Covfefe?
Rising out of the Andaman Sea in beautiful and dramatic fashion, the Koh Phi Phi islands is a world-class destination. If you can stay out of the bathroom, the island will offer you some of the most picturesque beaches, bays and underwater world the region has to offer. But, much to my surprise, Phi Phi also has an awesome party scene for when the sun goes down. So if you can keep your head out of the toilet, you'll thrive. If you're confused why I keep talking about toilet's, well, read on.
View on arrival-made quite the impression on us!
Everywhere you look and go on this island, there is a beautiful beach to be found. What's great is how unique every beach is. Upon entry to the island, there is a "downtown" beach, which is used primarily as a dock for the literally hundreds of Thai-style boats ready to take you out wherever you want (as long as it is weather-permitting). Ask one of the guys to take you out to Moneky Beach, or the world famous Maya Bay. So what does one do on these islands with so many options? And how long does it take to truly experience Koh Phi Phi? Well let me tell ya.
Downtown beach where you will be hounded to go out on excursions by the locals!
Trying to get in on the action
So we only had a few days out here but I will say, one of my favorite and most memorable experiences anywhere was Monkey Beach. This is an absolute must do for anyone. A picturesque beach, flanked by massive cliffs covered in lush rainforest with wild monkeys running around trying to exploit unsuspecting tourists as much as possible made for quite the entertaining experience. We spent the better part of an hour feeding baby monkeys, taking photos with the alpha male (who was casually drinking a coke) and trying to out-scheme these notorious schemers (we lost). It's also a prime photo-taking location so be sure all your devices are charged up and ready to go. So make sure you have an hour or so set out for an excursion to Monkey Beach because I promise you it will be worth it.
As fun and memorable as Monkey Beach is, remember these are wild animals and can bite!
So here's where this blog post takes a turn. First off was the weather. We visited during monsoon season, which meant is was almost consistently gusting with wind. That didn't take away from any of the experiences on the actual island itself, but to get out and island hop was not allowed unfortunately. So that meant we could not see Maya Island, we couldn't snorkel at Shark Island, along with several other locations. Take that as a fair warning, and just understand that unless you want to get thrown into a massive boat with hundreds of tourists being commanded from site to site on a tight schedule with a purely economic mindset, you will be at the mercy of mother nature out here.
Monsoon season did us dirty but that didn't mean it wouldn't still be stunning!
Speaking of mother nature, I mentioned at the beginning of this post that you would have an awesome experience as long as you could stay out of the bathroom. Well let me tell you a story about that.
Koh Phi Phi's weapon of choice...my stomach is aching just looking at this photo again!
We went out to eat dinner in town one night and were recommended by one of the vendors to go to a little hole-in-the-wall down one of the main streets (granted all restaurants are basically hole-in-the-walls). I decided to order a seafood fried rice, served in a pineapple bowl. Seems safe and innocent right? Wrong. So, so, so very wrong. It tasted fantastic, and my buddies and I scarfed down every last bite of each dish we had. We roamed around the town and stumbled upon quite the party. Actually, you know what, let me take a moment here to acknowledge the party scene of this island.
"Downtown" Koh Phi Phi
This was where we spent our sole night out on the island-these guys rage.
A sleepy, dive-based island is definitely not the place you would expect to throw some major parties. Koh Phi Phi isn't your typical Caribbean or Pacific hoh-hum island though. This is Thailand. This place rages. Like seriously, Thailand has no chill when it comes to parties. Wanna take a free shot of some foreign, unknown substance? All good with Thailand as long as you're naked. Limbo for a green drink? Easy, Thailand will provide. The best clubs line the beach and compete with each other, so hop between the two or three main clubs and engage with the diverse crowd, naked and clothed. Koh Phi Phi loves to party and attracts a young crowd that we absolutely threw down with, so definitely be ready for a good time. Disclaimer though, whether you're up for it or not, there are people walking around, and even bartenders, who pretty publicly are selling cocaine and other hard drugs, so just be aware and prepared.
Blurry view of the clubs lining this beach behind downtown-all of which would love to make you forget about all your worries!
Anyways, while we were out and about, talking with some beautiful Dutch girls, it hit me. The shrimp, oysters and pineapples suddenly reintroduced themselves without so much as a warning. And just like that, my night was lost to the toilet, and I spent the rest of the night sitting in the bathroom both in the club and back at our hotel. We were forced to miss our scuba diving adventure the next morning which was a total bummer.
Made a monkey friend out here-never got his contact info though, so I guess I'll have to go abck to visit!
So there you have it. Koh Phi Phi is a place you go to lounge by the beach, snorkel a pretty solid off-shore reef, drink cokes with monkeys and island hop as long as the mother nature is in a good mood. We missed out on a lot, but the pure natural beauty and surprisingly fun nightlife made for a great time and prime motivation to return.
Check out my next blog post for a review on where we stayed: Phi Phi The Beach Resort