On the ferry over to Phi Phi, we decided to watch 'The Beach' to get us in the mood, and we got a nice coffee and cake for free. As we started to get near, we went up top to get a better view. All around were limestone karsts and crystal clear emerald waters. The Island itself was a perfect tropical island, all the buildings were shacks, no high rise, and the whole atmosphere just spilled out 'mi pen ri'. (No worries.) We were heading towards 'the rock', a hostel in the centre that we'd heard about from others as a good place to stay. When we got there, John and Derrick were in the same dorm! After a little wonder around the beach, we met up with the others and joined then on a Maya Bay tour, that would take us to the beach from the film. This was our first experience of a long tail boat ride. It was like a big canoe, with an exposed car engine on the back, that was attached to a long pole with a propeller on the end. The first stop was at monkey beach, which was still on Phi Phi Don. It was a little beach with red faced monkeys on it. If you trieed to go near, they'd chase you into the sea, then get on they're back legs and chase you some more! We then did a bit of snorkelling around Phi Phi Leh, and some girls did cliff diving. The fish you could see were amazing, clown fish, nemos and barracudas. We then stopped for a fruit lunch, then made our way through the rocks and ropes to the beach. After a quick stop to share a bucket of vodka and redbull, we made our way throught the jungle to the beach. It was stunning, and ther was hardly anyone there. Although the tide was out, you could still relate it to the film. All around was loads of sea cucumbers, which we decided were the most pointless animal ever. It's just like a big sausage and doesn't really do anything. On the way back, we caught the most amzing sunset over the sea. That night we went out for a black moon party on the beach and experienced buckets in all their glory. Things were a little blurry after this but it was such a good night.

The following day, a lot of the people from the hostel left to go elsewhere, so after spending the day on the beach nursing our hangovers, we decided to go for a walk to the viewpoint in the centre of the island. Unfortunatley we couldnt' find it, but we did get to see some of the loclas houses and got a pretty cool view anyway. On the night we made the most of the common area outside the hostel which was a great place to chat and meet new people. So much for an early night!