After a ferry ride that gave me insight on how the Mayflower must have been we arrived on Phi Phi island. Phi Phi and the surrounding islands are astonishingly beautiful. I laughed at myself for trying to capture them through pictures.
The first day we lounged on the beach and drank plenty of coconut shakes, pina coladas, and really whatever cold beachy thing they had to offer. We watched the sunset at a local bar and had pizza and red wine for dinner .... we needed a break from Thai food.
As amazing as the scenery is here the town itself is dirty and run down. I'm not sure if they are still rebuilding from the tsunami or if this is pretty much the usual state of things. Most people were fairly helpful and seemed okay with tourists but I couldn't ignore at least a tinge of resentment or annoyance from some locals. I really can't blame them, as their once secluded beautiful island was now a beautiful but tourist inhabited island complete with a ferry schedule.
It struck me as odd though that tourism seemed to be the ONLY industry on the island. It's hard to wrap my head around the fact that the economy exists almost entirely on tourism; that locals wake up every day to sell/vend/cater to people who have no claim to the island except a few days of vaca. Having only been her for a couple of days I don't have any qualified speculations but it appears that heritage has been replaced by hundreds of wood carvings, Kodak battery stands, and crass t-shirt stalls. I realize it's awkward to be commenting on the effects of tourism as I would have no basis for any observation had I not been a part of the cycle :) It certainly makes me think.
On our second day we decided to share a long tail boat with a Swedish couple for a trip around the islands and a bit of snorkeling. Our first stop was at Monkey Island where I was convinced a Japanese tourist was going to get attacked by the little fury guys. I have never seen some one feed a wild animal with such fervor. I decided to hang out in the background but Brian had the guts to get a little closer.
One of the main attractions is Maya Beach where the movie 'The Beach' was produced in 2000. Because the tide was low our captain dropped us off and had us snorkel to rocks where we walked, hopped, and cautiously stepped until we got to the inland part of the island.
We snorkeled for the rest of the afternoon and then headed to our hotel pool to wait for the sunset ... bliss!
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