Phi Phi Island is such a beautiful place just for some R&R. Away from the bustling city and just staying close to the sun, sand and sea. I’ve heard loads of talk about this place so this time as we embarked on a journey to Thailand, we decided to make a stop at this little island to taste for ourselves what it’s like 
The journey to Phi Phi from Phuket Ferry Terminal was about an hour’s journey but filled with adventure. As the ferry cruised the waters of the Andaman Sea, we were awed by the sight of humongous limestone rocks and surprised by a number of dolphins jumping out of the waters. That’s one of the things we couldn’t get enough sitting with free biscuits and tea – a ticket would cost $22.80 (550 Baht) but I reckon getting them off a package would cost cheaper – way cheaper! 
On a quest to this beautiful island, we kind of overlooked the possibilities of getting a place to shelter ourselves. Everything was on peak season and most of the hotels were fully booked. We walked for about an hour searching for hotels but alas went back to square one and got off with one of the chalets. Lesson Learnt – BOOK YOUR HOTEL BEFORE EMBARKING! Not big of a deal if you’re travelling during off-peak season but we were there over Christmas-New Year period, imagine the crowd! But heck, there’s so many good food for comfort ;D
The best thing was that there weren’t sight of any cars or heavy vehicles, everyone was either walking or on a bicycle. When I think about it, the island was actually pretty small. Thus the uneven roads and narrow alleys, it was kind of nice walking in a different environment for a change.
So what is there on Phi-Phi?
For a person who neither club nor drink, I get on full energy over water sports and exploring other patches of sand. Shopping would take probably 1/4 of my interest – most of the stalls were selling of about the same things so there wasn’t much to splurge on. During our trip, I spent my afternoons off shore and by evening I’m going crazy over Banana Boat, Para Sailing, Jet Skiing and just being in the waters. I was in full dive suit, so what did I miss under the sun right? 
Was probably hoping to lose some weight off the suit, but I doubt that happened. By dinner I was having a seafood feast for three days straight! Healthy or what? Indeed food was enjoyable.
Halal food was actually easy to find round the island. there’s halal certified thai cuisines, seafood stalls, and restaurants, cafes and bakeries. Besides a percentage of the residents are muslims, imagine how easy it is to search for food anyway. If there’s one thing I’d recommend for you to feast on would be their PAPAYA SALAD! It tasted so good, we had them for breakfast, lunch and dinner. With a tinge of spice and all things nice – yuuuuuum! *drools over thoughts of papaya salad* Another favourite dessert would be their Pancakes! Especially the banana-nutella spread! Ooh lala~ It’s not exactly pancakes, it’s more like crepe. A light layer of batter and topped off with milk and sugar and bananas and then flipped like prata and voila! This is so popular around Thailand in fact, I just wished one of the many would come to Singapore and set up his stall here. Confirm can sell! I’ll be your no. #1 Supporter! Lai Lai! ;p
It is always cheaper to hop on a boat and share with some other tourists but because we went as a group, there wasn’t much to share anyway. We island hopped to Monkey island, Maya Bay, Koh Mai Pai (Bamboo Island), Hin Klang and lastly the Shark point. Getting down to snorkel with friendly fishes and gasping at the beauty of the corals, reefs and all other underwater. I enjoyed it most – you can’t hear anything underwater so as you swim, everything was dependent on your breathing and sight. So refreshing and indeed such a wonderful experience. This beats Krakatau Island Hopping in Jakarta anytime!
There’s just so much to do here – from snorkeling to scuba to cliff diving to para sailing, jet skiing, and all that crazy water activities!
This was a funny incident where the speedboat got caught between the rocks and everyone had to go down to push it off. They were a group of Koreans I suppose from their features and the way they talk. Super funny!
If you have some spare time, you might want to slip in some trekking to the Tsunami Evacuation Point. An entrance fee of 20 baht ($0.81) and you have the most absolutely amazing view of the island. But there’s this little hint I’ll give away – it takes much hard work, determination, endurance and motivation to get up to its rewards. Steps up the route gets steeper as it gets higher and thus comes the endurance in place to push yourself up till the very end. Your rewards will pay off though as you witness the landscape and exotic flowers surrounding you. I don’t know how reviews mention taking up to 2 hours to reach the top, my stopwatch ran till 30 minutes. I must have been one tough lady to run up the steps panting my way through the awesome view! HAHAHA but hello, totally worth it okay!
I KNOW RIGHT! THE CAT’S EYES ARE OF DIFFERENT COLOUR! HOW COOL IS THAT?!?1? I was super awed by this little kitten – she’s just so pretty!
On the last evening of our trip, while everyone went to shop for souvenirs and all that, I decided to have some me time over sunset so I bargained the ‘driver’ to a 500 baht ($20) to bring me out to sea (because there weren’t many who were left by the shore and also because it was close to sunset), for as long as I wanted to stay out. He had his snacks and crackers and was at the other end of the boat so as far as I can remember I had an extremely satisfying moment alone cross-legged at the end of the boat and whispering the wonders of God. Overlooking the non-ending sea, with the water still, and pin-drop silence – I can and will never forget how good it felt to be able to meditate and enjoy the moment. As the sun sets slowly, I know this memorable journey I went through can never be compared to any – what a wonderful gift to bring home
Both running through sunrise and sunset was really nice though I found myself running in circles at one point just because I went through the same way and got lost on my way back, on the bright side, least I manage to cover extra distance ey? I love how small the island is and how easy it is to get to the other side (north south east and west)
Haha I can never stress enough how much of comfort and joy I came home with, other than a pretty (tanned) face, I brought home much priceless memories and the best thing I know they’re forever etched in me. So grateful to experience whatever I did when I was in Phi Phi. You should too. I’ll bet you’ll come home craving for more! If you ladies are hoping for some shopping tips, I’m not one to tell – I hardly spent any of shopping, but my sister came home with bags worth of $500 of shopping! Shopaholic much now ey? Well, hope this gives you a pleasant insight of what my journey was like over at Phi Phi Island. I’d say its best if you’re up for just some alone time away from modern technology and all that. I had such a great time! I’m sure you’ll do too
My journey continues as I hop on the ferry to Phuket, my next entry awaits…
