Stop 3: Don’t Pee Pee in the Ocean! -- Koh Phi Phi, Thailand

Notice the difference in skin color :)

The journey from Phuket to Koh Phi Phi was long—two busses and a ferry. Had we any idea how perfect, how perfectly perfect, this place would be, we wouldn’t have minded the distance. We were oblivious to the paradise that awaited us.

Sunset on Bamboo Island

Koh Phi Phi is a town nestled on a giant sandbar. Devastated by the tsunami in 2004, the town is slowly but surely recovering. We were greeted at our guest house by the resident monkey—the sign said Harmony House, but it was nothing of the sort. We prefer to call it Hell House. Here you don’t have to look far to find bed bugs, moldy pillows and brown water shooting out of the faucet. While this lodging was the worst we have experienced, the beach was the best. At low tide you can walk a mile out and, looking back at the shoreline, longtail boats with Buddhist blessings line the beach as the sun sets behind them.  We sat at $1/day cabanas with forests behind us and paradise in front and soaked in the most amazing sight we had ever laid eyes on.

Sidenote: Jen finds more bed bug bites on left hand.  Oh and also, we counted a total of 38 bug bites between the two of us... most of which were up and down Jen's legs. NASTAY.

Maya Beach: Set of "The Beach" -- Phi Phi Ley

Our jolly day in the sun left us painfully burnt. Let’s just say certain parts of our bodies (Cam's chest area) turned a tint of purple from second degree burning. With newly purchased sarongs covering our shoulders, we set out on a daytrip to explore the island. We saw caves where Thai men climb bamboo ladders to retrieve birds nests for soup, spotted ginormous fluorescent blue and purple jellyfish in the water, and, most importantly, watched Asians in life jackets attempt to disembark a boat in water one foot high (bahaha best part of the trip yet, video footage to follow if we can figure it out). We fed bananas to monkeys at a beautiful cove, snorkeled in Phi Phi Ley (which is an enclosed green lagoon entirely surrounded by limestone cliffs), and dragged our feet on Maya Beach, the setting for The Beach. Just as the movie depicted, it was the perfect beach. Our last stop was Bamboo Island, where we briefly met three schnitzels who invited us to camp with them for the night. We returned to the mainland, packed bags, and decided to join them.

Tried to go fishing.. no luck!

Back to the sand box, like how we were in 3rd grade!

The five of us built a rather phallic-shaped sand castle (subconsciously) and then proceeded to set it on fire. Kevin was up to his head in a hole he had dug, and Jen was up to her head in sand. We were little kids again. When the pitch black arrived, we skinny-dipped for the first (and last) times in our lives and watched Rhyse practice his fire spinning skills. 

The next morning, we didn’t need an alarm. We had fallen asleep with the stars and woken up with the sun. We felt in sync with ourselves and with nature, as there is something refreshing, even awakening, about watching the sun set and rise from a deserted island with only several friends, rice cooked in saltwater and the ocean as your bathtub. We fished for dinner, swung from trees, and swam for hours. Life was rough. 

Fist pumping the night away

We returned, rather reluctantly, to civilization (relatively speaking) and did our very best to cool off (which naturally included a $3 massage). That evening we found a cat in the fridge and understood exactly how he felt. We danced on the beach in the moonlight, drank fire water from plastic buckets and met a girl with armpit hair longer than a horse’s mane, but not as shiny. What a doozie. 

Kevin, Cam, Max and Armpit Girl shared a bucket.

Our view from the hammock on Maya Beach

Still reeling from our stay on Phi Phi, we decided, much against our heart’s will, that it was time to move on. Little did we know at the time, Phi Phi would come to be our favorite island and a place we hope to return to with family and friends. Until we meet again.


XOXO,
Gossip Girl