I've been a little slack with the blogging recently but back by popular demand (my mum) is the next blog update...

Despite all the warnings from our Ko Lanta friends about how busy and touristy Ko Phi Phi is, I had read it was worth all the hustle and bustle for the beauty of the island. We waited on the pier at Ko Lanta for our ferry to Ko Phi Phi. There was a really smart looking ferry and we thought for once we had gotten lucky and get to travel in luxury. Of course, 2 minutes before our departure time a beat up old rust bucket rocked up (excuse the pun!). It was a pretty rough ride and Bryan was quite sea sick/hungover for most of the journey.

When we arrived were blown away by just how bustling the place was - welcome to party island. I never did Magaluf or Ibiza but I imagine it's pretty similar to Ko Phi Phi. People EVERYWHERE and they're all tourists. The closer it gets to evening the more come out. Everything is geared up for tourists too. All the shop fronts repeat themselves. It's basically just bars, massage parlours, tattoo shops, diving tour operators, guesthouses and the odd mini mart thrown in. The only locals that live on the island work in those places and the average age of the population (tourists) is about 19.
It wasn't really what we wanted to get from our travelling experience, and given that everything here is twice the price of the mainland, it had cost us a lot to get here. However, we were determined to make the most of it.

There are lots of beaches on the island but not all are easy to get to since there are no proper roads so no cars allowed. The only taxi is a long boat and they aren't cheap. Our first day we went to the nearest beach that is actually used as a beach (a lot are just parking areas for the long boats). It was quite nice but Ko Muk was certainly better. Obviously quite a few people on the beach but not as many as I expected, I assumed they must be on a nicer beach. I spent the day in the shade giving Bryan a chance to catch up with me with his tan! Somehow I still burned my tummy a bit. There were loads of tropical fish in the sea so obviously I didn't go in very far but you could see them from the shore they were quite pretty.

It was pretty difficult to find authentic food on the island and to be honest that was fine with us since we're a bit bored of chicken and rice now. I'm not ashamed to say we ate pizza and garlic bread and it was one of the best pizzas I've ever had. Maybe it was good cooking or maybe it's just because I've missed western food. We also had some pretty decent breakfasts too.

On our second day we decided to go for a hike up to the viewpoint of Ko Phi Phi. It really was a hike. We climbed up stone steps that were so steep they became almost vertical at some points. It was the midday heat as well so we got pretty sweaty! It took a really long time but we finally got to the viewpoint and it was definitely worth the hike. You can see the two bays and the isthmus and all the boats littered around that look like toys in a bath tub. From up there it's easy to forget all the hustle and bustle of down below. It wasn't until we left that viewpoint that we realised there were another 2 viewpoints so we thought we might as well see them too. We thought it might have given a different view of the other sides if the island but it was just the same view only slightly higher each time.

From the viewpoint we had the choice of 3 beaches within 30 mins to an hours walk away. Since we had no idea which was the nicest we just picked one at random and started walking to it. It was a fairly nice trek until it turned a steep descent through some sort of jungle. Bryan spotted them first, trailing behind me was about 15 of the biggest Mosquitos I have EVER seen. They were seriously giant and I couldn't get rid of them. I had to run to stop them landing on me and biting but it wasn't the sort of terrain where you can run. It was a really narrow and steep trail full of tree roots to climb over. I managed to kill one on my leg and the amount of blood that squirted out of it was disgusting. I was pretty freaked out by them and it took forever to get to the beach. When we finally did get there I ran into the sea to try and get them off me. I surveyed the damage - 14 big fat bites all over my legs and ankles.
We were only on the beach for 5 minutes before we realised it was completely in the shade. Another 15 minutes an we were told the last taxi boat was leaving. I certainly wasn't prepared to walk back through the forest of killers giant killer mosquitos so despite the expense we bought a ticket for the taxi boat. Somehow, whilst sunbathing, Bryan split the bum seam of his boardies. It was a big split bearing his cheeks for all to see! The long boats moor a little bit off the shore and it's an awkward climb from the sea onto the boat at the best of times but Bryan had to try and do this wrapped in a towel whilst protecting his modesty. It was hilarious to watch!

The plus side of the island being full if youngsters trying to get wasted is that there is a very lively and interesting nightlife. All along the beach are bars with fascinating fire shows. We even saw one bar where they have a person doing the limbo and he goes impossibly low. It was quite nice walking along the beach at night and watching the different shows.

Admittedly, Ko Phi Phi didn't exactly have much of the culture that we came out travelling for. However, we got a bit of exercise to keep up the old fitness levels in preparation for the Inca Trail. The beaches were quite pretty and it was good to rev up the nightlife for a change. Three nights was plenty for us though, but I do regret not doing a day trip to Ko Phi Phi Leh which a little island nearby where the filmed "The Beach". It was just a little out of our budget to pay all that money for yet another beach! Still plenty more beaches to come!