Welcome to paradise, Welcome to Koh Phi Phi

Oct 6 Koh Phi Phi

Leaving early morning to Koh Phi Phi. Yes! Can't wait. Not sure if the weather is going to be better but what I heard at least Koh Phi Phi is already busy with tourists, and all places are open. Yes, most people would think that places heaving with tourists is a bad thing but after the very untouristy place of Koh Lanta I actually can't wait to see people again.

As our luck has it our pick-up is 20 minutes late and we are just hoping to make it to the 8am ferry – that only runs once a day in off season - on time. We get there 3 minutes to spare till we leave, yes, happy we made it. And so far the sun is shining. It's a pleasant 2-3 hour boat ride and just before we get to Koh Phi Phi the ferry docks off to another one that is heading to Phuket. So people actually don't switch boats from Koh Lanta to Phuket in Koh Phi Phi but mid-ocean, which is quite different.

We arrive on Koh Phi Phi and it is still sunshine, lucky us. Being too lazy to drag our luggage across the island we are booking accommodation on the Pier for the next two nights (not before not verifying online that the price quoted is reasonable, thanks to unlimited mobile Internet).

So we get a room at the Andaman Beach Resort and a guy with a cart picks up our luggage. There are no cars on the island, which I love, and virtually no motorcycles either. Even the bicyclists are having a hard time navigating their way through the tourists. A brisk walk later we get to check in, in a tiny but decent room and immediately make our way to the beach / pool. We have to catch the first sun rays in days. And since it's seemingly so long since I last saw the sun I underestimate it a bit and get sunburned the first official day on the beach. Aaaaarrrrgh!!! And I only have myself to blame. So suncream, after-sun, Aloe Vera and shirts with sleeves for the next few days for me.

It again rains a little bit today, but luckily that is soon over and we get to explore the island a little bit, have some late lunch and walk around. The main part of the island can all be easily walked in a few minutes and that makes it so great. No matter where you are staying, you really are close to everything. How nice not to have to rely on overpriced taxis etc. There is a wonderful beach on the other side of the island, filled with bars and cheap guesthouses, so the young backpacker crowd is never far. The beach is incredibly flat a long way out so makes for good scenery but not so good swimming.

Walking around the island we receive the tip to check out the viewpoint for sunset and we are just on time to make it there. Hot, dripping sweat and trying to avoid the monkeys and mosquitos, we reach the perfect setting. You see most of the island, including Koh Phi Phi Le and can watch as the colors change. Aaaaaaaaah! That is how I imagine a vacation. As an added bonus we get to witness a proposal. All well prepared with a blanket, flowers and of course... a ring. As was expected she cries and says yes. Hm, wonder how many people had had that idea before.

We make our way down before it gets pitch dark and meet up with Vilma and Marcus who arrived from Ao Nang earlier to plan out the next days trips and dinner plans. So tomorrow there will be an island trip, slow cheap longtail boat for us, speedboat for V+M, and day after diving is on the program. Yeah! Really looking forward to that one! The underwater world around Phi Phi should be breathtaking (hopefully not in a literal sense).

We pick a beachside restaurant for dinner and after negotiation a special price for seafood I decide to get a Whole White Snapper. I've had plenty of Red Snappers before but never a White one. Picked fresh and grilled especially for me, it's very tasty but if I had the choice next time I'll go for the Red one again. There is a live band in a bar nearby the restaurant which makes talking almost impossible, they also put on a Fireshow which seems to last forever. Next stop for us is the Bar area to get a little nightcap. It's Ladies Night with cocktails half off, but as you get what you pay for... they taste more than horrible. It's gonna be another bar next time for sure.

First day on Koh Phi Phi was just amazing! So glad we came here. Looking forward to exploring more tomorrow.