Ko Phi Phi

Alright. I'm so sorry to anyone who actually checks my blog. I haven't updated it in awhile.

Ko Phi Phi is definitely one of the highlights of my trip so far not just because of the beautiful scenery (the is where the move The Beach with Leonardo DeCaprio was filmed). I decided to go to Ko Phi Phi the second night I was in Thailand. The way my program is setup is that there are two groups: the first group showed up a week before my group (the second group). The second night I was here I met some people from the first group and heard about the trip. I said great I'm in. This was probably the best decision I've made sense I've been here because I've been the only person to really get to know both groups because during the week one group had morning class and the other had evening classes.
So I jump on this boat with 18 other people I don't know and we are off to Ko Phi Phi. Sense we had so many people we chartered a private boat for the day for about $30 each. I had no clue what I was getting into. I knew there would be beaches and snorkeling involved. I didn't have the vaguest idea how long the boat ride was going to be. For those of you who don't know I get sea sick. I knew it would be a long ride, but I wanted to see the island. It took us about 5 hours to get there because we stopped to snorkel and sight see on the way. I was feeling sick for about the last 3 1/2 hours. I puked about 3 hours into the ride. Let me tell you getting sick in front of 18 people you don't know (at this point I think I knew 2 names) is humbling. Even when we stopped to snorkel I didn't venture too far away from the boat because I thought if anyone was going to be left it was going to be me.

Eventually we made it to Ko Phi Phi and I was so relieved. Now for a little background about Ko Phi Phi. In December 2004 an earthquake in the Indian Ocean triggered a massive tsunami and Ko Phi Phi was one of the hardest hit. The island was flattened. The government didn't have the money to rebuild many parts of Thailand including Ko Phi Phi. The burden fell upon locals, relief workers and investors. Now Ko Phi Phi is back to pre-tsunami condition.

Ko Phi Phi is a beautiful island. There are no cars allowed on the island. You will see Thai men pushing over-sized shopping carts carrying tourist/backpackers luggage's to various hotels. Our boat dropped us off in the town of Ao Ton Sai. Me and about 8 others spend a few hours there and decided to take long boats (refer to the picture of the boats) across the bay to Hat Hin Khom also known as the best beach I have ever been too. I split a bungalow right on the beach with another guy for 150 baht each. That is about $5. This was a really basic room. No A/C, but we did have a fan. One room with a mattress on a raised concrete slab with a bug net. A bathroom that you had to flush manually and a shower that was more like a 6 feet of PVC piping. Oh and no hot water, which isn't a big deal because cold showers feels way better.

Had dinner with with a bunch of people. Didn't even have a beer because my stomach couldn't handle it at that point. Paid about $10 for a 60 minute massage 20 yards from the beach. Absolutely amazing.

The next day the guy I split the room with, Dan and I walked to the end of the beach and had breakfast. We ran into 4 or 5 other people and played cards on a shaded deck overlooking...you guessed it, the beach!. I had a really good time. All of the pictures I posted were from other people because I was way too sick to take picture.