Officially known as the Kingdom of Thailand, but colloquially referred to as Thailand, has long emerald blue coasts along the Andaman Sea and Gulf of Thailand which are a magnets for travellers of all ages from around the world. In addition to the tasty food, the tropical climate, rich and fascinating culture Thailand and its southern islands are heaven on Earth!
Koh Phi Phi, the small archipelago of islands on Southern Thailand’s Andaman Coast are considered among the most beautiful easily accessible groups of islands in the world. Since the rebuilding that followed the devastating tsunami of 2004, the island group has become a popular stopping point for backpackers and intrepid travellers, particularly since one the islands – Ko Phi Phi Leh - featured in Leonardo DiCaprio’s movie The Beach.
To get there we had to travel from the eastern island of Ko Pha-ngan across the peninsular to Krabi on the Andaman Sea coast. This would be a strange day, that surely can only happen in Thailand, involving nearly missing our ferry, ‘Thai time’ delays, arguments with the locals of unexplained travel delays, losing luggage off the roof of our vehicle on the highway, being threaten by a psycho local with a golf club and a few beers with a some classic Aussie blokes…and it just got stranger from there...
We would spend a lazy day and night in Ao Nang on the East Coast, in itself Ao Nang is an amazingly beautiful place with Railay Beach a popular destination for it’s white sand beaches and limestone cliffs. However, we had come to Ao Nang primarily to catch the ferry to the island of Koh Phi Phi Don the largest and only populated island in the archipelago. One of the many things you enjoy about travelling countries like Thailand is the relative lack of health and safety regulations; you can get away with taking risks such as riding on the bow of the ferry when in places like Europe or New Zealand you’d never be able to do this.
Koh Phi Phi Don is a backpacker beach paradise: sun, turquoise water, white sand beaches, it’s relatively cheap. However, it should be mentioned that Koh Phi Phi has a dark recent past though, of which they are still slowly recovering from. On Boxing Day 2004, some 2,000 people were killed by the murderous tsunami that washed across the islands isthmus. It devastated many of the small town’s buildings and destroyed much of its infrastructure.
From Koh Phi Phi Don you can board and join a longtail boat ride to see and swim around some of the incredible uninhabited islands. The most popular trip is to Ko Phi Phi Leh explore ‘The Beach’ witness the majesty of the stunning limestone cliffs and snorkel with the fishes in the crystal clear tropical waters. When I went snorkeling in Ko Phi Phi Leh’s Maya Bay it was actually my first time and wow it was something else. I thought in the flesh that tropical fish were just the coolest, and so placid! It’s a cliché, but it really is another world down there; I look forward to returning.
Ko Phi Phi has plenty of night life, much of it inevitably focused around the beach late at night, but if that isn't your cup of tea, then there are lots of really quiet places to chill out and take it easy. If you are fortunate enough to visit the Ko Phi Phi archipelago just be aware that the area is technically a marine reserve and as such, try support locals and business and behavior that treats the area with respect and in a sustainable way as the increased number of tourist has begun to strain the environment.
