RUN KPP

Just add Koh Phi Phi to the growing list of stunning islands I never want to leave. This small piece of Thai paradise is exactly what I needed after a couple days in crazy Phuket.

 

The beaches are breathtaking, the people are welcoming, the parties are fiery and the food (which I can eat like a normal person again) is delicious.

Glory Be to Land

The ferry from Phuket was pretty terrible – overcrowded, hot and full of roaches and spiders. The chaotic scramble to locate your backpack from the mountain of bags was even more ridiculous. After some elbowing and heaving, we all collected our things and were herded down the pier.

Homestay from Hell

We didn't make room reservations before arriving, so we were easy suckers to pay upfront for three nights at a seemingly nice bungalow 'resort.' The name 'Golden Hill' should've tipped us off that we made a mistake, but hey, they carried our bags for us and promised a pool, so we were sold.

I'm fairly low maintenance, but these secluded shacks located up an impressive amount of steps were the pits. We had a slug, giant rock and gecko greet us in our boiling sweat chamber, the pool had a concerning level of cloudiness and the place overlooked a cesspool.

Needless to say, after our pre-booked nights, we happily said goodbye to the hill and said hello to AC at a guesthouse called Funny House in the middle of town.

Hot Nights Out

While Koh Phi Phi wasn't as seedy as Phuket, it still was quite the party island. Every night, the beach bars turned into fire circuses, each one competing to entertain the pyro in us all.

As an 'older' backpacker, I cringed while watching the tight rope fire jugglers, fire limbo, fire jump rope and the most dangerous of them all, the pole of death that drunk beach goers climb and usually fall from. The Thai fire pros are pretty amazing to watch though, and I won't lie, we did participate in the fire limbo (never felt heat like that before!).

Away from the beach bars are some entertaining nightlife spots as well. We loved Banana Bar, which won our hearts with their Mexican food selection and free rooftop movies, and Reggae Bar, which had a boxing ring in the middle for professionals and novice fighters to punch away in. Don't worry, I did not get in the ring to fight a Thai for a free bucket of booze.

Im so happy we spent a solid week on this beautiful island. We experienced so much (more Phi Phi blogs to come) and are getting used to the sandy island lifestyle. Koh Phi Phi, see you again soon!

 

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