Phuket to Ko Phi Phi: From Modern City to Tiny Beach Town

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE Once again, we woke up early but this time with a plan in mind that actually involved getting up early. Joe and Sarah, the Kiwis, had told us about a little beach farther south that had really great surf at low tide. Considering low tide was around 7 am, we left Karon about that time and drove the 25 minutes south to Nai Harn, another quiet beachy beauty. The drive to the beach was almost as pretty as the beach itself: we went up a hill that overlooked Karon, Kata, and Patong Beaches and through the sleepy town of Nai Harn. Justin didn’t think the waves were good enough to warrant renting a surf board, so we swam and body surfed in the warm waters for about an hour instead.

Our next and last stop on our motorbike was the Big Buddha. The Big Buddha is a statue of Buddha (obviously) about 400 meters tall on the highest part of the Phuket Island and overlooks southern and eastern Phuket. I do have to say that the drive to Big Buddha was almost more fun than actually seeing it… We took the long way from Nai Harn and drove along the coast to get views of other islands to the south and the longtail boats waiting to take tourists to them. The Big Buddha itself was under construction when we got there because the entire statue is being covered in white marble as I type. It was beautiful and awe-inspiring, and it was pretty easy to picture what it will all look like when it is finished. We also watched the monks meditating for a bit before heading back to Karon Beach to catch our shuttle to the harbor in Phuket, and from there the ferry to Ko Phi Phi.

In true Thai fashion, the shuttle crammed way more people in than it should have fit. There were thirteen of us in a minibus that seats twelve. With no trunk. It was an adventure, but Justin managed to sleep most of the way there and I watched as our little beach town turned into the bustling streets of Phuket proper and thought to myself: “I’m so happy we didn’t stay here!”

The ferry ride was pretty uneventful. There was a group of drunken Europeans drinking beers and slapping each other and a lot of Asian tourists wearing jeans, tennis shoes, and massive cameras around their necks. We just sat, watched the islands go by, laughed at the Europeans, and drank some whiskey.

Ko Phi Phi really is as gorgeous as everyone says it is. It is basically two karst islands, covered in green vegetation and sheer cliffs, connected by a very thin strip of sandy beach. That strip of sandy beach a conglomerate of dive shops, bars, bamboo tattoo parlors, knick knack shacks, cheap guest houses, and equal parts imitation “western” food and authentic Thai cuisine. It is unlike any place we have ever seen or even envisioned, and the mix of people here are just as strange as the town itself: Thai families with small shops, avid SCUBA divers, tourists looking for the next party at which to get drunk, and backpackers who got stuck working in dive shops and never left the island. Power lines bunched together haphazardly eight feet off the ground follow the sandy cobble stone pathways filled with bikes, push carts, and stray cats. There aren’t any motorbikes or cars on the island and the foot traffic adds to the island ambiance. The cats sleep in whatever shade is to be found during the day, and run the beaches at night catching sand crabs for dinner.

We found our way to our bungalow, settled in, and walked the 100 feet to the beach. We grabbed a big beer to share, and waded out into the bay. And by waded I really mean waded: the water wasn’t more than 18 inches deep and the tide was dropping fast. We got out a ways, drank our beer, chatted with a few Americans, and admired the beauty surrounding us.

We decided to make our diving plans for the next day before dinner, so we signed up for two dives with Viking Divers. A group of Canadians told us that all the dive shops in Phi Phi have an agreement and charge a flat rate of 2500 baht (about 70 dollars) for two dives and all rental gear. So we didn’t bother to look around for the best price! After dinner we walked back to our bungalow on the beach and decided to skip partaking in the beach party scene (live music, flame throwers, dancers, drunken tourists… basically a lot of fun), and just watched it all happen for about an hour. Hungover diving just didn’t sound appealing to us! Back at the bungalow, we slept soundly, other than the few times we were awakened by the ridiculously loud frogs right outside that sounded more like a mix between a rattlesnake and a diesel engine than a frog!