Days 241 – 242: Ko Phi Phi Don
After two days in Phuket, we decided to ditch the party crowd and head out in search of some remote, quiet islands where we could enjoy the beauty and tranquility of Thailand’s white-sand beaches. We booked a 1.5hr. shuttle van and 2.5hr. ferry to take us to Ko Phi Phi Don – a veritable, motion-picture-worthy paradise (and the film location for the Leonardo DiCaprio film, The Beach). We had a few hours to kill before our pick-up time at noon, so we took one last walk around Patong and jumped into one of the roped off swim areas, while jet skis and speed boats zoomed by. Not a bad beach, just not our cup of tea.
Walking down a deserted Bangla Road for a quick morning swim on Patong Beach before we check out of the hotel
Sitting below deck on the high speed ferry to Phi Phi, as the top deck is infested with annoying, chain-smoking & tanning hipsters
Leaving the huge Phuket Island for the teeny tiny islands of the Andaman Sea
While most passengers disembark at the main pier on Tonsai Bay, our hotel is on the remote (& exclusive!) northeast tip of the island so we get tendered to shore in a longboat
Since we were still in improvise mode on our travel plans, we had only pre-booked one night on Phi Phi – a jungle villa at the über lavish Zeavola Resort – since we weren’t sure if the island would live up to the hype. One look at the gorgeous scenery and we decided it was worth at least one more night, maybe two! Unfortunately, the Zealova only had one more room available the next night…a private bungalow with its own pool! At USD$600/night it was WAY out of our price range, so we decided to enjoy our one night in sick luxury and then move down the beach to the more affordable Holiday Inn for the next two nights.
Beach paradise – Phi Phi Island
Walking into the jungle to our hotel lobby
No shoes inside! We douse our feet with some fresh water to wash off the sand before stepping up to our jungle villa – while the bedroom is a closed-off, air-conditioned oasis, the sitting area is out in the open on a lovely teak-wood deck
We have both an open-air washroom and an indoor one – both fancy AF
Walking down the beach to the cheaper, off-resort dining options
Beach-front dinner, cooked in an outdoor kitchen right behind us!
Since we had to switch hotels in the morning the next day, we decided to have a lazy day with no planned activities. We snorkeled just off the hotel beach (the water in front of Zeavola was completely barren, but there was a decent amount of coral and some fish near the Holiday Inn), and took a walk to the nearby village to see if we could find some decently priced booze or boat excursions (nope on both – Phi Phi is just a pricey place). Some wicked thunder clouds rolled in during the afternoon, chasing us inside. Luckily, the storm passed in time for us to walk out of the resort for another dinner on the beach.
Enjoying a delicious breakfast buffet at the Zeavola, with the most perfectly fluffy omelet EVER
Soaking up every bit of luxury we can before our noon check-out – Lindsay jumps into Zealova’s beautiful pool and has a glorious swim all to herself
Moving from the pool to the beach for some snorkling
The water is a bit cloudy, and we see zero fish on this part of the beach
After we check out of the Zeavola, we have a few hours to kill before our room at the Holiday Inn is ready, so we take a walk along the “road” (no car-traffic on this part of Phi Phi – only motorbikes) into the village
We pass a dollhouse-sized “spirit house” sitting in front of some beachfront homes as we make our way into town
The sleepy village is practically deserted in the middle of the day. We find several minimarts that sell USD$7 “fruit wine”, but the island upcharge isn’t worth it for shitty booze so we decide to pass
Even though some nasty clouds are rolling in when we get back to the hotel, we jump into the water for one more snorkel
There’s a lot more sea life just a few hundred meters down the beach! The black-stripped fish were super friendly and kept swimming up to us (people must feed them), but the pale yellow fish were MEAN – they might have been nesting, as they got very aggressive when we swam near the coral they were guarding and even nipped our legs!
Keepin’ our vegetarian streak going strong in Thailand