Monkeying around on Phi Phi

A trip to the famous Koh Phi Phi island obviously had to be done. Yes it's true these days there are lots of beach bars filled with drunk 18 year olds (it seems mandatory after finishing high school), but Phi Phi is a gorgeous island and certainly not to be missed. If you get away from the backpacker ghetto you'll discover where all the postcards pictures come from. And trust me, it really is that beautiful in real life.

With white sandy beaches, crystal clear blue water and massive limestone cliffs rising out of the water, it's easy to see why it's such a popular holiday destination. Koh Phi Phi Le, the smaller island near Koh Phi Phi Don, is the more famous one in recent times as it's where 'The Beach' with Leonardo DiCaprio was filmed. Now days boatloads of tourists (mostly from Phuket) are dumped onto this beach in the morning to spend their time in the shade waiting for their evening boats to depart.

Postcard shot

The famous beach, Maya Bay

Phi Phi is also a pretty well known spot for its diving, so of course Jade had to try it out. After trying to talk me into it and failing off he went. Personally I had a very enjoyable day laying on the beach finishing my book but 7 hours later, Jade comes back and he can't stop raving about it. After a bit of umming and ahhing he decides he liked diving so much he wanted to become an official Scuba Steve and do the PADI open water diving course, involving 4 days of study, tests and practical work. He still hadn't given up on getting me into the water either, so after some more convincing I nervously took a test dive in a swimming pool - and passed all the requirements with flying colours. Apparently I'm a natural!

With that out of the way we were taken by longboat out to a bay on Koh Phi Phi Le. I was geared up with everything: on went my mask, snorkel, flippers, weight-belt, BCD and gas tank. I was then told to sit on the edge of the boat, cross my flippers, hold my regulator in - and next thing you know I'm pushed off the boat! I tumble backwards into the water in a very James Bond style entry and sink in a cloud of bubbles. Thankfully my inflated BCD brings me back to the surface, I give the OK signal and I'm Scuba Sarah for the day!

After a bit of difficulty equalising my ears we finally reached the sandy ocean floor, a very strange feeling. Breathing underwater is also very weird and you feel like you've suddenly become an asthmatic. It's quickly forgotten once you start looking around though, there are soooo many fish! Big, small, colourful, quirky, cute. The coral was also healthy and brightly coloured, a very pretty sight. On our second dive after lunch we even saw a giant turtle just swimming around happily, munching on all the coral. I have to admit it was pretty cool but don't think I'll be becoming an official scuba Sarah unlike Jade; I'll stick to snorkeling thanks.

A trip around to Monkey Bay was also on the list so we hired a kayak (managed to haggle them down to a reasonable price, starting to get the hang of this haggling thing!) and paddled around to the bay. Soft white sand covered the small beach with water so clear you could see the fish swimming around, but no monkeys to be seen. We'd hired a snorkel so we could swim around the bay and investigate what was hiding in all the rocks. Jade managed to find a very territorial fish which was guarding his rock with a fierce sense of purpose, it even took a bite at Jade when he got too close! When we came back to shore the monkeys had emerged from the trees. Cute little things on first inspection but get between them and what they want - mostly your things - and you'll think differently! Luckily for us we had been smart and tied everything to our kayak before we went for a swim, other people had not been so lucky. The monkeys were raiding bags, taking food and any water bottles they could get their furry little hands on. One girl was especially unlucky when her whole bag disappeared up a tree, and I don't know if she managed to get it back! The monkeys also know exactly what to do if you try to stop them: they hiss, growl and take a couple of steps towards you and you go running. Well nobody wants rabies do they!

I'm a cute little monkey...

...but I'm actually going to go through all your bags

And steal your stuff!!

Another thing that seems mandatory to do on Phi Phi is have a bucket. A bucket of alcohol that is. Come night fall just about every shop on the island sets up a stall with all the necessary ingredients, so a quick look around to see who had the best price and we were set up with our first Phi Phi bucket. It's pretty simple: a small plastic bucket filled with vodka, Thai whiskey or rum (whichever takes your fancy), add in some Thai Red Bull and your choice of coke, sprite or juice. Pretty simple really but be careful, they'll quickly sneak up on you!

The necessary ingredients

My first Phi Phi bucket!

Our last night on the island we splashed out and went to an upmarket French restaurant on the recommendation of Jades diving instructor. I had duck with a mango sauce and it was delicious - but the thing I was really excited about (and never thought I'd say) was that it came with mashed potatoes! As nice as all this Thai food has been, you still can't beat some decent mashed potatoes. It's small things like this that we are starting to miss, especially dark chocolate and good wine!

Well Phi Phi has definitely been my favourite place so far and I really did not want to leave; we came for three days and stayed eight. I think it just has a good mix of everything and is such an incredibly beautiful place. I'm already planning when I can come back!