Sunday (1/16) – P.P. Pavilion (Ko Phi Phi):

It has been a very enjoyable stay here on PP, especially once we got our bearings and learned how to avoid most of the craziness. We’re currently sitting in a couple of loungers at a beachside bar about 15 paces from the water’s edge. We’re on the backside of Tonsai Village looking out on an idyllic bay and enjoying a refreshing watermelon shake. The sand is white, the ocean waters are a mixture of blue and turquoise, and there is a small fleet of longtail boats just waiting for the rest of the island to wake up. It’s a pretty sleep Sunday morning – just our speed.


Yesterday was quite nice. Despite the noise and the heat we both managed to get some sleep and we got up around 8am ready for the day. We started it just down the road from our hotel with breakfast at a small homey café called the Garden Home Café. Chris at the front desk assured us that it’s the best place to eat at on PP – in the interest of full disclosure, however, the place is owned and run by our hotel. We were pretty happy with the food: yogurt parfait with fresh fruit and home-made muesli, a banana pancake, and – to Ashlee’s delight – a bagel with cream cheese!

While we were waiting for our food to arrive, we were looking around the café and we found a wall of photos dedicated to the 2004 tsunami. Apparently it did a fair amount of damage here on PP – no worries, though, the place seems to have bounced back nicely.


After breakfast we set off for the beach and we wound up at the exact same spot that we are sitting now. We spent a few hours just relaxing, reading, and people-watching. It seems that the majority of sun-seekers here are European with a fair sprinkling of Australians – as evidenced by the amount of beer-bellied men in speedos. Mixing in these crowds you just hear so many different languages: French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese – pretty much everything but Mongolian or Kazakh. Even with all these languages being spoken, however, nearly everyone we have interacted with seems to either speak or at least understand English. The other thing you notice is that people from Iceland have a different sense of fashion.

Anyways, after getting our beach-time, we walked to our hotel just in time to be “picked up” for our afternoon longtail boat tour of neighboring Phi Phi Ley. The reason I say “picked up” is because on an island with no roads and no vehicles, “picked up” means trotting behind our guide/boat captain as he pedaled furiously on his bicycle through the village alleys leading us to his boat. Along the way we picked up some fellow passengers – a young German family, a French couple who brought Mom along, and a few other independent travelers. They seemed like a nice bunch of people.

The boat we boarded was the same model as the one we tooled around Bangkok’s canals in: a traditional Thai longtail. Long and slim, they seat about 15 people and they are powered by giant outboard motors controlled from the rear by the captain. As we piled into our boat, about 10 other boats were being similarly boarded. We quickly realized that each boat had the same itinerary as us.


Our first stop of the day was at a place called “Monkey Cove.” When we pulled up there were already a half dozen boats there and tourists lined the shore. There were also quite a few shrieks followed by roars of laughter. As you might have deduced from the name, the shore and the nearby mountainside was swarming with monkeys. Socialized to take food from humans, the animals certainly weren’t shy. A few minutes’ stop was enough for us.


Our next stop was a calm bit of the bay where the captain distributed masks and snorkels and sent us overboard. My 7th grade snorkeling experience in Catalina came in handy. Swimming around and looking at colorful fish, coral, and various other undersea life made Ashlee as giddy as a child. I was just happy to be paddling around in such beautiful water. After about 20 minutes overboard, we all clambered back into the boat via a removable metal staircase.


Since the boats are so narrow, when someone is climbing in it concentrates a lot of weight on one side causing the vessel to lean – the larger the person, the more the boat leans. I didn’t particularly care for this manner of entry because I don’t like situations in which attention is brought to the fact that I’m a larger than average man. I joked with Ashlee that whenever I climbed into the boat it was like a kraken attacking the ship with how much the dang thing would rock and unsettle our fellow passengers. At one point I was entering the boat while unbeknownst to me a young woman was making her way to the back of the ship by walking along the outside edge. As the boat leaned to take my weight, she lost her balance, gave a short scream, and fell into the water. I was a little embarrassed.

The rest of the afternoon passed in this manner. The small fleet of tourist-bearing longtails motored around on a set circuit stopping every now and then to disgorge their passengers and let us snap pictures, paddle around in the water, and/or snorkel. The scenery was gorgeous.


Our afternoon boat trip culminated with a visit to Maya Bay – the gorgeous setting of “The Beach.” The place has become so popular because of the movie that it is simply referred to as “The Beach.” It is definitely a beautiful spot with a nearly enclosed bay and a long white sandy beach. The only thing that would have made our visit better is if there were about 150 fewer people there with us – well that and if one of our fellow passengers (a young guy from Holland traveling alone) had not injured his shoulder on our last snorkeling stop. From what we can tell, he may have dislocated it. He managed to get himself back in the boat and assembled into a position that he didn’t move from for the rest of the trip. Poor guy – I hope he gets a chance to return to “The Beach” under happier circumstances.


We left Maya Bay around 5:30pm and headed back to PP. On the way we were treated to yet another gorgeous sunset.


Back on PP, we made a quick stop at our hotel to change clothes and then we set out for dinner. We decided on an Italian place called Ciao Bella. Right on the beach (our table was literally on the sand) and owned by a real-life Italian – who is also the author of a harrowing tale about surviving the tsunami – the place serves up some great food. It was an excellent way to end the day.


This morning has mostly been more of the same, although we did start it out with a grueling 20-minute hike up to the island viewpoint. Our efforts were well worth it as we were rewarded with stunning views of PP’s twin bays. Our little hike really worked up our appetites which we once again satisfied at the Garden Home Café. After yesterday’s bagel, I don’t think Ashlee thought about going anywhere else.


Unfortunately today is our last day on PP and we have already checked out of our hotel – although the place was gracious enough to let us store our bags there until we catch the ferry later this afternoon. We’re headed onto Krabi, a town back on the mainland. We will be there for another couple of nights before heading back to Bangkok.