Google Maps doesn’t seem to know that Phi Phi exists. What was supposed to be a 45-minute walk to one of the better (and quieter) beaches, took me on a 2-hour adventure through the jungle, construction sites, and some very fancy resorts. This mostly resulted in dead-ends, 4 liters of water consumed, 3 relief swims, and a pee in the ocean. The final decent was climbing down ropes and rocks! I later discovered that many small boats will happily ferry you across for 200 Baht.
My tomato-coloured friend had arrived with his folks, after spending a miserable couple of days on Phuket. My suspicions were confirmed! It all sounds very overpriced, overly noisy, and overly hyped-up. Long Beach on Phi Phi was bliss compared to the party beach I had been tolerating all week, but we did decide to have a bit of a jol. This resulted in a wet phone (not mine), a lost pair of slops (mine), and a long and painful, bare-footed hike back to my bungalow. It was all good fun though. I even sang a couple of songs on a live music stage! Unfortunately the video evidence was lost on the phone sitting in rice.
I am now a certified advanced scuba diver! My course ended with my very first night dive, equipped with a powerful underwater torch and dive computer. I could write a whole essay about this unique experience, but the highlights were seeing a HUGE outline of a Barracuda fish, which came closer and chomped dinner in front of my face, a baby moray eel that was thumb-sized, banded shrimp coming out to feed, corals in full bloom catching floating edibles, and then the real highlight:
A baby squid covered in colours. I kept dead-still as it passed right in front of my eyes, until it realised that I was a very strange-looking marine creature and inked me right in the face! It was one of the best dives of my life and I WILL/HAVE TO do that again! My instructor had been excellent, who has accepted an exciting-sounding job in Indonesia with her South African boyfriend.
I was on such a high after the night dive that I took a long wander-about in search of something exciting to do on land. I happened upon a Muay Thai showdown. It was free to enter so long as you bought an expensive drink. It was a fierce match between two professionals, but the staff kept walking around with signs to “challenge your buddy”. I raised my hand thinking that I could put on an entertaining show, but I needed an opponent. I asked my table-neighbours if they might be keen, but no takers. Apparently one of the visas you can get/apply for, is a Muay Thai visa, which gives you a whole year to stay in Thailand learning the sport.
That’s dedication for you.
Next: Thailand #17 – Muay Thai Beating!
Previously: Thailand #15 – Learning to Frog
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