My last day on Phi Phi Island

Thank goodness for Kristin and her laptop, which saved me tons of money on internet cafe fees while I was staying on Phi Phi Island! Since I was usually one of the first people to wake up on the island, it was nice to drink my orange juice and write my blog in peace at the bookstore.

After Kristin and Mike woke up, we walked to breakfast and spotted this guy, blowing glass figures in one of the shops along the market street.  It was incredible to watch!

The clouds began to part, and the sun came shining through, which convinced us that we needed to try kayaking on the ocean!  So, Mike, Kristin and I rented kayaks and paddled ourselves out to Monkey Bay...

... where the water is crystal clear....

... the sand is pure white, and wooden swings are hung from beach trees...

... the wild monkeys take over your kayak and try to sift through your stuff...


... and they steal lays potato chips right out of your boat! haha

All in all, it's a great little place to check out!

You may think it's weird that I took a picture of this plate of nachos (which was my lunch after kayaking), but if you lived in Asia for 6 months like me, and never got to eat mexican food, you would understand what an incredible sight this was!

As much as I loved Phi Phi, I needed to make my way back toward Bangkok, so I decided to head back to Railay for 2 days. Before I left the island though, I went to go see Lampai (my masseuse) to say goodbye...  She was so thrilled that I had thought of her, and reached into her purse to grab this bracelet, which she had handmade.  She asked me to sit down, while she tied it to my hand and said some of the sweetest things I'd ever been told.  It was a really special moment.

After saying goodbye to Lampai, the guys at the tattoo shop, Mike, and Kristen, I jumped on the boat and headed back to Railay... my home away from home!

Dorm Life...

There’s something about rainy days, when you’re traveling and staying at hole in the walls with lots of young 20 somethings, that you get the chance to re-live living in the college dorms. This morning it rained, and rained, and rained… so Kristen and I had “game time” in our room and met some of the people in our hallway at the hotel. Kristen played solitaire…

... and i played some soduku.

Since everyone was camping out in their rooms at the hotel, we all opened our doors, turned on some music, and hung out with each other. We ended up meeting Julia, our next door neighbor who’s from England, but has been living in Phi Phi for the last 10 weeks working at a scuba diving place. She’s a total sweetheart. We also met “Dave squared,” 2 (22 year old) English guys, Dave and Dave who have been traveling for the past year together all over the world.

We were all starving, so we ran through the rain to a restaurant down the street. We invited Dave and Dave to come along to lunch with Kristen, Mike and I.

We spent a couple hours at lunch, since the rain was pouring and the conversation was so stimulating! While the others were discussing rock climbing, I talked to one of the Dave’s for a long time about his upbringing. He grew up in Dubai from the time he was 7 - 14, and he explained how that kind of messed up his life a bit. It’s so interesting to me, the stories people have, that you would never expect or know unless you asked. Everyone has a past… and when you travel and meet new people everyday, you get stories galore! I love it!

After the rain settled down, we all decided to hike up to the viewpoint, which we had heard was really beautiful!

The viewpoint is 186 meters above sea level.

It was definitely, without a doubt, the best viewpoint I’d ever seen to date! I wish you could see just how turquoise the water behind us was… It was unbelievable! Me and Kristen.

We spent 4 hours at the viewpoint together… This is just about the sweetest cat I’ve ever met. I even shared my ice cream with her!

Dave (England), Dave (England), Kristin (Australia), Me, and Mike (New Orleans) at the viewpoint.

Mmmm, oreos and ice cream! Cheers!

The pathway leading back down the mountain...

Where many of the locals in Phi Phi live…

I couldn‘t resist, I was dying for another massage, so I came here, a place that Em had recommended to us a couple days ago…

This is Lampai, my masseuse. She is a total sweetheart, with a really sad story. After the massage, we sat and talked for a long time about her life. She opened up about how she left her husband 3 years ago to move to Phi Phi. She is a masseuse and a prostitute here. Infact, most of the women who work as masseuses on the island are also prostitutes. She said many men ask for “happy endings” which is an HJ, and costs 1,000 baht ($30) and that‘s how they are able to make enough money to live. She said 2-3 times a week the tourist men will ask her to come to their room for sex and to stay the night, which costs 2,000 baht ($60). Her story completely broke my heart, and I could see it in her eyes that she was not proud of the life she had created for herself… but rationalized it by the idea that it was her only means of survival.


After talking with Lampai, I headed back to the hotel to meet Kristin. We went out for dinner and a mojhito at a bar owned by a 31 year old Irish guy who has been traveling the world for the past 14 years!

It started pouring again, so we headed back to the hotel… Kristin thought it was hilarious that I was doing pushups on the stairway bar and snapped my picture. Hey, if I’m in a bathing suit all day, I can’t just sit around eating pancakes and rice all day and not do a little working out! J

A Day of Indulgence!

Yesterday morning, I rised and shined (bad English, I know) and headed to a café with wireless to write my blog and talk to Lynzi on skype! I ended up having breakfast there, and before I knew it, it was 11am and I was ready for lunch too! And hey, before you judge me for being in one of the most beautiful places in the world and choosing to spend ½ my day on the internet, I should probably add that it was pouring down rain outside!

Kristen (Australia) came and found me around 11:15am and told me she was heading to the pier because her friend Mike, from university, was coming to the island on the 11:30am boat.

Mike hung out with us the whole day yesterday. He's a great guy. They both went to Tulane University in New Orleans and were there when Hurricane Katrina struck. It was really interesting to hear their personal stories. Kristen had unpacked all her stuff into her dorm the day before the storm hit, and ended up losing everything...

