After an 8hr overnight bus, 2hr minibus and 2hr ferry ride, we arrived at the island paradise of Ko Phi Phi. We had to wait a bit to check into our hotel but once that was done we headed to the beach for some relaxation. The sand is white and the water is turquoise blue but you can see the affects of all the tourism (garbage and pollution). That night we went out for a wonderful Thai meal at a tiny "hole-in-the-wall" restaurant called Papaya. The restaurant had a cat that pretty much lived in the beer cooler! It was hot enough there we could see why.
The next morning we got up early and headed out on a longtail boat with our guide Musa. Our first stop was Maya Bay, the famous location where the movie The Beach was filmed. Because we got there early, we avoided the droves of tourists and got to see it "almost" deserted. We headed to the other side of island and went to a great location for snorkeling. There were some amazing corals and quite a few different species of fish. We continued on our tour and stopped at a couple of different beaches to try and spot some monkeys...but had no luck. We stopped at another island with a fantastic (and less busy) beach and did some more snorkeling before heading back to Ko Phi Phi. Our day out on the water really tired us out, so after we had some lunch we headed back to the hotel and had an afternoon siesta. Because it was so good the night before, we went back to Papaya for supper again. We then went to one of the bars and watched a rather impressive (and free) fire dance show. All in all it was a pretty good day.
The next morning we got up early and climbed up to a couple of the viewpoints overlooking the island. By the time we reached the top, we were both sweaty messes, but the view was worth it (I'm not sure if Jen agrees with me on this). We walked back down and enjoyed a healthy lunch of ice cream and fruit smoothies.
That afternoon we caught the afternoon ferry back to the mainland and went to our hotel in the small town of Ao Nang. Thankfully the hotel had a swimming pool, so we went for a very refreshing dip before heading out for supper.
This was our last day in Thailand and our next stop is Malaysia...country number 7 of 13 of this trip. About a month and a half and it's back to real life again