We found a really nice and inexpensive tour, which took us around the smaller Phi Phi island (Koh Phi Phi Leh). I think it's my favorite overall tour we've done.
We were supposed to stop on a beach with lots of monkeys, but the tide was too low for the boat to get us there. Instead we skipped it and just saw the monkeys from the boat, and instead headed on to cliff jumping. When we'd booked the tour we weren't told that we could do cliff jumping, so we didn't pay for it and couldn't go. I suggest that you pay the extra money for it. It looked like a lot of fun and I wish I'd had the opportunity to go.
We made a stop in a large cove for swimming, with really warm water, and then stopped again for snorkeling. The snorkeling there was amazing. I've been snorkeling before and this was probably one of my favorites. The fish were all so close, since it was pretty shallow, and they were incredibly colorful and beautiful. Our guide also brought me toward the island and pointed out some small sharks. I never thought I'd be chasing sharks instead of the other way around. It was really amazing.
From there we went to Maya Bay, where apparently some film called "The Beach" was filmed. Again, neither of us have ever seen that movie, and probably should now.
They made us pay to get off at the beach, so I thought about just staying on the boat, but then they said we'd be there for an hour so I gave in. I'm pretty sure it was a bit of a scam, as Jessica opted to stay on the boat, and finally the driver told her just to get out, so she didn't end up having to pay. The beach was nothing special, maybe it would have been cooler if we'd seen the movie, but we just sat one the sand waiting for them to tell us we could leave, since we were hungry and just wanted to get to the dinner.
We finally moved on and were supposed to watch sunset, but like every other sunset and sunrise we've been supposed to see, it was too overcast.
We ended up in this tiny little hidden cove and sat on the sand while they prepared a barbecue. This redhead guy from Ireland sat with us and we just hung out on the sand, though the tide was coming in, and we kept getting pushed further and further up the beach until there was barely space left for everyone. Then they did a cool fire show, and lit people's cigarettes with the fire. Again, I'm not quite sure how to describe, but it was cool to watch.
Afterward we swam through the small opening that led to the cove, and when we went where there was no light, in the water we could see these plankton that light up when they're irritated, so every time you moved around you could see them light up. At first I tried finding them on the inside of the cove, but it was too bright and I thought it was a ripoff, since that's why we'd booked the tour to begin with, but the Irish guy told me to try going out farther, and I'm so glad I did. I've always wanted to see those and now I have. Apparently lighting up is a defense mechanism or something, but I just thought it was beautiful. There was also occasional lightning which made it all just more awe inspiring.
Yesterday was more relaxed, with us just doing souvenir and gift shopping and hanging out on the beach. Talk about hot, we just sat there and were dripping with sweat. It was pretty nasty. The tide was also incredibly low and after walking out pretty far the water was still below my knees so I had to just lie down in the water to cool off.
On one of our walks we also ran into this guy letting you hold a monkey in a diaper. The monkey was so nice and so soft! He just sat there on your shoulder and arm and he grabbed onto my wrist with one foot and one hand to steady himself. It was love at first site. I tried to take him home but they wouldn't let me.
In the evening we headed up to the viewpoint, a bit of a steeper climb than we'd anticipated, but it was well worth it. If it hadn't been overcast it would have been brilliant at sunrise or sunset, but it was still cool seeing the island from up high. It makes you realize just how small the town is, and how much of the island is too mountainous to live on.
When we got down we treated ourselves to mani pedis. For those of you who know me, I am NOT a pink person. I chose a nice kinda pink but more purple color for my nails, figuring I'm going home to winter so a bit of a darker color might be better on my fingers, even though my toes are summery aqua. The woman did one finger and goes, oh I think it's a darker shade. No, it was not a darker shade. It was pink. Completely pink, no purple in it at all. My hands look like how I would have done them as a little girl. I look like Barbie. Honestly though, while I would probably never get this color again, I think I'm slowly getting used to it.
Anyway, last night we figured we should probably go out, since everyone raves about the night life on Phi Phi. We've been hearing all about buckets, so we figured we had to get one. That's all it is, you order a drink, and it comes in a bucket, that's all it is, alcohol in a bucket, but it's obviously much more than you'd get out of a cup, and you just walk around with the bucket. We decided to get a cocktail (strawberry daiquiri) so we'd actually enjoy it, and just split one. It's also much cheaper just to buy on the street and take it with you different places.
We brought our bucket to Slinkys, which had a sign about not bringing outside alcohol, but how can they tell if they're also selling buckets?
We just sat with the bucket and watched their fire show, which was even cooler than the one the night before. It started raining too, but with the heat it actually felt great and didn't phase us. Ibiza Bar also had a really cool fire show and was a bit quieter.
We wandered around and found our redhead Irish friend in the Irish Pub (surprise) and met this other Irish guy who brought us to Dojo, where they had beer pong. Then we met these two guys, one from England and the other from Sweden, who at first thought we were Swedish, then Spanish, then Mexican. They brought us with them back to Dojo and introduced us to a bunch of their friends, and they let us have some of their buckets and we just had a fun time dancing with them for a while.
Two guys also tried to convince us they were Israeli, but unlucky for them I speak Hebrew and they don't. They were actually Italian and we're not sure why they decided to be Israeli instead.
We saw a kick boxing fight between two kids, also, and we noticed that a lot of parents brought their kids to the bars for the fire shows, which seemed a bit odd and irresponsible. Also on the beach they have fire limbo, where you have to go under a burning rope.
Why someone thought it was a good idea to have their kid out, I'm not sure
We also made friends with a bunch of the guys who were trying to get people into their bars as we kept passing them.
Anyway I will admit that night life on Phi Phi is a lot of fun, and I understand how it pulls people in and so many people end up staying much longer than they anticipate. The place is just hopping at night and seems so much more crowded than during the day.
This morning we read on the beach a while before taking the ferry out to Phuket, where we are now.
While finding a cheap hostel wasn't easy in Kata (one of the beaches in Phuket), we finally found one that offered us a reasonable price.
Alright off to bed! The rest of my time will be in Phuket, which I've heard isn't the greatest so I guess we'll see how it goes.
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