to think that this was the beach that suffered so much destruction during the tsunami...

We walked back to our hotel stopping at various tour agencies to see what our best deal would be to explore the surrounding islands. We stopped by Anita hotel and jumped when we saw that someone had chained their pet monkey to one of the booths at the outdoor restaurant! Poor monkey was going crazy on that short leash!

We showered in ice cold water and for the first time it was actually really refreshing! We headed down to the village for dinner and chose an Italian/Thai restaurant. I had planned on getting Thai food but after smelling the pizza I just couldn't resist...proudly, it was my first indulgence in western food this entire trip! And it was delicious...

We saw the same 2 girls wandering through the village that we saw hours ago with their backpacks still strapped to their backs looking for accomodation. We had booked in advance and didn't have a problem, but these girls were stuck. We told them of our hotel (which no one knows about apparently because it's behind the waste management site and you practically have to be a rockclimber to reach it)...they were pessimistic, but at our suggestion went up there to check anyway...just as we were finishing up dinner, they came back down to thank us...there was in fact a room and they were relieved to be able to spend the night instead of getting on another ferry to Phuket...that's the disadvantage of such a small island...they run out of rooms and sooner or later you're just stranded here until the next ferry...there's no other way off.

We wandered around the village for a bit, and bought a banana and chocolate Thai pancake for dessert. This is a delectable treat which is similar to a crepe...after watching her slather it in oil and some orange stuff...presumably some sort of lard...I wasn't all that excited about it anymore, but couldn't let it go to waste and it was absolutely delicious :)

We headed to the beach and sat at a relatively tame bar set between 2 huge parties going on at "Ibiza" and some other beach dance club...I got a pina colada with an extra shot of vodka. I don't know if it was the alcohol or the enflamed jumping rope but we soon found ourselves dancing the night away at Ibizas...I chose not to partake in the fire activities, but it was fun to watch. You can check out a video of it on Hadas' blog at http://www.hakuproductions.com/

It was 3 am when we finally headed back to our hotel but the party was still going strong on the beach...I cannot even begin to imagine what the full moon parties must be like. Every full moon there is a huge event in Koh Phangan (a different Thai island) where 55,000 people descend in a place that can only comfortably sleep 3000. Apparently there is a psychiatric hospital on the island that is up-staffed just for this event. And every month they get a surge of patients who are travelers indulging in various hallucinogenics. I've heard from other travelers that there's a place you can buy a "special shake" laced with hallucinogenic mushrooms...also read in rough guide that there is some plant that has yet to be deemed illegal that the locals pass off as magic mushrooms to unsuspecting travelers---except it's effects last for several days instead of just a few hours...kind of scary. I've met a lot of young travelers...18, 19...just out of high school traveling for months at a time...probably not making the best decisions. Anyway, vodka is where I draw the line, no worries ;) goodnight!