A farewell to jonny and i set sail for Koh Phi Phi. Another ferry boat back to the mainland. This one, far far less luxurious than the previous one and its how I imagine illegal immigrants were smuggled across the sea. The room- a bare room with rugs on the floor and numbers along the walls. Each person was assigned a number and a rug, dimensions maybe 50cm by 125cm, and that's it. Rug number and 10 hours 7pm to 5am, good night. We arrive somewhere onto the coast and are directed towards a bus to travel across the mainland, and then board a small catamaran which finally takes us to the beautiful island of koh phi phi. On the last boat I met a couple of boys from Kent, and once on the Island we look to find accommodation together. Haggling with the touters to find a good deal on a bungalow near the beach. Bungalow successfully haggled and we walk through town to settle into our abode.
After a mid day nap- following the very long journey- we set off to explore the island, finding weaving little streets lined with cafes, fast food restaurants, tour companies, boutiques and general shops. I was surprised at how small the town is. Everything is walking distance which is good because there are no motor vehicles on the island, only bicycles. It takes only 30mins to walk from one side of the island to the other. That night the boys meet up with some of their home friends and we spend the night at a couple of bars. Unexpectedly at the end of the night, I was in the pizza queue ordering a late night feast, and I lose the boys. To only find them again in a tattoo shop, each having a moustache tattooed onto their fingers. I was almost convinced to have one done... Not really!
The next day we organise a boat trip to the smaller island of phi phi lay where 'The Beach' was filmed. This was another boat ride from hell. A wooden long boat crammed with 20 people or so, racing and crashing through waves a metre high and bigger. Each time the boat crashed down it would creak and you could feel the wood stretching and almost splintering. I was holding on for dear life! Once across the open stretch of sea it was ok going around the island and the bays. I had a lovely time snorkelling in the reefs and then walking around the island- its a lot smaller than how I imagined it! The most brilliant woman from brazil was on the boat, and she had us all in hysterics most of the day. She made you hate her so much that by the end of the day I loved her. She was traveling on her own so made us take pictures of her with 'baby' (a big fancy canon camera). But would shout at the boat driver to change the angles we were sailing to get the best pictures or tell him to slow down or go back again. If we weren't quick enough we were told to hurry up and concentrate. If we talked too loudly we had to be quiet. If we were in the way we had to move. You get the gist... When it was time to leave phi phi lay everyone was on the boat except her. The driver was very tempted to leave her on the island! Back across the open sea in another terrifying journey with so much spray entering the boat that once we docked we had water to our calves!
Next day I left for my connecting flight to Singapore then to Brisbane to start my Auzzie journey!!