15th Feb 2008 :
Meeting at Phuket Airport:
I flew in from Kuala Lumpur while Argi flew in all the way from Athens via Bahrain. Argi arrived 45 minutes earlier than me and upon my arrival at around 1pm, we were rushing to get a taxi to the pier as we were informed that the last ferry which leaves Phuket for Ko Phi Phi is at 2.30pm. Argi had bought our tickets from the airport (while waiting for me) to save time and to avoid disappointment of missing the ferry due to time constraint but later found out that it was a mistake to do so! We paid 500 baht for each ticket when it actually costs only 350 baht at the pier.
The ferry ride was alright, we stayed on the deck throughout the 1.5 hour journey to replenish our fading tan !!
Upon arrival at the pier at Tonsai Bay, we realised that there are no cars allowed on the island and the main transportation is by bicycles. The roads are mostly sandy and uneven and we were grateful that out hotel (PP Casita) sent a “taxi” – ie. a wheel-barrow-like-cart to help with our luggage. We followed the cart and walked through Tonsai Village, where most shops and bars are located to our hotel, which is located near the Lod Dalum Bay.
PP Casita has many wooden chalets which they call “bungalows” on the ground level which creates a village-like atmosphere with its many trees and beautiful, colourful flowers all around. We checked out the photos and hotel on Tripadvisor and decided to opt for the rooms in their 2-storey buildings instead as we find the rooms to be newer, bigger and cleaner than the chalets.
We were happy with our room – nothing fancy –sufficient for a good night’s rest with a nice small balcony and working air-condition.
We spend our first evening exploring the area around our hotel, which is located only about 200 metres away from Loh Dalum Bay. We walked the path linking that and Tonsai Bay – the Village got really busy and crowded at night, lots of restaurants, bars and massage places.
We had dinner at Garlic 1992 which offers both local and western food. Very nice and affordable!
16th Feb 2008 : Loh Dalum Bay
We decided to take it easy today after a tiring day of reaching here yesterday. We stayed the whole day at Loh Dalum Bay which was like a big swimming pool as the waters was really calm and the water was just so warm ! We paid 50 baht each for the deck chairs and spent a really leisure day at the beach.
We had our lunch at a small stall by the beach – manned by a very curly-haired local boy with who has the most innocent face! The watermelon juice he made was just out of this world !! Two local ladies at the kitchen cooked us our very delicious lunch – we tried the spring rolls, pineapple friend rice and sweet and sour chicken. Yummy !!
17th Feb 2008 : Phi Phi Leh
Our first Adventure Day !! We hired a longtail boat – found the captain by chance when we were walking along Tonsai Bay last night. His name is San and he usually sits under a tree just after Carlito’s Bar at Tonsai Bay. His whole family was killed when the tsunami struck the island back in 2004.
Maya Bay:
We had made prior arrangement with him last night to start our journey at around 7.30am to Maya Bay as we want to avoid the maddening crowd. We were more than happy to sacrifice a little sleep in return for the total tranquillity of the beach when we arrived around 8.00 am. Besides us, there were only a few others who had camped there the previous night.
Maya Bay is surrounded by several high cliffs and therefore, the water is quite chilly so early in the morning when we arrived. We were fascinated by the silky soft sand and the crystal clear waters. We spent a good one quiet hour there before the crowd starts arriving in high speed boats.
Initially, we thought Maya Bay was the most beautiful beach but with San’s experience and knowledge around the islands, he took us to many more beautiful bays which are equally if not more beautiful than Maya minus the crowd.
Loh Sama :
After Maya, we rode past Loh Sama, which is on the south side of the island. We decided not to snorkel today and continued on our journey to Pi Leh Bay which is on the opposite side of the island to Maya Bay.
Pi Leh Bay:
San stopped the boat here and Argi took a long swim to a very small beach and started swinging like Tarzan on a rope which someone has tied there! The waters is green here and you can actually see beautiful corals and fishes from the boat !
Viking Cave:
After a nice long swim for Argi, we continued our journey back to Tonsai Bay and on the way, passed through the Viking Cave – we were told by San that many swifts build their nests here and we could see many ugly bamboo scaffoldings around the cave.
We decided that we have had enough of caves after Mulu to visit yet another one !
We were back at Tonsai Bay by 11.30am and spent the whole day just relaxing at our hotel.
Sunset from Phi Phi View Point Resort, Loh Dalum :
We were told that sunset from this part of the island is very beautiful, so we decide to have a drink at the Phi Phi View Point Resort which is licated right by the Loh Dalum beach. There is a nice care right next to the Resort’s swimming pool and you can sit there to enjoy your drinks and wonderful view of the sun setting.
Nightlife on this part of the beach is more bohemian compared to noisy Tonsai Village. There are a few nice chilled out beach bars which play cafe del mar music..a nice relaxing scene for those who are not into action after a long tiring island hopping day!! Reminds me of the quieter side of Ibiza...
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