Smiling Wanderer: Koh Phi Phi

After Chiang Mai we headed south to Koh Phi Phi Don. Koh Phi Phi has two islands - Don and Leh. Everyone stays on Don and travels to Leh for adventures in snorkeling and with monkeys. We flew into Phuket and took a ferry to Koh Phi Phi Don. When arriving, there was a bit of a culture shock. I never appreciated the "No Solicitation" signs until this point. You are instantly bombarded with people selling hotel rooms and boat rides to Koh Phi Phi Leh. I just ignored them and moved on. A porter from our hotel greeted us and got our luggage to carry to the resort.

We made it to the "resort" and checked in just fine. I put resort in quotes because this was not a resort. I can describe Koh Phi Phi as an island to go to when you're between 18 and 25 and just want to party. The "resort" was basically a place with a bed to lay your head between drunken stupors and running water to wash off last night's alcohol that's oozing through your skin because you reek of it. Can't you tell that I like this island? If you can't tell - this is complete sarcasm. We did not participate in any of the parties but this is what I observed. I would not recommend this island to anyone but maybe one day to do snorkeling and see the viewpoint.

Viewpoints

Koh Phi Phi has two viewpoints where you can see most of the island and take some great pictures. There are signs all over the island that point you to the viewpoint entrance so there's no way you could get lost getting there. You end up hiking up several steps to get to the first viewpoint. At the top of the viewpoint, you do have to pay 20 or 30 baht to gain access. There are also signs that mention this is a no drinking zone since it's a Muslim area. I had to hide a bottle of Thong Long I had purchased right before the hike. I had no intention of drinking at the viewpoint (it's a souvenir) but I've seen Brokedown Palace and do not want to get into any trouble. And I also respect other religions enough to mind my p's and q's.

The first viewpoint has a little park with some odd looking garden animals with creepy smiles. But it's a good place to rest and get some pretty pictures.

As pretty as the pictures are from the first viewpoint, the second viewpoint as the best view of the island. You can see both sides of the ocean with one being dark blue and the other being light blue. I'm pretty sure this is due to the ocean depth of each area. The walk - not really a hike at this point - to the second viewpoint is not too bad.

The second viewpoint as a nice observation deck where you can sit with your legs hanging over. They also have a little shop at the top to grab some much needed water at this point.

Snorkeling

For our second day on Koh Phi Phi, we went snorkeling with The Adventure Club. There were storms the day before and when we went to get our gear and they said to check back with them that night if we would go out the following morning. By 8pm they were not sure and we checked back in at 7am the following morning. We got to go! And I'm glad we did.

I've never been snorkeling before but like anything in life - you have to give it a try. If you hate it after you try it, fine. But never trying is not an option for me.

We loaded up in a long boat which is a wooden boat with a small motor on the back and a captain. Our boat looked alot like this one.

Jellyfish Hell

We ride out to Koh Phi Phi Leh which was about a 30 minute ride. We includes our guide - Jack from Manchester - and three other tourists. Jack travels around working as snorkeling and diving guide which sounds like the coolest job ever. Anyways, we arrive first at a small beach inlet. Jack checks to see if everyone knows how to swim and then we put on our gear - wet suits, fins, masks and breathing piece.

As we are about to jump in, Jack mentions that there are jellyfish in the water. I loathe jellyfish as I got stung each beach trip we took as kids. I have a reaction to them and ended up losing a day at the beach sitting in the condo recovering. I jump anyways. I jump, you jump right? I get in without being stung, look under water and yep - lots of jellyfish but you can kind of swim around them. I begin adjusting to snorkeling. I panicked at first but with mind over matter - I calm my heart down and just breathe. It is great!! I love snorkeling! I'm a mermaid and one with the water. Nothing can stop me now! Except a wall of jellyfish. But I'm getting ahead of myself and will get to that.

Caleb asked me to take some pics of him in the water. In doing so, I got stung a couple of times. I yelled profanity. But all for the adventure, right? Our goal at this location was to swim close enough to some sharks, scare them out of their hiding place and when we swim back, we'll see them. That would be awesome to see, but the jellyfish had another idea.

We all begin following Jack on the shark hunt. We swim for a while and it was really cool seeing all the fish and coral on the ocean floor. We are swimming circles and not getting any closer to the beach. Jack then tells us to turn around because there is a wall of jelllyfish. Not a couple or a few but a wall! I turn around and there's another wall in front of me. There's no way around getting stung this time. At this point I think I yell out some of battle cry. I tuck my arms into my body and push forward. I'm yelling more profanity but get to a clearing.

I'm done at the point and head to the boat which is several feet in the distance. I start swimming and then bam! - another jellyfish wall. I scream another battle cry and push forward. I come to the boat and look for the guys. Brian's sugar has gotten low and Caleb can't get him to the boat. Jack is closer to the boat than to them. Caleb makes it to Jack and yells for help. Jack jumps back in and helps Brian to the boat. It was pretty scary! But Brian was ok.

We are all shaken up by the jellyfish stings all over. I survey my damage and I've got them on my lips, face, arms and legs. Thank goodness we are wearing wet suits or I would have them all over my body. Jack pours vinegar over our stings and it really doesn't help much.

Four Tries and Two Successes

Next we take the boat to the Viking Cave. We look over the side and it's a pool of jellyfish waiting to sting the hell out of us. No cute little Squish - only hellacious torture animals. We immediately opted out of snorkeling there.

The next place, Pileh Lagoon, had the bluest waters I've ever seen and no jellyfish! Everyone, except Brian and another girl that's done with the trip at this point, jumps into the blue unknown. I look under water and you can't see anything. Just blue. It was a pretty blue but that's all you see. Several boats are in the lagoon and one party boat got an unexpected visitor - a monkey that didn't want to leave. After spraying it with water, it did jump in the lagoon and swim to shore.

The next place we had was another jellyfish house party. At this point I want death to all jellyfish and I'm comparing them to mosquitoes and asking God why they exist.

We're feeling a little downtrodden at this point. We come up to Loh Samah Bay and there are no jellyfish. We are able to jump in and truly enjoy the wildlife. We snorkeled for what seemed like an hour but probably was not that long. We saw coral and all sorts of fish. A few of us even swam through a school of fish! The waves were decently big that day because of storms. I enjoyed being able to put my head under water and not hear anything above water. It was peace. It was calm. It was perfect.

Overall snorkeling on Koh Phi Phi Leh was an amazing experience that I would gladly do again!

Low Tide

After going to the viewpoints, we noticed that the tide was incredibly low on one side of the island. This is not something I've ever seen before so Caleb and I walked out about a half a mile into what was normally the ocean.