Ko Phi Phi

Bottoms up
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We arrived here Saturday morning.. got the ferry from Phuket town - 2 hrs and 1 stop off later - and we're in the dock in Phi Phi Don. As usual me and Dan are wandering around aimlessly getting more and more p*ssed off because we're lugging our backpacks around trying to find a room. We try a few guesthouses who seem to be charging quite a hefty price, but settle on the first one we stopped at - no hot water again, no fridge or telly.. i think we can safely say this is the worst place we've stopped in so far - the water absolutely reeeeeks !Not just a little then goes... constant stench ! the fan does nothing to cool you down - as i found out laying in bed all night getting the ump because it was just too hot to sleep - but then the shower makes you stink ! eurgh. We waste the rest of the day laying on the beach - well trying to anyway - the heat here is just so intense ! barely stand it. So in and out of the sea most of the day - which is the highlight of this island...beautiful crystal clear water, hardly any tide... lovely!

PhiPhi Don Beach
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We take a stroll around the island to see what has actually happened from the Tsunami - it was not what i expected. The side we are on was the worst hit - but they still have these sh*tty guesthouses in the middle of the building sites. It is quite heart-wrenching to see buildings that have been torn down and then partly built back up with stud walls and thats it for now... washing up bowls everywhere as thats all they have, building materials everywhere, broken glass over the island still, the 7 eleven that was ripped apart now just a shell. There is memorial places spread around, and at most diving sites they have dedicated poster boards with photos before during and after, and of the clean up process (i.e. dives to get the rubbish off the seabed - finding passports, bones, radios, etc). Is quite humbling to see. Although it feels like being a tourist here at the mo is more of a hinderance than a help - they dont want to ackowledge you and arent the best with customer service to say the least.

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Today we took a longtail boat trip around Phi Phi Leh. Stopped off at a few spots - like the Viking caves and then a bay that is unreal. The sea current doesnt come in here and its so so clear - it looks really shallow but still deep... we went snorkelling and had a swim here - saw manta rays and some pretty coloured fish ?. Then back around a few more bays. Went to Maya Bay where they filmed The Beach...very touristy now. Then on the way back (after about 2 hrs of this) we stop off at Monkey Beach. The obvious really... theres monkeys ! We get off and feed them bananas...and then me and Dan feed them drinking water...ahh so cute. Then back to the bay.

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Again just waste the rest of the day laying about... theres not really a great deal here - especially after the tsunami - a few restaurants and bars.. and to be honest thats it.