Phi Phi'd out....

Done!

Time to leave Phi-Phi, and even thought I really enjoyed this island, it really is time to leave. Michele and I have toured this island paradise, and the only thing left for us to do is experience more bars and pubs, and quite honestly, I think I need a break from that.

So I am imposing a 1 day, mandatory detox. That does not mean NO beer, because that would be downright impossible…I mean, just a couple with meals, and when chilling, and bed before 4am.

So we do have a little catching up to do. Last I wrote, Dave and Erin had just arrived, and I was scared for my life. Since then, its been good times, and there have been many great stories told, and many many many new memories made.

Just to backtrack a bit, I met Dave in Peru in August, and since then, he has been traveling the world. Well, Dave is not a man that is short on words, and he has a knack for story telling, so we have heard some fascinating tales of his tours worldwide. His stories of the Worlds Most Dangerous Highway, the La Paz Prison, Rio, Austrailia, Gold embroidered coats in India, and so on, are experiences that just make me want to travel more.

So back to our regularly scheduled program!

Dave and Erin got here, and as expected we decided to have a couple drinks….and our ‘light night of catching up’ turned into a 3am piss-up. The night was filled with more Thai Rock band, and more late night kabobs.

Yesterday was ‘the beach’ day. Time to rent a longtail, and head out to Maya beach. We met up with some Manitobans and split the cost with them…now, the island is amazingly picturesque…sights that I have never seen before. The jutting rock formations looming over the bay in the mid-day sun makes it one of the most photographed places in Phi-Phi.

Then to ‘The Beach’. I am going be honest…it’s a little underwhelming. The hype machine is in full gear when it comes to Maya Beach. It really is a shame that movie was ever made here, because it would be a much more spectacular place without the hundreds and hundreds of amateur photographers that flock there. Because, of course, I am a pro!

But you have to go there, you have to see it, you have to snap your photos, and you have to be in awe of it. What you don’t have to do is pay the 200 baht ($7) to get into the ‘national park’. My guess is that it is more of a tourist tax than anything else. So the 8 of us loaded back into the longtail boat, and headed to Long Beach….Much quieter, and much more free. It turned into a nice afternoon of chilling on the beach, playing Frisbee, and discussing world issues, such as ‘is a ping pong show worth it?’, and the effects of Viagra on the average backpacker in Singapore’.

We got back to the Guesthouse at about 1:30 that afternoon. That’s right, we still have a full ½ day to talk about!

Fast forward through another story telling session called ‘lunch’, and we were off to see the view point, which is about a 30 min hike straight uphill to the top of the Island. For some reason, this 30 minute hike seemed harder to Dave and I than the 4 days of the Inca trails we did in August. I blamed the heat. He blamed the liter of beer we washed down lunch with.

So from this view point, you can see the entire island, and is one of the best places to see the sunset…and they have pics of the view pre-Tsunami. Since Dec 26, 2004, this island has morphed into a tourist trap that we see before us. Before then, it was merely a quaint island that enjoyed the odd backpacker that stopped by to gawk at the sights. In the 3 days on the island, you hear random accounts on just what actually happened that frightful morning. Some bring goosebumps to your arms, others make you want to cry, and even others make you angry that the island has changed so much since that time.

So I have to talk about Sacha’s Guesthouse. On the day we arrived, I sat down with Carol, the owner, and shared a conversation about the island and its happenings….I mentioned the tsunami, and she shrugged it off as a ‘real conversation killer’, so I skimmed over the topic and went on to good resturants in the town. I later learned that the namesake of the guesthouse, Sacha, was carol’s 3 year old daughter that just happened to be walking on the beach at 10:30am on that fateful day. Sacha and her aunt were washed away never to be seen again. Carol and her husband climbed onto the roof of the guesthouse to survive as the surge of water devoured the tiny villa. The Surge water came up and literally swallowed the island. For 2 hrs, Koh Phi Phi was no longer a massive island jutting out of the sea, it was a tiny spec of land fighting to stay above water. There are hundreds of stories like this, and everyone lost someone that day. It was one of the worst places hit in Thailand, and you can still see the physical and mental scars from the carnage.

As I write this, we are on a ferry to a place called Railay beach on the mainland, near Krabi…I am looking out the window at Phi Phi as it fades into the distance. It’s another notch on the travel belt, and one that will not be forgotten. I just wish I could have been here 5 years ago, when it was a natural island in the sun, and not a backpackers paradise that stands today.

Anyways, I haven’t finished about last night. I had an experience that was one of those ones you will never forget. It happened at about 2:30am, and cost me a grand total of $5 USD, and 120 baht.

But lets start at 10pm. Traveling with the English becomes a lesson in ‘football’…and whenever it is on, no matter where you are in the world, the jerseys come out as soon as the game hits the screen…and I have seen English league games all over the world. It happens everywhere. Rio, Peru, Europe, and now Phi Phi. So I was privy to a 2-0 Chelsea win last night, as well as a 2-0 Arsenal win. The entire time, shots of watered down sambucca were being delivered to the table, and eventually into my bloodstream. The Manitobans were back with us, and I discovered that they had an uncanny ability of freestyle rapping. You have not seen freestyle rapping until you have seen 2 22 year old white girls from Manitoba getting’ down. I have the video’s to prove it. Hysterical!

So when the soccer, err, ‘footy’, was over, it was off to hear the Thai rock band again for a bit, but after a couple days of that, we were ready to move on…plus, it was 2:20am.

Standing outside the 7-11, waiting for a beer to be delivered into my sweaty palm, Dave and I got the magnificent idea that we should finally have the muay-thai fight we had been talking about for days. So we slithered our drunk asses into a closed bar, and hopped into the squared circle, where we proceeded to beat the F out of each other for damn near 20 minutes….and that isn’t all true. I got out of the ring unscathed, while Dave not only lost the match, but his dignity to go along with it.

Finally, Dave screamed ‘uncle’, and we left the bar, only to discover a few moments later, that in the midst of me applying a figure-4 leg lock, my camera had slid out of my pocket, and was nowhere to be seen. So we grabbed a couple lighters, and proceeded to search ringside for the lost item. One of the nice bouncers also decided to help us in the search. That was so nice of him, but when he came up with the camera, things changed.

‘Thanks so much’‘300 baht’
‘What?’
‘you pay me 300 baht for camera!’
‘are you mad?’
‘fine, no camera!’

All hell broke loose. Dave was going mental at the bouncer as he wouldn’t give me the camera, and the bouncer was threatening to call the cops on Dave. Thankfully, I am a little more of a peace maker, and sent Dave on his way as I ‘negotiated’ for the camera. Final score, Marty 0, Bouncer $5 and 120 baht. What a dick!

So that’s about it. There are a hundred more stories I could go through from last night, as it seemed to be quite eventful, but I think I should leave it at that. This is officially becoming the longest entry yet, but I just had so much to say, and so much time to kill on this ferry. If you are still reading this, you are truly a literary warrior, as I have the writing/reading skills of a 9 year old.

Oh, one last thing. Nearly 200 people are visiting this page daily. I find that god damned amazing. I hope everyone enjoys it, and please post some comments. Michele and I love hearing what you have to say!

So, more tomorrow, I am sure, as we have a 6 hr trip across to Koh Pha ngan. Only one day in Railay is a shame, but that is all we could fit into the schedule. Speaking of Railay, it is now visible on the horizon, so I should rap up.

What is with NO REGHER, NO AUCOIN, and NO SARICH! What the hell?????

Go Flames,

MB