Day 243: Maya Beach & Bamboo Island
For our last full day on Phi Phi, we booked a half-day longboat excursion to take us out to the islands surrounding Ko Phi Phi Don. Maya Bay – located on the southern island, Ko Phi Phi Ley – is the most popular day-trip location in the area, so we couldn’t *not* see it (despite our suspicions that it would be an over-populated mess).
Since we had a feeling that Maya Bay wouldn’t live up to the hype, we wanted to make sure that we hit as many of the other islands as possible – Mosquito Island and Bamboo Island, located north of Phi Phi – had decent reputations. While the Holiday Inn only allowed us to book a 5-hour “half day” tour one direction or the other (North or South – not both), we bargained with our driver directly once we were on the water – for an extra 600 bhat (about USD$17), he said he would take us to the northern islands. Good thing too! Maya Bay was a huge disappointment, but Bamboo Island was pretty nice! Sure, the beach probably had same number of tourists (but it was bigger, so they were more spread out), but the snorkeling was *much* better.
Chartering a private longboat to explore the islands around Phi Phi
It’s overcast today, but at least it’s not raining
The uninhabited Ko Phi Phi Ley
We turn the corner around the limestone cliff and enter Maya Bay – even though we left the resort at 7:45AM, we are NOT the first ones to reach the beach
If we were expecting Maya Beach to be a secluded island paradise, we were sadly mistaken – even at 8:15AM the place is absolutely overrun with day-tripping tourists
Trying to recreate the typical blogger photo of longboats on a pristine beach in Thailand – not working on the overcrowded Maya Bay scene #banspeedos
Friendly warnings about Portuguese Man-of-War jellies (*extremely* rare in Thailand, but apparently there is a sighting every 5 years of so) and eco-friendly anime characters (and a random shark?) asking the Chinese & American tourists to please, please not feed the fish or damage the coral
Fighting the crowds at the Maya Bay lookout to Loh Samah Bay
We jump off the boat in the water at Pileh Lagoon for a snorkel break, where we see a lot more of our friendly striped fishes
Taking a detour to Mosquito Island and Bamboo Island on the way back
Mosquito Island in Thailand (just a drive-by)
Snorkeling off Bamboo Island was awesome! Of all the beaches we visited in Thailand, Bamboo Island had the best visibility, the most coral, and the biggest variety of fish. Still pales in comparison to diving in Indonesia, but a very satisfying location for snorkel
So many friendly fishies!
Fan coral, parrot fish, and Moorish Idols – not bad, Bamboo Island!