We ended up staying in an inexpensive little bungalow 30 seconds from the beach on Loh Dalum Bay, and as a result spent most of our time on Phi Phi reading, swimming, and playing Frisbee on the beach. On our second day, we decided to head up the tsunami evacuation route to a beautiful lookout, and from there ended up continuing our hike (guided by sparsely placed signage) up and over the island to a secluded little stretch of beach called Toh Ko Bay. Immediately we wondered why we didn't go there in the first place, as the beach was deserted save for the very talkative and happy mini-resort owner, had great snorkeling, and plenty of (free!) hammocks to go around. Ahhhh, paradise.
Preston on Loh Dalum beach, where we stayed.
More Loh Dalum. (Note: We took this pic early in the morning, before the crowds roll in.)
Sunset on Loh Dalum.
Hiking to the lookout.
A view well worth the hike.
Preston on Toh Ko beach, ready to snorkel.
Jessica lounging in a hammock.
The boat that took us back to town.
After a few hours on Toh Ko Bay, we headed back to the "bustling" center of Phi Phi to meet up for a day trip to the surrounding islands. Our first stop was "monkey beach" where we (carefully) played with wild monkeys for a bit, and also did some amazing snorkeling. We were on this tour with a group of Irish guys who barely knew how to swim and had never snorkeled before, which besides allowing them to make fun of each other constantly, resulted in some pretty nasty Sea Urchin wounds... Ouch. At least it wasn't a Trigger Fish attack. Ha.
After the monkeys we headed out to Phi Phi Leh, the island where The Beach was filmed. On our way to Maya Bay (the bay where most of the filming took place) we motored by the Viking Cave, from which there is a thriving "bird's nest soup" industry. Neither of us have tried this Chinese delicacy, but apparently one kilo of these saliva-based nests can cost up to $10,000 USD, and have been used in Chinese cooking for over 400 years. Holy cow. We didn't actually get to go inside the cave, but from the outside it looked much like one featured in the Planet Earth "Caves" episode. If your curiosity on this subject is spiked, get your hands on Planet Earth. We swear people actually eat this stuff.
The Viking Cave where they harvest the bird's nests.
(All that bamboo is used to make ladders to get to the nests.)
Beautiful colored water.
Koh Phi Phi Leh from a distance.
More Phi Phi Leh.
Next stop was Maya Bay. Since it has been declared a protected area, we couldn't actually drive our long tail boat into the bay, but instead anchored on the other side of the island, forcing us to risk our lives walking barefoot over sharp corals and rocks while getting smashed by waves in order to get there. But we did it! The bay truly is breathtaking. We couldn't take any pictures of our own because we have officially lost our SECOND waterproof camera to the seas of Asia (Jessica doesn't want to talk about it), but here is an internet substitute. It really does look like this.
Maya Bay.
Our third stop of the night found us in a little cove off Phi Phi Leh, where we waited until dark so we could swim in the phosphorescent ocean. Both of us have seen phosphorescence before, but this truly was the best we've ever seen it. As cheesy as it sounds, it looks a bit like swimming through fairy dust. So beautiful!
Sunset on the ocean.
The cove where we swam in the phosphorus.
Side note: Phi Phi was completely devastated by the 2004 tsunami. You would never know it though, looking at the island today. The community has done an incredible job of getting themselves back on their feet in such a short amount of time. For a comparison between then and now, we included a couple pictures below.
Before
After
Next stop, Malaysia!
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