Phi Phi Island, Thailand 7/29-8/1, 2006

We arrive at Phi Phi Island on the ferry.  It's an absolutely beautiful day.  We get to the island and it's mayhem getting your bags.  They are all stacked up in this one spot on the ferry and mine is on the bottom.  I wait till it clears and then organize my stuff to have just my 2 bags and the shopping bag whose one handle has broken.  Get off the ferry and walk the pier to people who are booking rooms.  We find a room at Phi Phi Paradise Pearl Resort on Hat Yao (Long Beach).  The room is costing us each $6.60 and is a little bungalow.  They will come and get us by long-tail boat, which describes the motor at the back of this very large wooden boat decorated at the front with fresh flowers.  The motor is open and like a car engine and has this long steel rod coming out from the engine, behind the boat and at the end of the rod is the propeller.  They are very different looking.  We wait a long time for the boat.  I get a few beers waiting and Janeen gets some food as she has not eaten.  Finally the boat picks us up on the beach and we arrive at Long Beach and Phi Phi Paradise Pearl Resort.  I carry my stuff and a guy comes for Janeen's as she cannot wheel her cases in the sand.  Walk up the beach to the #605 bungalow.  The bungalow is very cute with 2 twin beds and our own bathroom.  No TV or fridge here but we do have a family of kittens on our porch.  There are 5 of them and they are all black and very cute.  They curl up on the chairs that are on the porch.  We have a table and 2 plastic chairs out there on the veranda.  Thru out our time staying in this little bungalow the kittens and their mom hang out.  Sign in at the reception and turn in my misplaced receipt.  We go for a swim.  The spots you could see dark in the sea near the shore are huge rocks.  The swimming is excellent though.  Meet Laurie from Saskatchewan who tells us about the boat trip tomorrow for 500b ($13) and we sign up.  Clean up and dress for dinner.  I wear my black halter dress from Hoi An, silk scarf as a belt and my new wooden sandals from Hue's airport.  We sit sea-side on a beautiful star-lite beach and have our dinner.  Walk back to the bungalow via the beach and to sleep.  Awaken by rain and bring the stuff in we have outside on the railing of the porch.  Go to breakfast about 8:30 a.m. while Janeen is still sleeping.  Get 3 coffees and pancake with tomato, cheese and onion.  Saw no cheese and it was just OK.  The pancakes were nice if there was some maple syrup.  It's raining and blowing my umbrella inside out.  The boat trip is postponed till tomorrow due to the weather.  Back to the room to write in the journal.  Decide to hike to town.  The hike is nice thru a slippery wet dirt path up and over hills and vales and slippery rocks.  The resort Mapro is right next door.  There is much evidence of the tsunami and the debree left from it's high wave.  Town is cute with lots of dive places.  This seems to be a big dive location.  I go to the Internet and finish an article on Melbourne, that's how behind I am!  Check on emails and there is one from Nick but no date for our flight.  Amy writes that she had to spend $270 on delivery for the table from India.  UGG...  Lencho has commented on the blog and I see all the comments from people there.  First time I was aware of that, 7 months later!  Need to check that when Internet is cheaper.  Here it's 2b a minute.  I walk further into town and get 3 samosas.  Very good pastry and filling; I bought one on the way in and on the way back another 2.  Get a couple beers and shop a bit.  Check out the beach on the other side of the island and take pictures.  Walk back and get caught in another windy shower up on top the trail.  Take out the umbrella again.  Back to the beach and immediate swim.  I'm hot from the hiking trail.  No one is on the beach or in the water but me.  Enjoy the swim and then walk the beach for shells.  Very relaxing afternoon.  Go tell Janeen but she stays in the room.  I return to swim and Laurie joins me.  Back to the room to shower and change for dinner.  Janeen is still on the bed.  I wear my new pants, new strapless top, new sandals and shawl.  Feel very good.  Dinner is beer and pad Thai.  Back to the room and to sleep.  Up before 8.  Check on the boat and the trip goes out today.  Off to breakfast after waking Janeen to tell her the boat trip is on today.  Pot of coffee and fruit this a.m.  I speak with a British girl who gives me info on going south to Singapore and that they came that route.  