Sunset Crusies Pizza and Chang Beer, Life on Phi Phi

Ko Phi Phi - note, that it is pronounced "Pee Pee"

So we have been here a week now. Generally, it flew by. We had to unit move to another hotel, as KHouse smelled mouldy and was 1300 baht which I thought was too much. We spent an entire afternoon checking out nearly every resort in the area and getting prices. In the 2600 to 3ooo baht range you get some swank bungalows, but we were looking to pay under 1500, which is $50 CAD. Phi Phi Hotel had four budget rooms, look like former maid quarters, with literally no view, as you see a concrete wall for 1500, including breakfast and pool, but tight. The best value looks like Phi Phi Castitas, which has fan bungalows, brand new for 1000, but they are booked solid all of the time. Notable mentions go to the White 2 which got rave reviews from several people we met, and Jong Guest House, which has also been full. best food value, plus best pizza and the only place with decent tofu is Cosmos. Best nightlife is Hippies, I think Handsdown. The best thing about Phi Phi is that there are no cars. bicycles here and there, carts with wheels and flip flops. You can hire boat taxis, we did so today to take us back to the part of the island which we are staying from Long Beach, as I ripped a contact lens and couldn't make it back crawling over rocks and terrain. Cost us 80baht each, or just under $3, and took about 10 min. The hike there, took understandably much longer.

Its very hard to believe the Tsunami even happened here. Of course, there is evidence. Large chucks of coral on the beaches, tonnes of rubbish still piled near the thai neighbourhoods. Looks like everyone really pulled together to get this back together. One of the restaurants we ate at, called Garlic (not recommended, they got my order wrong, then took it back and "fixed it" - there was still chicken hiding) has photos of the place after the Tsunami, totally wiped out. It is truly unbelievable. Apparently 70% of the buildings in this area were destroyed. There is, however, a great deal of new construction. The prices here are very high for Thailand. Large Beer is over 100 baht for Chang, Buckets (more on that later) are anywhere from 200 on the street to 600 in the bars. Meal for two with a beer has been running us between 300-450 baht. Thats about $10-15.

I have a ridiculously itchy and nasty rash on my legs. At first I thought it was mosquito bites, but nope. I went to a pharmacist today, and had her look at it. I had to buy some medicinal ointment for 200baht, just under $10. We will see if it helps. I am assuming, it might be a reaction to a plant, like a poison ivy etc. Mikae and I went and climbed the "Tsunami Evacuation Route" up to the Viewpoint, which is the top of one of the biggest mounts on the island. Nice trek, very steep and sweaty, took us maybe 30min or so. There are some rocks up there, and people sitting quietly. It was breathtaking, We stayed for the sunset. Loads of butterflies as well, and lots of plants.

So as for friends on the island, of course we have Derrick and Sam and Bang their office manager. Uulie, one of the girls from the bookshop we took out one night for a drink to Apaches. Apaches is like, the village people, but a bar. Native American themed, expensive, and awful. Mikae likes it. He went dancing with the Thai girls the other night while I watched Harry Potter. Ullie, Annie (another girl from the bookshop) Bang, Derrick's mother Mary, Mikae and I all went on the PP sunset cruise the other night. Uulie is friends with the MC of the cruise, and she got us cheaper tickets, we saved 200 baht or so, cost us $12 each. I think that her and the MC smuggled us on (we didn't buy tickets) and took the coin for themselves, as we saw them having nice dinner later on. We were happy. We found out today that Thai workers here make around 10000 baht a month, or $330, so if they can have a nice dinner on us, I'm pleased. The cruise was beautiful. We went to Monkey Bay, which is on this island a little ways out, and inhabited by wild monkeys. Very touristy, but super fun. We also went snorkeling and kayaking through one of the Bays of Phi Phi Leh. They then took us to Maya Bay, and we climbed through a cave to the "Beach" where they filmed the movie of the same name. As this is National Park, it costs 200baht just to come on land anyways usually, but it is included in the price of the tour. The evening ends with a frantic swim to the boat (or kayak or mini boat ride) and a view of the sunset. They then fed us a lovely fried rice, some fruit, soda, water and coffee and tea. The trip was about 4 hours, and we shared it with about 20 people, although I understand that sometimes it can be closer to 40. Annie, the little thai girl we went with was shivering like mad and swaddled in towels, while we were in bikinis. It was really nice.

