27 March 2008

Perfect Lil' Phi Phi

What better way to end a 7-month Southeast Asian adventure than with a week of laying on pristine beaches adjacent to clear, turquiose waters all situated in the beauty of the Andaman Sea?

Welcome to Koh Phi Phi everyone...the jewel of the Thai isles! After my jaunt into Cambodia, I hopped on the next plane right on down to the islands and landed in Phi Phi (pronounced pee-pee, haha!) on Tuesday morning. Since then, my days have consisted of living out of my bungalow just 50 yards from the beach (look below), lounging on the gorgeous waters and perusing the cute little town center.

Unfortunately, on day 1, I laid myself a little too quickly on the beach because within one hour, I was already red! Definitely not a good way to start an island holiday. After lathering myself up with aloe and after sun lotion, I decided it might be best on day 2 to stay out of the sun and let my poor lil' skin rest.

Sooo...I found the most amazing day trip opportunity and on day 2, spent the morning rock climbing the gigantic mountain cliffs of Phi Phi and then in the afternoon, snorkeled the coves and lagoons around the area! Not a bad replacement for a day at the beach. Mandy (an Australian girl I met) and I signed up for the trip and ended up meeting so many wonderful people...especially my new friends Kay and Ross from Scotland. We climbed for a couple hours in the morning - I have sore muscles and blisters to prove it - then jumped on a long-tail boat where our snorkel instructor brought us to explore beautiful turquiose waters.

After a full day of climbing and snorkeling, we ended our day at Maya Beach - the beach where the movie "The Beach" with Leonardo DiCaprio was filmed. The beach was like bath water - absolutely gloriously warm. We goofed around a bit then headed back on the boat where we caught a gorgeous sunset between Koh Phi Phi Don (the main island where you stay) and Koh Phi Phi Leh (a national park area). It was so wonderful and relaxing...here I am on Maya Beach enjoying the peacefulness of the secluded beach. Perfection!

Now, on day 3 already (the time flies), I spent the day relaxing at the beach but not before slathering on multiple layers of SPF mind you! In the morning, I parked it on the main beach for a couple hours, headed off for a lovely solo lunch (love, love the fruit shakes here!) and then in the afternoon, I went back to a small beach near the pier, which the Europeans love to sunbathe naked on. Hey, I thought it might be a cultural experience! Off to shower then meet Kay and Ross for dinner and probably call it a night - all this laying on beaches is really tiring!

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