Our transport for the day.
Here we climbed on to our speedboat for the day with a bunch of kids, clearly we were the old fogies of the trip. The first group who clambered aboard sped up to the front of the boat onto the small deck area. We were content to sit in the back with the other kids who were to hung-over to fight for places at the front. We soon sped off at warp factor 9 towards Phi Phi. The ride was not exactly smooth. The boat leapt over the waves and the boys at the back nursing hangovers turned a shade greener. It must have been worse up front, the captain soon stopped the boat so that a young girl could throw up over the side. She moved towards the relative comfort of the back of the boat.
Our first stop of the day was at Bamboo Island. This was a quick 40-minute stop to basically lie on the white sandy beach and have the first dip of the day. This seemed to set a precedent for the day where each stop was too short as the crew were eager to continue with their whirlwind tour.
Beautiful beach at Bamboo Island.
The next stop was to see the Viking Cave at Ko Phi Phi Leh. Not that the Vikings ever reached this point, its name is derived from 400 year old graffiti made by passing Chinese fishermen. We never made it either. I was expecting a tour inside, climbing the bamboo scaffolding and exploring a little. Not today, probably take too long for our lightning tour, so we had to be content with taking a few snaps from the boat.
The Viking Cave.
Our captain sped us off to the first lagoon on Ko Phi Phi Leh, Pilah. There were other speedboats and Long-tail boats anchored in this beautiful lagoon. The occupants were snorkelling near their boats. The few braver souls who ventured a bit further away had to contend with the increasing traffic that was pouring into the lagoon. A few near misses were seen. So it was with a little relief that the captain decided that we were not snorkelling here.
The next lagoon was the famous Ao Maya, the main setting for "The Beach". Again, this lagoon was packed with boats, some anchored offshore but most on the beach. Not exactly how Leonardo would have seen it. We stopped first for a little snorkelling before heading to the beach. After taking a few snap-shots and nearly being crushed by two speedboats as I tried to get an unobstructed view of the lagoon, we headed into the wooded area to see what was there. Just more tourists, snack bar and another small cove with stagnant water. Hardly Idyllic.
Ao Maya Bay.
It wasn’t long before we were back on board and heading for our lunch stop at Tonsai Bay on the main island of Ko Phi Phi Don. Here we would have a whopping hour and a quarter to eat lunch and explore the town. This part of Ko Phi Phi Don is very similar to Railay. It’s a 5-minute walk from the beach at Tonsai to the other side of the island to the beach as Ao Lo Dalam. Most postcards of Ko Phi Phi Don show both beaches from an impressive aerial view. After a quick buffet style lunch we wanted to see this view from high ground. Monica had read about a viewing point that was a bit of a hike but worth the effort. After lunch we had 45 minutes to do it. Finding the viewpoint proved trickier than we thought.
Steps to viewing point.
We ended up walking through the maze of streets in the town and ending up at the other beach. Not one sign for the viewpoint. We asked a helpful street vendor for directions. He gladly pointed out the way. How long? 20 minutes was the reply. We had just over half an hour left. We found the stairway climb up to the viewing point. This is a sheer 1000-foot climb up hundreds of steep steps. A short way up we passed a couple coming down who informed us that there were two viewing points and it was best to take the right turn ahead to see both. The first viewing point shows the dramatic postcard view. Monica was happy with this being conscious of the time and not wanting to be left behind. We still had 20 minutes left. I didn’t want to leave without seeing the top, "Podemos!".
View from first point.
We continued up the pathway. Monica was falling behind, convinced we would miss the boat. People passing by making their way down gave us encouragement, "Nearly there! Its worth it!". But Monica couldn’t any more. I was determined to make it. A half sprinted the way to the top, sweat dripping off me, chest pounding and all I could think of was that I hadn’t brought my asthma spray. The view from the top was spectacular but I had no time to enjoy it. I jumped on to a rock and took a few snaps. An Italian couple at the top looked at me as if I was some lunatic that had just escaped. They kindly took a photo for me and then I was racing back down the steps. We made it back to Tonsai Beach 15 minutes late. One of the crew was scouring the streets for us. We told him that we went to the viewpoint. "You crazy. No time for that". Definitely not on this tour.
At the final viewpoint.
Back on the boat and a few evil glances from our fellow passengers soon changed to compassion as we must have looked a sight. Our shirts were dripping wet, our faces redder than a Guiri’s first day tan and I was struggling to get my breath. "It was worth it" was all I could say in my defence. There was still time in our itinerary for two more snorkel stops before we raced back to Ao Nang. At this point the captain was clearly enjoying himself. Making a few sharp turns and doing a "drive by" of an Island that included heading straight for a cliff face. Surely he is going to perform one of his sharp turn manoeuvres any second? It too late! It turns out that the cliff was an overhang and we thundered underneath. The roar of the engine mixed with the screams of the passengers echoed off the cliff roof along with the laughter of the crew.
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