Who will bother much to take morning bath when you are about to dip into the blue ocean whole day long? Definitely not me. As told by Iskandar the night before, we reached the Phi Phi Adventure centre on time, 0730 hours. I pre-booked the snorkeling trip through their website at THB800 per person per trip. Comparing to other snorkeling operators, this one is a bit pricey. No regrets, as I will tell you why further. Include together with a wet suit, fin, snorkel, drinks & fruits. We were given safety briefings before proceed with the activities. Warning: check the wet suit before putting it on, there maybe some creepy crawlers hiding in it (cockroaches).
Our long tail boat awaits us at the Tonsai Beach. 11 of us, split into 2 long tail boats heading towards first stop, the Pileh Bay. Start the engine and Pileh Bay is only 10 minutes away from Tonsai Bay.
We were brought to a very beautiful lagoon, and were told to practice snorkeling here without life jackets. Current a very less here. Entrance to Pileh bay is only during low tide. Bad experience for some of us, and they stick to life jackets for the rest of the day. Everywhere is clear turquoise water with white sand beneath. Very salty indeed. Done with our warming up session, we moved to Pileh Wall, Lamah bay, Maya bay and Monkey beach.
Waved at Nemo, blue, yellow, green and many other fish species which is unknown to me. Jellyfish was around. Turtles feed on them. Small cubed shaped jellyfish, does not sting much but enough to give you a small tiny shocked. One of them managed to sneaked through my top and sting me at the back. Im snorkeling alright, while scratching my back to ease the itchiness.
Maya bay is a famous setting for the movie "The Beach" starring Leonardo de Caprio. The main beach was overcrowded with tourist as we arrived. So, we decided to stop at the smaller beach. Passed through an overcrowded snorkeling tour operators. Having to pay THB800 feels much better now, knowing there is only 6-7 of us in a special chartered long tail boat plus a bonus from two handsome, loving and caring guides (Steven from Bristol, England & Iskandar from KB, Kelantan). By 12noon we are back to the island.
Had our lunch at the default restaurant (we named it 'default' because its Halal and simply Thai-licious)
Next snorkeling trip at 1400 hours and only 7 of us booked, guide by Iskandar. We headed towards Nui Bay about 30 minutes from Tonsai beach, where we snorkel into the shallow caves and around the coral reef.
This activity can only be done when low tide, as the water level decreased just enough to let you go through. It was truly a new experienced for everyone. Dark and a bit scary. The lights effect dancing in the water was awesome! There was one part where I couldn't see the based of the ocean, and it scares me. The trip ended at Wang Long bay looking over horizon as the sun sets. Pirates are pretty much active here. There is a trusted guard staying at this beach, keeping those pirates away from. They are given power to open fire to anyone look suspicious.
A day climbing high on Tonsai Wall.
Had complimentary breakfast & gossips headlines at Harmony restaurant. Toast with butter & jem. Coffee or tea & a glass of juice. Packed all our gear, and head out to Tonsai wall (about 1km from our chalet). Thanks to Sham as he being my Sherpa of the day. Very little information did I knew from the internet about wall climbing routes on Koh Phi Phi. Need to visit CAT climbing shop and bought the photostat copy of routes for THB150. Hike a little before reaching the climbing spot. The view from top here is magnificient!
Had complimentary breakfast & gossips headlines at Harmony restaurant. Toast with butter & jem. Coffee or tea & a glass of juice. Packed all our gear, and head out to Tonsai wall (about 1km from our chalet). Thanks to Sham as he being my Sherpa of the day. Very little information did I knew from the internet about wall climbing routes on Koh Phi Phi. Need to visit CAT climbing shop and bought the photostat copy of routes for THB150. Hike a little before reaching the climbing spot. The view from top here is magnificient!
Since most of us are very much first timer to rock climb, we chose the easiest of all, 5C grades for them to try. Sham lead and do all the rope mgmt setting while i belayed him. Later, each of us managed to reach the top.
It took awhile for everybody to have a go (1 rope to 11 of us). At the end of the day, we celebrate Ida's birthday doing the usual - rumble with only eggs while she was still much attached to the rope descending from the top.
Morning hike to viewpoint (tsunami evacuation route)
Again, no one bothers to take morning shower if knowing you'll be all sweaty in the next five minutes. The viewpoint route was located near to our chalet. Plenty of steps halfway through. Reached the top in 20 minutes or so. The sun hasn't completely shine on us yet. The sea was extremely low tide (fair enough when no one realized the sign of tsunami about to hit, back in 2004). Enjoyed our view until breakfast time.
Bought the tickets to Phuket at a price of THB250 (prices are cheaper here, including busses on the mainland. Trustworthy is the keyword). Our ferry will be departing at 1400hours. Enough time for us to have a good lunch at the 'default' restaurant.
My ♥ left in Koh Phi Phi...
More pictures available on my facebook album
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