Thailand

Yet again - more traveling! We got a bus to Krabi where we had a three hour wait. Then a taxi to the port and a ferry over to Ko Phi Phi.

First impressions of the island - so cool! It is so unlike anywhere else I had been. It was similar to a small shanty town but with a seriously cool and edgy vibe. It was not at all like I imagined and very different from the places we had been previously. There was so much going on with little stalls and markets and food everywhere. And there are no cars on the island either! Everyone is on bikes or foot. But seeing as it is only a small place it does make sense.

We got to the hotel - nice place. Got ourselves cleaned up and went for a wander. There was so much that I wanted to buy, but I managed to hold back (partly because I wanted to see if it was cheaper in Bangkok and also because I did not want to have to carry it around in my backpack until I had to). The shops all sell similar stuff so if you want something BARTER!! They will go cheaper 90% of the time.

Before I went people we always asking me "Are you going to try street food?" with a worried look on their face and concern in their voices. Of course I was going to try street food. It is one of the main reasons I wanted to go to Thailand - to try all sorts of new food. We immediately went to try some once we had left the hotel. Standing in front of the food I can see why people would be cautious about trying it; there were flies landing on it constantly and you had no idea how long it had been there for. But, nonetheless, Clare and I chose a selection of different things including prawns, fishcakes and BBQ chicken, and tucked in. I have to admit, it was the best food I'd had since I had been there, as well as the cheapest. And after that, we barely ate in a restaurant again!

At night we got dressed up and went to see what the island had to offer. We had read that the fire shows we a must see on Phi Phi so we went to watch one at a bar called Slinky's. It was really good. The guys were pretty fearless when it came to throwing fire all around and above them and they certainly did put on a show. As much as I enjoyed it, it did seem to be never ending! Eventually we moved on, only to find that every single bar along the beach front also had a fire show on! We walked right along the beach front, stopping off now and then in the bars and having a boogie in one. We headed back (and got slightly distracted, running onto one dance floor when we heard One Direction!).

One the walk home I came up with a brilliant idea....let's get a tattoo! Clare is not a fan of them but that didn't stop me! I only wanted something small, and mainly did it because I wanted to try it native style - with bamboo! I chose a little elephant (fitting, don't you think?) and had it done just above my ankle. It was really cool and interesting to watch the guy do it with no electricity just a long, thin piece of bamboo that he moved so quickly! I thought it was going to be more painful but have to admit it did not hurt as much as the usual way...

The next day we decided to go over to Phi Phi Ley Togo so we could visit Maya beach (the famous beach from the film "The Beach"). We inquired about a boat and got told they only go at certain times, so waited around, paid and got on. What we didn't realise is that we had ended up paying for a half day trip, when all we wanted to do was get to the beach and sunbathe! We first went across to Monkey Beach, where lots of small monkeys hassled tourists for food. They were far too greedy and confident!! We went snorkeling again, this time it was much better and I saw some really amazing fish! Even saw a snake in the water (which was probably around the time that I got out) then finally got the boat to Maya beach. We were told we only had an hour there and first had to climb through a cave and across a broken bridge before getting there, and we had to pay to get onto the beach. When we finally got onto the beach, which I admit was very beautiful, we lay down to sunbathe to only be completely covered in sand. It was unbelievably windy and the sand actually hurt as it slammed against my body. So basically it was not the most successful of days. Throw into that the added factor that on the way back the wind got worse, causing the waves to get very bad and the small boat that we were in was not quite managing. It was a rather scary experience!

Phi Phi is well worth a visit. It has a cool, fun vibe and there is lots to do and such a great atmosphere. The only thing I would say is it was full of British people and tourists, which did start to take something away from the island!