'The Perfect Beach'

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24th Oct

Getting used to these 6am starts though the courier who was taking us to Phuket pier was late anyway...We traveled on the rapid Phi Phi (unfortunately it's pronounced the 'pee pee' way) Cruiser in a decidedly bleak and miserable morning. fingers crossed for later, though am still a bit pissed that my camera broke down this early in the trip...

First glimpse of the islands was Phi Phi Ley, the uninhabited island, which simply looked incredible with crystal waters, white untouched sands beneath tree caressed limsetone jagged cliffs and not a person in sight when we passed! Our arrival into the port of Phi Phi Don - the main island where most visitors stay - was serenaded by the sun taking its hat off and with this, my spirits lifted as i had truly arrived in beauty.

We promptly picked out this beach side bungalow, which had a charming thatch-straw restaurant and for six quid per night per person, even a student can afford it; so come on down! By the time we settled for lunch, the weather was perfect as we dined beachside, with the best views ive ever seen while munching on delicious noodles! Thus, i put on my swim shorts for the first time this holiday, and jumped into the sea in front of our room, and  whence began my  attempt to teach myself to swim; one aim of this trip! The water was so lovely and warm that not even a brief rain storm could prise me from my 4 and a half hours out at sea...the scene was very dramatic with the rain clouds being nudged over the island peaks and the sky turning from a brilliant white to an ominous grey, yet nobody budged. Hopefully, i can nail swimming by 2moro.

The people here are incredibly friendly and welcoming and always greeted us with a smiling sawasdee and a wave. its incredible to think that this place was only recently hit by that tsunami and the reconstruction of the area has been rapid and ongoing for the impending high-season. Our bungalow looked brand spanking new and without joking, this is the best time to go! Another thing to notice is that every other guest were model-like in looks and features...and slightly intimidating as i strolled around town half naked with neither base tan or six pack...but i didnt care, as this IS paradise...

25th Oct

Easily the best day yet...

...though it followed an aweful night attack by vampire mozzies as i had forgotten to 'DEET' myself before bed. Thus, i went on a homicidal rampage in the morning and caught 5 of the bastards still buzzing about for more...

Today, for a change from some incredible scenery to some more elsewhere, we went to a different beach on Phi Phi Don which had a large outlay creating a large shallow bay for me to further swimming practice. Kinda figured out how to tread water and was stoked, although my breaststroke still needs a lot of work as i kicked about in some sharp coral.

Decided we had to go to Phi Phi Ley island on a half day tour - 4pm till sunset. Got chatting to this scouser called Cher, who i could have sworn i had met somewhere before, and she told me about the infamous 'Samui Tatooes' which were the burns the Brits got riding the many scooters in the eastern islands. Also, met a surprisingly pleasant couple from London, Frankie and Kara, who in true Phi Phi fashion could both have had modelling careers.

Luckily the weather was holding up and first stop was a random bay inhabited by monkeys, but to get there, i had to try my first ever snorkeling after a crash course before jumping in. Beautiful coral and fish lined my way and it felt good reaching the silky beach to feed the wild monkeys. Phi Phi Ley is uninhabited which means that it is protected from inevitable ruin with only a sustainably few excursions there every day, so when i first caught a glimpse of its natural beauty, i couldnt believe my eyes; it didnt look real...

On the way, we past this random cave, where these locals were navigating up these long rickety bamboo ladders to collect Swallow's Nest which are an expensive delicacy particularly for the chinese (as with anything weird)..Primarily made of saliva, it is rather lush if you can get over what it contains!

Next stop was 'The Beach' and it was a mission getting there. the first objective was to get to a slippery cave entrance, with my dodgy swimming technique and no longer having the assistance of flippers, this proved to be arduous, having to stop and catch my breath once i was thru the cave. then it was a barefooted hike thru some interior jungle, where we could hear the sound of crashing waves in the distance which made us all more and more excited at our destination. And once we brushed aside some human height reeds at the beach's edge, our breath was taken away to create the wows and oos, which responded to the stunning scenery. We even had time to play a bit of beach footy using coconuts as goal posts! And we sat in the warm wake as we watched a stunning sunset in silence, disturbed only by the movement of the waves massaging the smooth white beach. Perfection.

So as to protect this natural beauty, the boat parked a distance from where we were as the bay was shallow for quite a distance into the sea, and knackered as i was, i wasnt about to try that swim, so got a free ride back on the little canoe carrying our equipment! Olivia also couldnt hack the strong tide, and actually became decidedly ill on the boat, refusing the delicious dinner, as she was feeling rather rough. the choppy ride back to Phi Phi Don didnt help either and on docking, she hurriedly returned to our cabin and straight to bed whilst i hung back to chat to F + K, and agreed to meet them at the fire show at 'Hippies Bar' later.

Dined alone on half a chicken, but the highlight of this meal was that when the food arrives, the bbq-tionist sounds off a scarily accurate rendition of a chicken to which everyone in the restaurant turns around expecting there to be a live animal on my table. What a character as he continues to do this all night to every white passer-by and it was hilarious even on the hundredth time of hearing...:)

Didnt see them at the bar initially though i decided to stay and watch the fireshow and settled on a deckchair beer in hand of course. An incredible show was put on by the residents of the island and included some of the same people who took us on tour earlier on, thus i congratulated them and gave generously to the hat going around, what determined people to rebuild their livelihoods without a hint of feeling sorry for themselves. the most memorable trick from the show was when this guy but out this fire lit torch in his pants, and he deliberated unzipped his trouser so that we could see the flame entry...ouch! though the guy seemed to convey facially a sense of enjoyment as we applauded and cheered him wildly...

Lucky i did stay, as once the show ended, i spotted Kara, and then Frankie and in true Brit fashion, we settled down to getting wasted on this cocktail served in sand buckets. in the process, met these hilarious scots who kept making a thing of balancing the buckets on their heads once in a while. Knowing fully well that i had to be up at 7.30 the morning, i could only prise myself away at around 4am from my group of new friends, who vocally sounded their drunk-induced disappointment. No regrets; a day to remember.