The Ilsands Part I

Phuket
We arrived in Phuket, hopped in a "limousine" aka a bus and drove into Phuket town. We had to stay over night in order to catch the ferry to Koh Phi Phi the next morning. Phuket is a very different city, by far my least favorite in Thailand tied with Bangkok. We were staying in the quiet part of town near the ferry so we took a bus to Patong Beach to check out what was going on. There were resorts, big hotels, shops and restaurants lining the streets and everything was so much more expensive than anywhere we had been so far. We walked along the beach at sunset which did have an amazing view. Then we wandered along the street adjacent to the beach in search of some dinner. We found an outdoor restaurant promising 2-for-1 drinks and decided this was a good place to start. I got a cashew chicken dish and Katie had a seafood salad, which were delicious. We also tried a mango margarita, then a blue raspberry one for good measure. For dessert we had strawberry, and after all the sugar and tequila we didn't feel our best. We weren't up for partying in Phuket, mostly because it was so expensive and we didn't know anyone. Instead we cabbed home, and arrived at the hostel to find that the AC in our room wasn't working. We got upgraded (to a much bigger room, with gecko and all) and called it a night.

Patong Beach

Koh Phi Phi Don
We caught the early ferry at 8:30 to Ko Phi Phi. The ride took us about 2 hours in the hot sun. The ocean was beautiful; sometimes turquoise and sometimes deep blue. The islands are formed from limestone and drop straight off into the ocean. They are probably some of the most beautiful islands I`ve ever seen. We docked and unloaded our stuff. We weren`t sure where to stay and Ko Phi Phi is known to be expensive so we found a room at a backpacker`s dorm. The rooms slept 16, and we were cooled only by fans but were surprisingly cool because the hostel, called `The Rock`is high up on a rock just back from the beach. I`m assuming its called the rock because it is on a rock, but it might also bear this name because the beds are rock hard. Either way, we only stayed for one night and then booked an overnight camping trip to Phi Phi Lay. We spent the first day in the islands tanning and exploring. The island is pretty small and there was a path leading to the top called The Viewpoint where we could overlook both bays and see the two beaches. The look out from the top at dusk was beautiful. After swimming in the ocean all day and being thoroughly covered in sand we went back to the hostel and showered in the outdoor bathrooms (nice touch, and very clean). We ended up buying àll-you-can-drink bracelets at a bar just off the beach and we had a few buckets and made our way back to The Rock.

Ferry to Koh Phi Phi



Koh Phi Phi Don beach



View Point

Koh Phi Phi Lay
The next day we spent lounging on the beach until it was time to take the boat to Phi Phi Lay. The boat trip only took about 20 minutes but we stopped to check out The Viking Cave, and we snorkeled for a little while in the lagoon on the side of the island. The boat finally dropped us off in a cove on the opposite side of the famous Ma Ya Bay and we swam up to the cliffs, climbed a rope and after being smashed a few times into the rocks (hearts pounding) we made it onto the island. A short walk to the other side brought us to Ma Ya beach, which has probably been the most breathtaking view so far on this trip. The island is exactly like it is in the movie The Beach, minus Leonardo DiCaprio. We all ran into the water and bobbed around in the cool waves. We finally realized that the boat that was bringing our stuff around into the bay was nowhere to be seen and we all started getting worried. Katie and I were making up hypothetical scenarios of what we could do in Thailand to make a living since our passports were probably at the bottom of the sea. In the end the bags showed up and we all changed into dry clothes and waited for dinner to be served. We feasted on coconut curry chicken and vegetables in oyster sauce served with steamed rice. The food was amazing and I`m sure almost everyone went back for seconds. We had a few Changs to start the night and then moved onto Thailand's most famous buckets. Everyone was feeling tipsy and we all laughed, played drinking games and someone finally got out the guitar and we sang oldies until late into the night. We went for a midnight dip in the ocean and had BBQ before we all passed out on the beach. It was amazing, just the 15 of us on one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. I woke up as the tide was coming in, my eyes and hair filled with sand, and moved to a drier location. Once everyone was awake we had a quick breakfast of toast and scrambled eggs and then we all swam back to the boat and made our way make to Phi Phi Don. After much deliberation Katie and I opted for an AC room with a bed that is not made of stone. We will stay here until tomorrow or the next day and then we`ll make our way to Ko Samui to meet up with friends and get ready for the Full Moon Party. As for now, sipping a diet coke on the beach at Sunflower bar (and benefiting from the free wifi) is the only place I want to be.

"The Beach" Beach aka Maya Bay by Day

Maya Bay Beach by Night