On a less depressing note, the 3 of us went back over to Sunflower, layed in the hammocks and had some lunch. It was pouring down rain and really windy, but great none the less. Check out the name of this water bottle.

After lunch, we all decided that getting massages had to be next on the agenda! So, Em took us over to his favorite masseuse on the island. It was hands down, one of the best oil massages I've ever had, and it was only $9.00 for an hour! Mike's masseuse kept saying, "Oh, sexy boy, sexy boy!" Kristen and I were dying laughing. At one point Mike said, "Please don't ever stop doing this!" There was a curtain separating him from us girls, and we were both dying to know what was happening on the other side, so when we finished our massages, we pulled the curtain open and saw this! It was hilarious!!

Kristen

Me

After massages, we did some shopping and walking around the island and landed here at D's books... had some hot chocolate, ate banana pancakes with Nutella, read, played sudoku, and talked while the rain poured down around us! It was definitely wonderful!

Later in the night, we ventured over to the other side of the island to get some dinner and landed in a great local joint, covered only by a thin layer of tent. It was some of the best curry I've ever tasted, and our server was one of the most flamboyantly gay Thai men we had ever seen. He was really funny!

We went back to the fireshow on the beach last night, so Mike could experience it. Pang (The tattoo artist who did kristen and Carlos's tattoo's) came over to hang with us for the night. Turns out, he's related to all the fire spinners at IBIZA Bar. I love how families stick together around here. :)

All in all, it was a wonderfully indulgent day! Nothing extraordinary happened, but the relaxation, great food, and even better new friends was all it took to keep a smile on my face! :)

I will leave you with this funny story: We stopped in for Kristen (Australia) to get something at a convenient store, and Mike and I waited outside. While we were standing there, we witnessed one of the worst "pick ups"!! This guy from the Netherlands was trying to pick up on a girl from Australia. He was saying all the wrong things, and she was not interested at all. Here's the best part thought. She said to him, "You know, I've been getting picked up on all the time here... It's starting to get really tiring." haha... who says that?! Personally, I think they were maybe perfect for each other. Cheers to Spring Break part 2 in Phi Phi Island... ah to be 21 again!

Day 2 in Phi Phi Island

This morning, Carlos and I got up really early to go to the tattoo shop so Carlos could get another tattoo. I guess it's true what they say, they are addicting!! This picture was taken right outside the shop.

After finishing his tattoo, we walked over to the beach to look for kristen...

Carlos, in position, ready for the needle!

While Carlos was in pain, I was sleeping on the coach with Ginger... just about the best kitten I've ever met.

After unsuccessfully looking for Kristen, Carlos and I grabbed some lunch by the pier and then walked back to our hotel to pick up our bags to jump on the boat. I was going back to Railay, and the 2 of them were headed back to Korea.) When we finally found Kristen (Korea), she was with Kristen (Australia), the girl we met last night.

Introducing Kristen Glenn! (Australia)

As soon as she saw me she said, "Don't go!" and asked me to stay with her in Phi Phi for a couple days. She said, "I have a proposition for you..." and went on to describe all the things she was going to be doing here for the next couple days. I couldn't resist, snorkeling, hiking, swimming, kayaking, etc!! She is traveling alone too, and we really hit it off right away. I was planning on leaving to go back to Railay, but I cancelled my boat to hang with her for the rest of my trip. She's awesome, sweet, adventurous, up for anything, and it's just an added bonus that she happens to have a laptop! I've been able to blog for FREE today at a wireless internet cafe down the road from our place.

She took me to her place to drop my bags and then we headed over to Sunflower for some pinneapple milkshakes and sunbathing

We saw Em (the local Thai guy who works at the tattoo shop) and asked him if he wanted to come swimming with us. So, me, kristen (Australia), Em, Em's friend Dahm, and another girl who is here from Italy, all walked out into the water (literrally about 500 feet) until we were knee high. It reminded me a little bit of lake tahoe, how you can walk and walk and walk, and you're still in shallow water. We gave up walking and just sat in the water instead. I was playing with the sand beneath me and found this guy! A real LIFE sand dollar in perfect condition. I know I should have left it there, but I couldn't resist. It's coming home to Korea with me!

This is Em and Ned. Ned owns a small jewelry shop next to the tattoo shop and Sunflower. I actually bought the necklace that Ned is holding. It's a coconut shell with a shell inside. It's beautiful, and it's handmade by someone I know! :)

This little one was playing in the sand while the sun was setting. She was darling. She is 1/2 Thai and 1/2 Australian.

Since it's pretty "spring breakish" in the area we're staying, Kristen (Australia) and I headed over to the other side of the island for dinner at this candlelit restaurant on the water. Can't beat the view, or the chicken curry in this country! mmmm

Anyone want a coconut??

Around 10pm, Kristen (Australia) and I headed over to IBIZA, a bar on the beach to check out the fireshow.



This is a fire jumprope!


Me and Kristen

Em came and met us at the show and ended up taking Kristen (Australia) and I to a rooftop bar where you can lay on huge pillows and look at the stars... While we were there, Em gave me this necklace that he had made. It's made out of a shell and he said it's to remind me to love people... It was really really sweet!


It started pouring rain while we were there, so we hid under a hut for a little while and then made our way back to our place. Kristen (Australia) wanted to stop in at a convvenient store near our palce to buy some cookies, so Em and I waited outside. As we were talking, I felt something run across my foot. I immediately thought it was a monkey, and got excited, but, when I looked down and saw a gigantic sewer rat scurrying to the other side of the store, I almost died! It ran over my freaking bare foot! Em said it means I'll have good luck, to which I replied, "Well, I better get something out of that!"