Project Krabi – Day 4
Koh Phi Phi Don
Started our day at 7.30am with breakfast and proceeded to wait at the lobby for our ferry transfer at 8.20am. Today we are heading towards the famed Phi Phi island for a day trip.
The van delivered us to the pier at about 9am and there were already a bunch of people waiting at the pier. Was indeed a proper pier and we need not waddle our way to get on some long-tail boat before transferring to the ferry.
The morning light was really nice and warm, illuminating the longtail boats nicely against the hilly backdrop. We took some shots while waiting for boarding.
It seems that those taking the ferry were mostly tourists heading to Phi Phi for a couple of days. They were lugging around all sorts of luggages, mostly rather huge ones. I then thought if we were ever planning on such an itinerary, make sure we pack light! Hauling up a huge hard case luggage onboard the ferry seems like a challenge!
We boarded the ferry and decided to take a seat outdoor. The ferry took quite awhile to depart as they were waiting for more and more people. The tourists joining the ferry seems to be endless and it does seems a little overcrowded, especially with the mountains of luggage that everyone is tugging along. People were standing everywhere, with their legs hanging outside the railings.
The ferry finally departed at 9.30am. As it sailed towards the fork of the waterway, there was another ferry waiting. Not sure if was planned or unplanned, we were told to transfer to the other bigger ferry. As we were sitting near to the exit we were one of the first few to board the 2nd ferry and managed to get a nice seat at the back of the ferry. People were queuing to board the ferry and it sure looked like some refugee ferry.
We set sail again and shortly after, the ferry stopped again. This time, the tourists from Railey will be joining onboard. Again the longtail boats were endless, with I think at least 10 boatful of tourists and their luggage. After about 20 mins or so, we finally set sail towards Phi Phi island.
We reached Phi Phi Don at about 11.30am. While docking, I saw a floating water theme park that has got slides that looks like Big Splash. I thought it looks quite nice but David felt it wasn’t as good as Gili islands in Lombok, the water wasn’t clear and he couldn’t see seaweeds. It took us quite awhile to get off the ferry as everyone was trying to find their luggage. It sure does seems messy and we are real glad we are only on a day trip.
Phi phi definitely was more happening than Ao Nang, with lots of shops and alleys packed with tourists. The shops probably sell almost the same thing – apparels, souvenirs, dive shops, restaurants and resorts. I felt it was a bit like walking the streets in Pushkar, with shops on both side of the street and lots and lots of people walking around. Could feel the ‘life’ in the streets and yet no cars no horns. Resorts lined the street and very open concept where anyone can walk through them in order to move along to the next restaurant, resort or shop.
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Streets of Phi Phi from robotech on Vimeo. |
We settled our lunch at a beachfront restaurant. Ordered fried chicken and David had chicken with basil and rice. Decent food but nothing to shout about. We had a good view of the beach in front of us. After lunch, we decided to head towards the viewpoint.
To get to the start of the viewpoint, we walked through all the alleys and there were some quaint restaurants, bookstore cum café, etc. The climb up to the view point was indeed really steep. That was also the evacuation route for tsunami. The climb wasn’t anything difficult as they had proper steps built all the way up…but it sure got me panting. I was thinking if people would really ‘make it’ to the highest point in times of crisis…no matter how much somebody panics, I don’t think they could go very much faster with the exhaustive climb.
We finally reached the 1st viewpoint after 20 minutes or so. There was a nice rest-stop managed by an old uncle who looks Chinese to me. We had our fluids and took a break enjoying the nice view.
We probably rested for 15 minutes or so and started to move along to the 2nd viewpoint. The 2nd portion was a sloped pavement all the way…with its fair share of exhaustion. We reached the 2nd viewpoint after about 10 minutes and this viewpoint was really good. We could see the entire Phi Phi island, breath-taking.
Pity we couldn’t stay up there for too long as we were less than an hour away from our ferry departure at 3.30pm. We hurried our way down and in 15 minutes we reached the starting point and hurried to the pier. We made it to the ferry just in time at 3.25pm. Only pity is we did not manage to buy the wat wat tee…we shall head to Ao Nang tomorrow and get it then.
The ferry back wasn’t as crowded and it was a nice ride back to Ao Nang. The sea was quite calm and a little bit breezier than yesterday although there were a bit of rain. We reached Railey at 5pm to unload some passengers, and reached the Ao Nang Pier by 5.30pm.
We found our driver and reached the hotel by 6pm, just in time for sunset. Waited awhile for the sunset hoping that it will be spectacular today..but still no luck. Sky is overcast and not much colors appearing. We headed back to the room and went to Gecko’s for dinner.
Had squid-ink fettuccine with prawns, while David had lamb cutlet. Shared a lobster bisque that could have been more concentrated but the main course were really good. The pasta was cooked al-dente, and the tomato base sauce was just right with the right flavors. The lamb was also very tender. Nice dinner! Costs about 2,000thb.
Finally done with the journal and it’s time for some Richard. Tomorrow will be a chill-out day and can finally check-out their pool 
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