Wednesday 6th February 2008

Our alarm woke us up at 6.30am this morning, so that we could catch another of Thailand's 'buses'. We were going back to the port - and then on to the island of Koh Phi Phi. Koh Phi Phi is the island where they filmed 'The Beach' (although, it was filmed on Phi Phi Lei - but everyone stays on Phi Phi Don). We were too early for breakfast, so we just sat in the reception area waiting. It turned up slightly late - and thankfully only three of us got in. That didn't make it any less ridiculous though... we drove at about 180mph! I don't know what you have to do to get a driving license over here - but you don't have to drive particularly safely... Wilksi would fit right in (ha ha). We made it to the boat no problems and were soon on our way to Koh Phi Phi.

I slept through most of the journey and when we got off we had to try and find somewhere to sleep tonight. We knew it was going to be tough though, because it's High Season here and there are thousands of people on Phi Phi. We did manage to find somewhere that we thought was reasonably cheap (900b, which is LOADS dearer than what we've been paying so far) and someone came to collect us.

Just to show how much our standards have dropped in the last ten months, we walked into the shittiest room we've ever stayed in... and didn't moan once - I just don't know what's happened to us!? We dumped our bags and went out for a walk. We explored all the small streets, looked through all the markets and then booked a tour for this afternoon. It was to take us to Phi Phi Lei, where we could visit Maya Bay - the place 'The Beach' was filmed! With that sorted we lay on one of the other nice beaches. The sea was gorgeous! Lovely and shallow, a beautiful turquoise colour and warm too.

At just before 3pm we went and caught our boat. It didn't take long to get to Phi Phi Lei and as we were sailing around, we made a couple of stops so that people could jump off the boat and snorkel or kayak. When we were all finished the boat moved onto Maya Bay. We've spoken to a few people who have really slagged it off - saying how tourists have ruined it with rubbish and how it's not worth a visit - but we liked it. It wasn't the most spectacular beach we've ever seen, but the setting was lush! The whole area was surrounded by huge, tree-covered mountains and they made you feel quite cut-off from the world! Me and Nikki explored the whole area - walking up and down the beach, and then off into the forest that's behind it - we had a great time!

We made it back to Phi Phi Don at just before 8pm tonight and, because we'd already eaten on the boat, we went out for a couple of beers. We found this really cool place, with lush comfy chairs and sat drinking. We overheard some people talking about the Tsunami and how Koh Phi Phi was totally destroyed. To be honest, it shows. Kho Phi Phi isn't a very pretty place. I think all the guest houses, bars and restaurants were knocked up really quickly to get the tourists back and then everyone just forgot about the rest of the island - it's all full of rubbish! The beaches are cracking, but as you move inland, it starts to slip!

So, that was THE beach... not bad I suppose!