Koh phi phi Don

If there is paradise this is it. As we were approaching these islands consisting of limestone cliffs jetting out of the ocean covered in tropical vegetation I was absolutely taken back by the beauty!!  We arrived at the main pier and had to take a water taxi to get to out to our resort located on long beach. As we pulled in we were all taken back by where we actually were. They were individual huts on piers constructed into  the hillside over looking  Ton Sai bay.

The water is clear and the best color I can come up with to describe is azure.  It is warm and full of colorful fish.

The view from our balcony overlooked the water and looked straight at phi phi lay (another limestone cliff island).

The first night was just soaking up the beauty. We dined at the blue moon, a restaurant by the water. We stayed and partied. The funny thing is our waiter couldn't understand that we wanted gin and lime schwepps. Instead he kept bringing us full glasses of straight gin and we would have to order the schwepps.  We headed to the main beach at our place and watched a fire show.

The next morning we headed out for snorkeling at 7:00 with the taxi driver that brought us in. He told us that earlier is better to avoid the crowds. Although we hated our decision when the alarm went off at 6:30, once we got to our first spot and were the only ones there we were happy. We had our own private guide. It was great. First bay was to see the sharks. There was a bunch of them. They were moon sharks. There were a lot of other cool fish as well but there were also jelly fish. Unfortunately, Cara got stung.

After this he took us to another side of the island and we snorkeled there for awhile then off to a secluded beach just for a swim. On our way out he showed us the cliffs where they collect the birds nests for birds nest soup. The birds spin their nests from mucous and they collect these to make birds nest soup. Apparently this is a very expensive delicacy.

After returning from the early morning trip we settled down on the beach for the day. This was our own private beach for our resort. It is soft white sand. As soon as I entered the water there were all kinds of fish right there. Needles to say Cindy and I rented snorkel and masks for 50 baht. The coral was right off the beach area and the variety of fish there was amazing. One of the noticeable things is there were so many sea slugs lying around.

After the day on the beach, some of us took a water taxi into town and hiked up to the view point. This is one of the highest spots on the island and gave you a view of both bays and the small segment of land between them. The town of Phi Phi is built on this small segment.

More to come later. Need to run.