Two Beers and a Pretzel

On the Andaman Sea side (West) of Thailand, there’s an island that is renowned for its’ beaches and diving.  Koh Phi Phi was not exactly the paradise I expected…  Beautiful, yes – just kinda weird…

Phuket was OK, but not great.  The flight was a hair over an hour, but the town was a dump.  Literally roaches scurrying under your feet.  Perhaps if I had stayed in Patong beach instead of the mis-recommendation of Phuket Town, I may have liked it more.  Similarly, the Same Same guesthouse was decent in Chiang Mai, but a few other guys in my cooking class were staying across the street at the “Jennie” guesthouse for half the price with a significantly cooler vibe.

Anyway…  for some reason the whole town of Phuket pretty much closes at 10 PM.  I fell asleep in the guesthouse that afternoon and awoke very hungry up around 11 PM.  I walked around Phuket Town looking for food for nearly an hour before finding the “Bohemian” bar – which still had an open kitchen.  The owners were watching the Australia versus Sri Lanka Cricket match in the deserted bar.  I ordered a Pad Thai and joined them for a Tiger Beer.  An older Thai lady brought the food a few minutes later.  After I finished the Pad Thai, she offered to play pool on the free pool table.

The next morning, I booked a ferry to Koh Phi Phi island.  This is one of the places that was constantly in the news in December 2004 because it was completely devastated by the Tsunami.  Most of the lodging is built on a large, but not very tall  sandbar between two rocky islands.  Everyone’s first impression is “OK, I can totally see how a big wave could wipe this place off the map”.

I hung out in long beach with Leann, Suzy, and Steven – a group I met on the ferry ride over.  Budget accommodation is not common on Koh Phi Phi.  The single person 500 bhat rooms were a roach infested mess, so Leann and I split a 1300 bat room at the P.P. Paradise Resort.  Nice, clean, A/C, and private bathroom.  Not bad for 650 bhat per person (roughly $22) – but solo travelers will be staying in total dives for nearly the same price.

That night in town, we cruised around – trying to find a cheap bar.  The water taxi ride to town is 100 bhat per person ($3).  At most bars, drinks were 150 bhat ($4.50).  Even a bar named Cheap Charlies was expensive for Thailand.  There was a popular place simply called Reggae Bar that had a Muay Thai ring in the middle of the building, and offered free drinks to anyone who got in to fight and entertain the crowd.

The next day we all booked an all-day longboat tour to the nicer beaches and snorkeling spots in the area.  Longboats are literally just a long wooden boat with a 4 cylinder motor mounted high on a swiveling joint, attached to a 15 ft drive shaft with a large prop at the end.  The “sea gypsy” clan of boat drivers can spin the motor and drive shaft around to almost make the boat go backwards.  They do not inspire confidence, and most look ready to sink.

A similar rickety boat took about 15 of us around the islands for 7 hours.  We saw the famous Maya Bay where the movie “The Beach” was filmed, along with a number of stunning coves, caves, and some stunning beaches, and great snorkeling.

At the end of the day we were all so tired that we met at the resort for dinner and talked over a few beers before going to bed early.

The last 3 days have cost me about $350 (not including the $70 flight from Bangkok to Phuket)…  So the resort areas of Thailand are not as cheap as you think, but still cheaper than Florida…  and the scenery really blows away the generic luxury condo towers in Florida…

Oddly, for such a slice of paradise, the Thai’s and Sea Gypsy’s who work here are pretty bitter toward tourists – and it’s currently the low season.  Couple that attitude with the relatively high prices, and I couldn’t wait to leave.  On Steve’s recommendation, I left Phi Phi and headed for Bottle Beach on Koh Phangan island in the Gulf of Thailand.