PP Tonsai Place, Phi Phi, Day 3

It's Amy's birthday today and she is awoken with a latte and lots of presents, including essentials such as chocolate and alcohol. We manage to find a birthday cake that is in the form of a doughnut with unlit candles. I'm sure a lie in would have been a wonderful present in Amy's eyes, but we don't hang around long as we plan to get a longboat and head to some of the neighbouring sites.
We get a breakfast (not that we needed one after all the chocolate) and head to the beach, before climbing onto the boat and starting our trip. Phi Phi is a beautiful place full of many surprises, one of which is the small beach that we first land on. Much like the temple in Lopburi, it is overloaded with very mischievous monkeys. As Amy is a monkey lover, this is the perfect start to her birthday. It is an odd place, as it would be a gorgeous beach if it wasn't for the monkeys who have claimed it for themselves. We see people getting very close to some of them, and very nearly paying the price for it. Some rather daft people also walked on with a bag of fruit, that was soon ripped from their hands as monkeys surrounded them. It is an amazing, if not nervy place. After having a few dive on me at Lopburi, I am very wary of the same happening, plus I have no bag to protect me this time. We survive unscathed though, and head off to our next stop.
We depart from Phi Phi and head to a much smaller island that seems to have places to stay or live. I believe it may be called Ko Phi Phi Le but I'm not sure. We pull into an amazing bay, with steep rocks on most sides of us and water that is so clear you can see the rocks and fish on the bottom. It is beautiful, and so idyllic that you can't help be amazed by it. Maya beach is at the end of it, an amazing place made famous by a scene from the film 'the beach', which says it all really. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXpLVlJLHp8 if you want to see it for yourself. Unfortunately, the film has meant that you have to pay around £10 to step foot on the white sand, and even then it looked hard to find a spot for yourself as it was jam packed full of tourists. We instead opt for a spot of snorkelling and a short stop on a beach on the other side of the bay, which was free and empty apart from one couple who seemed to be getting very close in the sea. To put it bluntly, if they named their child after where it was conceived, it would be called something like 'the shallow water just off the beach near Maya bay'. A my decides she wants to take some photos, so swims back to the boat to get her phone, before realising swimming with one hand in the air isn't very easy. After heading in many different directions, she makes it, but it has exhaust her! Apart from that rather odd scene, the beach is very nice. We do some hermit crab racing and take a breather after the snorkelling. The views underwater aren't as great as some we have seen, but the views above water really make up for it.
We get back on, and after a short wait (which isn't a bad thing at all) while the driver finishes his dinner, we head to another bay which lacks the beaches this one has but is just as great. Me and Amy have another snorkel but don't see much so soon get back on the boat. What a place these spots are. It is amazing to just sit on a boat or float in the sea and just take it all in. It must be one of the best things we have done on this whole trip.
The boat trip is coming to an end though, and we head back past viking cave which looks very cool but would be a lot cooler if we could go in and get a closer look. On the way back, staring at the scenery with the boiling sun beating down on us, we pass a group of tourists whose boat has broken down. We feel bad leaving them there in the middle of the sea waiting for help, but there are worse spots to be stranded.
When we get back on dry land, we go for a drink and some food, before heading back to the room and getting some well earned rest before we head out tonight. After a while though, we are ready to go and watch the sunset. We have already sank a few drinks each, and we have a few more sat on the beach watching the night draw in. We go to get some food, passing by a man passed out in the street who Helen checks is still alive, and a rather rude restaurant owner who we annoy after Amy goes to the toilet while we check the menu. We eat a lovely meal of very spicy burritos and fish and chips, before we go get a cocktail an play a very well fought game of jenga. After all this, we go see a fire show.
I wasn't sure what to expect, but I didn't expect it to be as great as it was. We are sat so close you can feel the heat on your face as the performers spin and throw burning sticks and balls in all directions. One man ends up with fire down his trousers, as some tourists have their cigarettes lit by a giant ball of fire. It is fascinating and dangerously exciting. After the show me and Amy head out for a bucket of rum and coke, while Helen retires to the room full of cold. We find a very cool bar that has a live band on and a lot of drunk tourists. what more could you want?!
After we drink a bucket each, we find we are out of money, so head back rather drunk and ready for sleep. It's been a long day, but a very good one, and it is certainly a birthday Amy won't forget for while (despite the alcohol).Read more