This week we met loads of travellers, generally during lunch. We met Jake, a journalist from Norway who lives in Hong Kong. We shared some buckets on the beach at the Tin Tin Beach party on Friday. Jake was very fun, and reminded us of friends from back home. Our new friend Goran is a Swedish photographer travelling alone. We've had dinner several times, and drinks several more. Ah, a shout out goes to Unni's restaurant for the frites and aioli, and the vegetarian burritos. Last night we ate right on the beach, it was nice. Mikae loved his 1/2 chicken and potatoes. Anyways, Goran and us went to Hippies bar twice this week. Basically, a bucket, is a sand bucket filled with ice, booze, soda and usually RedBull which we have been avoiding. They are super potent. Thai Whiskey and Red Bull and you can party all night. They cost anywhere from $6 to $20 depending on what kind of alcohol you want. All the shops have them out front, a little bucket with a bottle of booze, a can of soda and a bottle of RedBull. Coke coss more than RedBull here, so a custom Bucket might run you a little more. So we have been drinking buckets, they come with several straws and you all share. During Bucket time, there are fire spinners that perform at each of the bars along the beach. They are incredible. We have plenty of photos and videos of that too. Hippies had a huge party the other night for the half moon, they lit a big sign on fire and it was a real rave. Really fun, dancing in the sand. I videotaped this too. The only horrible thing is the toilet there.. it is unbelievable gross, and Thai Style, so you have to squat, but on a 3 foot platform. It makes no sense and they don't flush. Its horrible. Oh, and the Canadians at Hippies were all very rowdy, and singing the national anthem, but it was all in good fun.

Today we hiked over to Long Beach which is much quieter than Tonsai Bay where we are at the moment. Basically, we ended up moving to HCAndersons hotel in the main tourist area, steps from D's Books. It was wifi, which was the major attraction. We stayed 4 nights in a VERY loud room right beside Tiger Bar, where we could rave until 2:30 am. We then switched yesterday from room 18 to room 10 which opens right on the courtyard, is on the other side of the building is newer, less mildewy, and has a double bed as we were in 2 singles. Much nicer, we are paying 1200 baht. Which is just under $40. In Bangkok we were getting a lot more for a lot less, but it is Beach town. Not bad, we can open the windows and door during the day and get some nice natural light. We have been trying to stay indoors during peak sun time anyways, as it is HOT. we have been hitting the Beach for a swim around 3, when it calms a bit. Even with my hat and glasses and 45 and 50SPFs I have been feeling the sun. I am slowly turning brown, despite my sunscreen. Some people here are truly sun worshippers and very dark. Uulie was telling me that the Thais all want to be as white as I am naturally. We want to look brown, they are desperate to look white.. and they all swim fully clothed as well. Most of the sunscreens here have whitening agents in them, and there are commercials for the creams all of the time on television.

So, we hike today through the foliage a bit to get over to Long Beach, (Hat Yo) which is so beautiful. We passed some really really nice resorts as well. Mikae has decided that he wants to do the bungalow thing, and stay over here. We visit a bungalow resort to have a look. for 700 baht, very cheap, you get a mattress on the floor of a hut, a mosquito net, and some lizard roommates. Oh, and a thai style attached toilet. So I freaked to put it mildly, and said I wouldn't stay there. The cottage is one thing, but the bugs here are vicious. Mikae was hurt, as he really wanted this experience. I think, however, we might have found a compromise. We continue walking to literally the most spectacular resort we have seen, where the rooms start in the $100+ range. We ask one of the employees for the price guide and he tells us about the next resort over, which is much more affordable. So we went to visit Phi Phi Hill. You have to climb a serious set of very rickety stairs up to the top of the hill, where there is an open sir reception and restaurant. All of the bungalows were full, so we could not look inside, but the grounds looked nice, all of the other travellers looked respectable enough. They have 600 baht, or $20 huts to 1650 huts, which is closer to $55. I think we will compromise on a medium priced bungalow in the $35 range, with hot water and American Breakfast. The view is spectacular, as you are on the hill, on the Southern tip of the island. The more expensive bungalows are "SunSet view" from your balcony. I am fearful of mosquitoes etc, but the silk liners we have been sleeping in was the best purchase I have ever made. Thank you to Karina's mom Theresa for giving us that tip. They don't have rooms until Friday anyways. The snorkeling is supposed to be crazy, there is Shark Point (Hin Phae) at the base of the hotel, where (harmless) Reef Sharks hang out. Should be, well, peaceful.

Meet Harry, the island's resident superstar.

Tommorrow is the King's Birthday, so everything will be closed. Oh, one last thing. I had a ladyboy massage me, talk about the best of both worlds.