March 26, 2009: "The Beach"

We woke up early and excitedly threw are swimsuits on in anticipation of our tour to Koh Phi Phi Leigh. Before we walked out the door, we cleverly hid our passports behind the vanity mirror. We did this because we knew that would be snorkeling, which would mean leaving our bags unattended on the ferry most of the day.

We caught a taxi boat over to the main beach. Once we arrived, we had just enough time to grab a bite to eat. After our seaside breakfast, we boarded a tour boat with about 30 other people. We embarked on a full day of touring some of the local islands and the exotic beauty was unbelievable. It’s the kind of thing you see on a postcard; the pristine, turquoise waters surrounding the isolated white, sandy beaches.

One of these spots was Maya Bay. It, however, had plenty of tourist traffic and was not quite as isolated as one might hope. It was the location for the 2000 movie, “The Beach.” Since then, this once hidden hideaway has become a popular tourist attraction. Our boat docked about a quarter mile from shore and we snorkeled and kayaked our way around the cove.

Our next stop was the incredible Bamboo Island. It was the most isolated of all the places we saw. When we strolled along the beach, I even noticed a baby shark darting around in the shallow water. I would’ve panicked if I was actually swimming near it (not a fan of sharks) but no threat today! We also over heard someone talking about seeing an eel. Yikes! Some sea creatures make me a little uneasy, no matter how cool they are to look at.

Before the day was over, we also stopped at a place called Shark Point & then over to Monkey Island. We were anxious to see monkeys hanging around, but no such luck. Not a single one; it was still a beautiful place, though. Sadly, all good things must come to an end; our boating adventure was over around four o’clock and we were dropped off at the Koh Phi Phi Don port.

Then, we hopped on another boat, this time a water taxi, and headed back to the side of the island where our bungalow was located. When we arrived, the beach side massages caught our eye. Besides, it had been a couple days since our last one and they were too cheap to resist. This time, it was on the beach, as we were lying on plush beds shaded beneath a palm leave canopy. After roasting on the boat earlier, the shaded area was a cool relief from the heat. There was a gentle ocean breeze that kept the palm trees swaying, which made the massage session all the more relaxing. I opted for an "aloe vera special massage" seeing as how my sun block efforts weren’t so successful. Brandon, on the other hand, was more enthusiastic about a foot massage. The constant walking, usually with a burden of weight on his back, kept his feet in need of massages. The hour passed too quickly and both of us couldn’t stop talking about how picturesque and soothing it was.

Afterward, I walked a few feet and found a hammock in the shade. Brandon wanted to take a few more pictures, so he did. Unbeknown to me until later, he even sneakily snapped a couple of pictures of topless Europeans strolling up the beach, just to prove to people that they really do this there!

Then, he got the same idea as me and we walked about 10 feet, plopped down on towels and napped in the shade for an hour. Before long, we heard silverware and plates clanking around; it was almost dinner time! We climbed the seemingly never-ending mountain of stairs back to our bungalow and quickly put our feet back into "need-a-massage" status.

After quickly rinsing off and getting changed, we were back to the beach. All of the restaurants were equipped with beach-side patios, and we had a delicious Thai meal, including dessert (fried bananas & pineapples with ice cream). However, our energy didn’t last long. We were ready for bed shortly after dinner. It’s a rough life!

---Sarah