Thailand Day 8 – Island Hopping
Sunday Oct 19th, Day 8 – Island Hopping
Joe splurged on a speed boat today to take us to some of the surrounding islands. It only cost $300 for the entire day with a captain which is a real bargain. By comparison, when we rented a fishing boat in Mexico, the cost was $400 for only 4 hours. So we got a great deal for less money and had use of it the entire day. Our guesthouse owner (Ya) joined us on today’s outing with her husband. She called around and found the cheapest price for us. She has never been on a speed boat before so I think she was delighted we invited her. Plus their expertise on the various islands would prove very helpful. We’ve already seen the benefits of befriending the locals.
We prepare to board the White Rabbit, our speed boat for today’s adventure
I purchased some new sunblock before today’s outing because mine is just not strong enough. You can’t use anything less than 50 SPF here. Both our fishing boat the other day and today’s speed boat have top covers so I haven’t got burned too badly. But Thailand is less than 1,000 miles north of the Equator so you’re definitely feeling the effects of the sun more directly here. Today’s boat pick up is at 9:30am.
The Phi Phi Islands are a small island group just off the coast from Krabi. Our first stop was at Phi Phi Leh to snorkel – it’s pronounced “pee pee”. This island is also known for Leonardo DiCaprio’s movie The Beach which was shot here. Although they did shoot some of the Bangkok scenes from the movie actually in Krabi where we are staying. The Maya Bay that surrounds Phi Phi Leh contains bioluminescent plankton which was also featured in the movie as well.
Beautiful cliffs surround Phi Phi Leh
Snorkeling was excellent. There were so many fish in the water, I could hardly swim without hitting any of them. The fish checked me out a few times giving me a few pecks to make sure I wasn’t food. This may have been the best snorkeling we have had yet….anywhere.
The snorkeling spot was teeming with fish – I was afraid to jump in on top of them!
The water is a beautiful transparent emerald color. You can’t truly appreciate it from the pictures here because the photos tend to make it look blue. But trust me, in person it’s more of shade of green. You can still see the bottom easily; the water clarity is incredible. You might think it is a murky green but it’s not at all. I’m unaccustomed to seeing that color of water so I found it very striking.
Despite visits by tourists, this island is uninhabited and is known for its stunning cliffs and surrounding coral reefs. After snorkeling, we pulled into a secluded cove on the opposite side that you can only access by boat to feed the wild monkeys. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of feeding them. We pulled up close enough so they could hop on board and when they had their fill of bananas, they jumped in the water and swam away!
The monkeys got very excited when they saw us coming – they knew we had food!
Even though these monkeys behaved themselves, it’s wise never to turn your back on them
Next we visited and spent some time on the island of Phi Phi Don for some shopping and sightseeing. We were supposed to stay overnight here for 2 nights but we were so comfortable back in Krabi, we decided not to mess around with the inconvenience of packing again. We also felt confident we could see what we wanted here with a day trip in the boat.
We stopped at Phi Phi Don for shopping and some sightseeing
I’m happy with our decision to stay in Krabi. Phi Phi Don, while beautiful, was packed with tourists. Tourism skyrocketed here since the movie The Beach was shot on the neighboring island Phi Phi Leh. Although they did shoot some of the Bangkok scenes in Krabi, it doesn’t seem to be affected in the same way as Phi Phi Don. Krabi Town (where we are staying) is still very much a “Thai” town. Phuket and even Phi Phi Don is more of a tourist destination. If you want a 4 or 5-star resort with all the Western comforts, it’s probably better to travel here. But I came on this trip to experience the culture and its people. Phi Phi Don is still very scenic and maybe someday if we come back, I wouldn’t mind staying a day or two here. They have treehouse accommodations which sound rather unique.
This is why we decided not to stay on Phi Phi Don – it’s become a high tourist zone
While on Phi Phi Don, we toured the Tsunami Memorial Garden. The massive Indian Ocean earthquake and corresponding tsunami poured in on tourists and locals without warning on Dec 26, 2004. It was a solemn moment as we viewed the many pictures and memorials to the victims who died. Of all the foreigners to die, Sweden had the most people perish. Sweden has such harsh winters that many of its people vacation in Thailand over Christmas. The Thai government reported just over 4,800 deaths. It was a very somber place.
The Phi Phi Tsunami Memorial Park was built after the 2004 disaster
The Tsunami Memorial Garden was lined with photos and memorials to the victims
Then we headed to one more snorkeling spot at a distant reef. They say the Phi Phi Islands are the best dive spot in the world. I believe it. This is the best snorkeling I have ever experienced…and I’ve snorkeled in plenty of places. But I’ve never seen the variety of fish, the number of fish, and the variety of coral as I saw here. It’s staggering. And you don’t even need bread to chum them in. The fish are just there.
Our last stop was on Bamboo Island. There are no cliffs or rocky peaks here. It’s a remote patch of sand quietly thrown into the sea that boasts a stunning white beach, shade trees, clear water, very few tourists, and abundant beachcombing for shells. Yes, I’d definitely stay here. However, there are no hotels on this island which probably explains the low crowds. They do have tents you can stay in for $8 a night. The tropical heat is a little too extreme for me not to have air conditioning. In fact, the only place we get air conditioning is in our hotel room. Every other public place (shops, restaurants, etc) are all open air…..so no air conditioning. The locals don’t seem to mind it.
No hotels or guesthouses on Bamboo Islands but for a mere $8 a night you can rent one of these tents
We could see rain clouds heading for us at the end of the day. It IS the tropics and the rainy season. But we still managed to enjoy a fun filled day on the water. Tomorrow is another riveting adventure in what I like to remember as the Day of Death. But that’s a blog for another day.
Rain coming – time to head in!
