When we woke up on Day 5 of the trip, we had no idea what was in store for us that day. What we expected was to take a ferry and connect to a bus, which would take us across Southern Thailand to Krabi town. We then planned to stay in Railay Bay for the night and we would catch another ferry to Phi Phi in the morning. Unfortunately, it turned out that it wasn't that easy. On the plus side, we made it in one piece.
Ferry in the Gulf of Thailand
What actually ended up happening was we took a truck to a ferry to a bus to another bus to a taxi to a bus to a longtail boat to another longtail boat to a ferry to one, final longtail boat (that's 10). It was an exhausting 28 hours, but we managed to see many beautiful landscapes along the way. Driving through farm towns and fishing villages gave us an entirely new perspective on Thailand, and it was really fascinating to have a glimpse of the real Thailand and its people. I only wished I could have stopped every few miles to get out and snap photos of interesting people, buildings, fruit stands, shrines, etc.
our crazy pink bus
view of Thai farmland
After a long day on the bus, Sarah and I finally arrived in Krabitown and were disappointed to hear that we still had quite a journey to go to get to Railay Bay. But from what we had heard from travellers along the way was that it was worth it, so we pushed on. We caught a taxi, which took us to a bus stop, and then that bus took us to a beach where we loaded into a longtail boat in the dark. As we sailed from Ao Nang Beach around to Railay Bay, we could see the dark shadows of massive limestone cliffs jutting up from the shore. We both wished we could have made it there in the day time to see it, but we knew it would be a great suprise in the morning. We finally arrived around 8 pm and dragged our things through the sand (no roads) and check into our hotel. We ate crab and squid curry and washed it down with tall, delicious Pina Coladas. That night, we went out to bars and tried to relax after a long day of traveling.
Delicious crab curry
Railay Bay
In the morning, we were up and ready to go by 8:30, as we had to catch the one and only ferry of the day at 9 o'clock. Of course, being that we were on "Thai time" we didn't actually end up leaving the bay until 10 o'clock, but while we waited we were able to take in the magnificent views that we had missed the night before. Finally, we took off and arrived at Koh Phi Phi (pronounced pee-pee) an hour and a half later. As we came into the port, I was amazed at the beautiful scenery in front of me. I really didn't think it could get much better than we had already seen, but I knew that we had definitely saved the best for last. Koh Phi Phi is an island made up of rocky cliffs, exploading with lush greenery, sitting in a sea of the most turqouise blue water.
our beach on Koh Phi Phi
When we finally arrived at our hotel (10 vehicles later), we knew for sure we had found paradise. Our hotel Phi Phi The Beach Resort, was a simple resort with a cluster of bungalows set on a hillside, nestled on a quiet, stunning beach, with a view of Koh Phi Phi Leh, a near by island. We didn't waste any time, getting into our bikinis and heading down for lunch on the beach. Our plan was to just chill out for the day and head to the famous Maya Bay the next morning, but when I went to talk to the boat tours guy, he suggested that we go in the late afternoon. He explained that it would be the least crowded time to go and that in the morning the bay was sometimes too shallow to enter. So we decided to go for it, and we each paid $18 for a 3 hour private snorkeling tour around Koh Phi Phi Leh, to Maya Bay (where The Beach was filmed) and finally to watch the sunset. It was a spectacular time. Sarah and I enjoyed snorkeling in a little cove and saw the best coral we had seen all trip. When we arrived at Maya Bay we were so happy to see that it was not crowded at all because it was the end of the day and the day tours had already departed. It was stunning, so I can see why so many people go to see it. We walked a long the beach, played with some sea cucumbers, and took in the beauty of it all. Around 5:30, it was getting darker, so we hopped back in the longtail boat, and Fin, our driver, took us out of the bay to see the sunset.
Maya Bay
After a long and exciting day, Sarah and I decided we had to get up the energy to go out in Phi Phi town. It was our only night there and we wanted to make the most of it. We had seafood dinner on the beach, and then went to find a reggae bar we had heard about. To our plesent suprise the reggae bar ended up having a Thai Boxing show, which we hadn't seen yet. We watched the Thai boxers and after an exciting match, they each came around and shook all of the audience members hands. It was really neat, but I think we were supposed to tip them or something...oops! Anyway, after that we found a club and danced the night away. We met some cool people too and it was a great one and only night on Phi Phi Island.
The next day, we woke up early to enjoy the breakfast buffet on the beach and gave ourselves plenty of time to relax and soak up the sun before our 2:30 ferry boat to Phuket. The island journey had come to an end, but luckily we still had time for a little more adventure back in Bangkok...
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