I'll never forget the boat ride here, it was ROUGH. Only lasted for an hour and a half but everyone except Olly and I were throwing up around us, it got a bit stinky. It was the huge swells that made the journey so rough, at points I would look out of the window and just see water and then when we were at the top of a swell it was as if we were flying, all I could see out of the window was sky. That's when your belly went doing somersaults, water started pouring in the bow of the boat and I wondered at what point they would decided that it's too rough to carry on... I don't think they would, it is Thailand after all!
After chucking our stuff down in the room we decided to go for a wander, we ended up getting stuck in the Irish bar for a good 2/3 hours as the heavens opened. By the time we got to leave the streets were flowing rivers, Phi Phi is quite a sweet little place really, the narrow streets are home to vast arrays of shops, bars and restaurants. At points I forgot that I was actually on a tiny island, most of the island has been repaired since the 2004 tsunami although you can still see remnants of the disaster in back streets that head away from the main hub. Considering how badly the island copes when it rains heavily I cant imagine the state it was in directly after the tsunami hit.
Later that evening we went to go and see and old friend who we hadn't seen for 9 years, he lives and works in Phi Phi, it was really nice to catch up after so long!
The following day it rained hard ALL day, so it was impossible for us to really do anything productive. We ventured out a few times to get some food and then hid away in our room. We managed to find a Greek restaurant that served pitta bread and hummus, AMAZING. Olly and I used to eat hummus all the time at home, we even had hummus Tuesday where all our friends would come around with bread, dip and beer! It was good to have it again! (Although the hummus we make is obviously better ;)
Feeling rather optimistic we booked a tour for the next day to go to Maya Bay where the beach was filmed, to do some snorkeling and visit a few other beaches/caves. There was a high chance the trip could be cancelled because of the weather but we had to book something otherwise we had done nothing and seen so little of this beautiful island and it's surroundings. That night there was an almighty thunderstorm...
BUT... It meant that the next day although still grey and miserable and raining slightly the conditions were good enough for us to go exploring!
We took a long tail boat with only 4 other people to a tiny rough little cove where we were instructed to battle the huge waves and wrestle our way up an assault course of sharp rocks and dodgy ropes! It was mad, quite dangerous really but I'm a strong swimmer so it just added to to the adventure and excitement.
I didn't think I'd be as excited as I was about visiting a location that was famous for being in a film but the sheer beauty of Maya bay was overwhelming and I started giggling thinking I might be stood where Leonardo Dicaprio had been... Mmmm
When we got to 'The beach' a storm came in really hard (This is why these are all the photos we have of it), and instead of the crowds of people that are usually in this tourist hot spot there were only the 6 of us. It was amazing, we all just floated in the turquoise lagoon as the rain pelted against our faces. It was more beautiful and memorable than it would have been had it been a hot sunny day I think.
On the way back we went snorkelling and the boat driver took us too a secret little lagoon where we swam about for a bit, this was easily one of the most amazing places in the world with the towering limestone cliffs all around us. The water went from a beautiful baby blue to a dark green as the sand dropped off into the depths of the ocean.
It was an amazing day and I couldn't stop laughing on the boat ride back as waves came up and slapped people with force in the face. I was drenched from head to foot and freezing cold but I really couldn't of cared less.
Next stop, Krabi (Again) on our way to Bangkok. I was ready for the capital, bring on the chaos!
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