Is this why it's named Phi Phi island?

After detouring to the Sheraton to drop off my shopping, I took off from Bangkok for Phuket on One Two Go airlines, which was a bit nerve wracking for a few reasons. First of all, the name doesn't exactly instill confidence. Second, it was the airline that crashed in Phuket a few months ago, killing half the tourists on board. But then I thought it might be the safest route to fly - what are the chances of the same airline crashing in the same place in the same year?!?!? Of course, I purposely am not mentioning all of this until I am safely back in Bangkok.

As soon as I arrived in Phuket, I took off for the pier for a ferry to Koh Phi Phi (Phi Phi Island, pronounced pee-pee) to meet up with the Swedish couple I had traveled with in Australia. I checked into a hostel (200 baht, about $6 a night), had a nice dinner and met them for drinks. The next day I went on the most highly populated snorkel trip ever. Every place we stopped there were at least 10 other boats. Especially at Maya Beach, where the movie "The Beach" was filmed. It is beautiful, but you could barely see the sand through the people and there were no fish to speak of - not with 2000 arms and legs flailing in the water above. Other stops were a bit better, but the Great Barrier Reef had definitely spoiled me for all of this. Luckily, the boat was lovely and the water was so incredibly warm I enjoyed just floating around in the water and sitting on deck as we drove from island to island. We got back after sunset, which was also nice to experience on the water. 10 hours of this for only $18! If it hadn't been for the rudest group of Israeli tourists on my boat, it would have been fantastic. If I stood up for a moment, they would immediately move my things and/or sit where I had been sitting. I spent a good chunk of the day just trying to locate my bag and towel as they got moved around the boat! After one of the women shouted at one of the guides and called him a liar, I stayed clear of them and moved to the front of the boat.

Back at the hostel taking my shower, I had the thought "I'm 35 - what am I doing at this dump??" (The hostel, not the island.) I decided I would splurge back in Phuket. Phi Phi is a tough place to visit for opposing reasons. First of all, it was one of the islands hit hardest by the tsunami. The before and after pictures are unbelievable. Only about half the island is rebuilt and the half that is, is a little to commercialized for my taste. Apparently it was much more laid back before. It also smelled, to me anyway, like urine in a lot of places, which I suppose is appropriate. Again, it's hard to visit a place that is still so much in the rebuilding stage, but the only way they can rebuild is if we come to visit. At least the newer buildings are much sturdier and there are now evacuation plans posted all over the island to prevent it happening again.

After arriving back in Phuket the next morning, I checked into my $30/night hotel. At least double what I have spent elsewhere, and for it I got a huge queen bed, towels, safe, refrigerator, tv, desk, huge bathroom and free internet. Can you imagine getting that at home? Phuket is very confusing, as the name refers both to the island (the largest in Thailand and connected by bridge to the mainland) and the main town on the east coast. Most tourists, however, (me included) stay on the west side of the island in Patong (neon central), Kata (very quiet) or Karon (literally and figuratively between the other two) beaches. I headed directly to the beach (well, after unpacking - what a concept!) and rented a lovely chair and umbrella for $3. That night I met up with an English couple I'd met in Australia. We ended the evening in a bar clearly marketed to tourists, but we thought it would be a fun, cheesy laugh. At one point, Bev and I realized we were the only Western women in the bar. And that there were no Thai men there. It was a little disgusting (but fascinating) to watch the European/North American men hitting on these Thai ladies, but it did make me feel better about the whole situation. The women are clearly in control. You can watch them manipulate the men, who clearly think these women like them for them. When the women would have their backs to the men, you could see how ridiculously bored these women actually are. I saw a couple later (older, chubby, white man with beautiful young Thai girl) at an ATM and would have loved to take a picture as it epitomized the relationship.

I slept in the next morning (the bed was sooo comfortable!) and watched TV (movies in English!!!) before heading out on my kayak trip. There's a lot to say about that, so I'll save it for the next post. I'm starving, so I must go eat now. The kayak story will have to wait for another day.