Kho Phi Phi - Tropical Paradise

so, we've finally hit our first island and experienced island life. Its a lot slower paced than Bangkok and Phuket that's for sure.

Its very difficult to describe Phi Phi, other than the most spectacularly beautiful place I have ever experienced. Comprised of two islands, Phi Phi Don (the larger of the two and the place where all the villas and bars are) and Phi Phi Leh (the lesser of the two and the place where The Beach was filmed).

Phi Phi Don is two groups of mountains, connected by a thin stretch of beach which is roughly 500m across. Within this stretch of land is the 'town', consisting of a number of wooden kiosk like market stalls selling souvenirs, hot food, tours etc, a number of bars and restaurants and then on the outskirts of the central 'market' are the bungalows and villas that people stay in.

The pace of life here is slow, to say the least. People are so laid back they are virtually lying down, and they walk like they're walking through water. During the day, tourists take boat trips on the many long tail boats drawn up to the beach, or go diving, or just sit and admire their surroundings. There's still furious building work going on as well, following the horrific damage that was done by the tsunami here. They're a proactive people though, the Thais, and they really haven't rested on their laurels in putting this place back together.

At night Mr Hyde comes out, and the whole place turns into party central with buckets of SangSom and Redbull in the hands of many a traveller, straws sticking out the top like the few remaining hairs on Homer's head. We spent our first night chilling out on the beach in a little ouside bar created primarily out of driftwood, listening to Bob Marley and smoking a bit of weed, which is readily available and commonly smoked on 90% of the bars here. Just a part of island life.

Today we took a longtail out to Phi Phi Leh and My (insert appropriate deity here) it was stunning. The cliffs have clearly been eroded over billions of millenia and are streaked black, white and yellow, rising some 400 feet straight out of the water. as you pass around you start to see coves opening up within the island and a small channel where the boats can get through to a perfectly calm and surrounded lagoon. Here our boat captain (an ex Muay Thai fighter from Bangkok called India, who is possibly one of the coolest people I've ever met - he had to give it up because he got kicked in the face so hard it split his jaw right down the middle. ouch) let us swim and we went for a bit of a snorkel around the coral reefs. After we went around the island to Yama 'The Beach' Beach, and instantly you can see why they chose it. Its amazing, the whitest beach I've seen, even in photos; its completely surrounded by cliffs, apart from a slight 'dog leg' where the boats get in, and from the beach itself looking out, it seems like you're completely cut off from the world.

This evening we walked up some serious step to the top of one of the lower peaks on the east side of the island where you can get some great views of the whole island and watch the sunset. You honestly couldn't write it this good.

In other news, I've decided to set up a charity - The Help Jim Get More Drunk and Maybe Help Squeeze in Some Serious Diving Fund, or THJGMDAMHSISSDF for short. Essentials are covered, but you can never have too much beer, or go diving too many times, so if anyone feels like making a christmas contribution to THJGMDAMHSISSDF, then I ask you humbly and ambitiously to do so with the follwong information:

Mr Cornelius Wesley Hottingdean-Smithe
20-20-02
00766613

If you're worried about identity fraud, I'm not, there would be very little for anyone to take.

Right, I'm off to get some Pad Thai and have a couple of Changs (local Thai beer and my new best friend)

Hope everyone is well and good, I just realised you can make comments on this page so if you feel liek responding to any of my inane waffling, please feel free to help make this communication less of a one way thing.

Thinking of you all while I sit on a beach in a tropical paradise

Jim

xxx