We'll take the ferry from here to Krabi instead of going back to Phuket and spend the nite there, then on to Malaysia the next day.  The boat trip today is leaving after 9:30 and late.  The day is a bit overcast and the sea higher than it should be.  We go to Phi Phi Lay Island where they filmed "Beaches" with Leonardo DiCaprio.  The boat goes into this beautiful stunning bay.  There were people snorkeling but our boat simply cruised into the out of the bay.  I was disappointed.  There were many boats in this bay.  It had high cliffs and the water was crystal clear.  We move on to another bay that is almost as stunning and has a beach.  I snorkel and swim to the beach.  Hard to get in and out of this beach because of the current.  We were to swim to Mayo bay but the guide does not inform us.  They have a rope strung at the entrance to the cave opening which leads you into the bay.  It must be low tide, however, or you get slammed against the rocks and coral.  I had already gotten in the boat when I found out about the bay.  Swam over and grabbed onto the rope.  Several girls were coming out of the cave and the waves were crashing me about.  It was very scary so I didn't even go into the bay.  The girls said it was pretty in there but lots of people, no long tails but speed boats.  Swam off the ropes with a guide directing me when to go into the sea and further up the rope away from the rocks.  You have to swim as the wave is receding so as not to be slammed into the rocks.  I made it without hitting the rocks.  I have already a scrap on my foot which is bleeding.  It's funny how they're not too concerned about you being harmed!  Don't know if I would dive here.  We leave and head back to Phi Phi going around the other side to lunch at Loh Moo Dee Beach.  We have lunch here.  I buy a sprite because it is cold.  The lunch is rice w/chicken and veggies and some egg and then pineapple for dessert.  We stay here about an hour.  I walk the beach for shells and many small full ones have little hermit crabs in them.  Swim and snorkel a bit and then we leave.  Farther down we snorkel again and there are many small fish.  Some of the coral is dying and damaged.  It is a beautiful green color though and the anemone are light brown w/purple bottoms where they are attached to the coral.  You see the color as the current moves them.  It is quite nice.  Lots of large black sea urchins and a few sea cucumbers.  No starfish or sting rays at all.  We go further around the island, turn around and come back and go over to the high cliff-side where we passed on the ferry when first arriving here and there were people jumping off the cliff into the sea.  There are many monkeys over here and people in kayaks.  I snorkel quickly and then we leave.  The Germans on our boat seem to want to leave so we head back to the resort and the beach.  Sit and read, eat my peanuts as I'm hungry.  Walk up to the restaurant and buy a bag of chips and a beer and a stamp for the postcard I have written to Cereza.  Head up to the bungalow, shower, read my book as it is quite good and never go to dinner.  The snacks filled me up.  To sleep and the end of a wonderful day.  Up with the light, arrange some things in my case and go to breakfast.  En route talk to a guy about Krabi, the ferry and bus to Langkawi, Malaysia.  We'll catch the 2:30 p.m. ferry today to Krabi instead of going back to Phuket.  We are in the Gulf of Thailand with Phuket to the west and Krabi to the east.  I don't feel like rushing to get out of here.  Go to the hammock to read, take pics and swim.  Check out at 11 and get the long-tail boat into town where we will catch the ferry and where we originally arrived via ferry from Phuket.  It starts raining just as we are about to leave for town.  Get into town with a bit of rain.  Sit in the bar and have a few beers and it starts to pour with a clash of lightening and thunder.  The day has turned into a tropical storm.  Janeen has gone to wander the shops.  The ferry leaves for Krabi at 2 p.m. and we have boarded.    It's still raining and the air on the inside of the ferry is very cold.  I go outside and wait while all the passengers put their cases on board.  End up on top and it is freezing.  Go outside and talk to a Canadian guy who gets us both a cig.  I go to the john and discover the warm exhaust air from the 2 big chimneys on the deck .  Warms me and dries my shawl.  We're in Krabi now and the harbor is full of mangroves.  Fishing boats going in and out.  It's very mountainous past the harbor.....next is .......Krabi, Thailand.........