Koh Phi Phi (Pronounced "Pee Pee" for all you mature readers...)

There were so many options, but we have decided that Koh Phi Phi is our favourite island in Thailand! We spent four nights here and have really enjoyed ourselves. This island has the perfect mix of scenery, nightlife, great beaches, and plenty of activities. So much stuff... where to begin??

When we arrived on the island, we were accosted by a mob of Thai workers selling bungalow accommodations. You get to see laminated pictures of an endless selection of rooms at almost any price.... all up for a negotiation on price, of course. Once you choose one, a small man will load all of your shit into a push cart and weave you through the crowded and oh so humid streets to your chosen bungalow. It is actually an extremely efficient system, as they know that almost none of us backpackers arrange any place to stay in advance. As we are nearing the end of our Thailand trip (but not anywhere near the end of our big trip!) we made the decision, egged on by the immense sweat dripping from us, to pay a bit extra ($3.33 each/night!) to have a place with A/C. Thank Buddha! It is freaking H.O.T. on this island... although we aren't complaining. We have been so lucky to get nice weather and sun here, as the monsoon weather forecast predicted rain all week. So we settled into our nice budget priced bungalow and headed out to explore the island. First stop: a beautiful infinity pool at a hotel we weren't staying at. All of our lives we have been traveling with our family, understudies in the art of getting more than we paid for. Alas, it paid off as we seamlessly laid down on the last two available lounge chairs. We clearly gave off the aura that we belonged as the lady who ran the hotel did a sweep of the pool and ungraciously shooed out all those who weren't guests... walking straight past us :) This pool became our home base in the daytime as we soaked in the rays and worked on our tans and trashy beach reading and ordering the occasional Mai Tai from the pool bar.

On the first island we went to all those days ago, Koh Samui, we met these 2 crazy girls from T.O. and missed them among the throngs of revelers at the full moon party later that week. As we were chowing down on one of our favourite meals on the island - BBQ corn cob and shish kebab from a push cart - the girls appear from the nearby hotel! We had a great night with them partying on the beach (there is a beach party here every night, without exception.) I am sure we will see them in T.O. upon our return. It's a small world on these islands!

Another funny thing about this island is that it has become the place where broke backpackers can drink for free by working for the bars. This creates an odd situation where any time you walk ANYWHERE in town after dark, you are swarmed by white tourists of varying accents shoving flyers in your face for free shots/appetizers/beach party/wet t-shirt contest/etc/etc. Very strange in the middle of a Thai island!! See 2 such English boys handing out flyers outside of a sign that says "STAFF WANTED. Get paid to get laid." 'Nuff said!

On day 3, we set off on a half day tour that took us to some of the most beautiful places around Koh Phi Phi. We arrive at the travel agent where we booked the tour. They point at a guy - "Follow him". We blindly follow this guy around the island as he meanders around to every travel hut and picks up a group of tourists on the way. Eventually we look like sunburned ducks following our mother onto the pier and filing into a boat. Priceless! Our first stop on the tour was Monkey Bay. Here's how that went down. Big boat of approx 60 tourists anchors facing a beach. You can see the monkeys going nuts on the beach from the boat. 60 tourists jump (literally) off the boat and swim to shore. 60 tourists swarm the crazy monkeys, eager to feed them various fruits. Monkeys take the fruit in hand. Monkeys, being wild, eventually freak out in a frenzy of hissing and teeth baring. Two monkeys drop down from a tree onto the slowest, doe eyed girl on our boat. Monkey bites slow girl on the cheek! 60 tourists swim back to boat. Girl gets antiseptic on cheek from tour operator... doesn't seem like his first time treating this particular brand of injury. Next stop was Maya Bay... home of the famous secluded beach from the movie "The Beach". Less than 60 tourists again jump from boat (some older or less agile ones skip this journey) and grab underwater ropes in an attempt to make it to a ladder that leads to the beach before a wave crashes you into the jagged rocks. I was behind a very uncoordinated chunky foreign girl for this exercise... Not. Impressed. No. Patience. Anyway, we get to the beach and it is gorgeous. Well worth the trip to get there. Stunning. After we did the crazy ropes and waves in reverse, we docked at a snorkeling spot where the water was so clear that you didn't really even need a mask. Which was good, considering, as with EVERY TIME I have snorkeled, my mask was broken and my snorkel tube leaked so much I had to take it off and hold my breath. Even after all of the snorkeling we have done, we saw so many things we have never seen... sea urchins, a nasty looking eel with big teeth, purple coral, and angel fish! The trip ended with a bunch of mostly white tourists gouging themselves on green curry, which we all found out too late was EXTREMELY spicy!!

Today we did two things of note. The first was a 20 minute hike basically straight up into the mountains to see the village that was built after the Tsunami hit this island. Phi Phi was basically wiped out, but they have rebuilt. It was crazy to see how far everyone had to travel to make it to high ground, and now there are Tsunami evacuation route signs posted all around the island. Truly amazing what these people survived.

Secondly, we did something that was so unexpected that all you readers may need to take a moment to adjust. What was so crazy? Foreign food - Nope! Night journeys into unknown islands - nope!

We took.... a cooking class!!!!

With the nicest chef teaching us in broken English, we learned how to make Thai Green Curry and Pad Thai from scratch, then got to eat our creations. So good!!! We promise, we will cook for everyone once we are home, settled, and have acquired woks and ladles!

Good-bye to our favourite island! Off to Phuket tomorrow!!