family trip to phi phi 16 months after

Family trip to Phi Phi - 16 months after the Tsunami

So we decided to take a day trip from Phuket to Phi Phi and be real

tourists. The weather on Sunday looked a little grey, but the plan had

been made and tickets already paid for. The ferry to Phi Phi departs

from Rassada pier on the east side of Phuket Town, just before the

bridge to Koh Sirey. Departure time is 08:30, and the place can be a

bit crowded. I think there were 4 boats leaving, all run by different

companies. We got the slowest one (Sea Angel). The Phi Phi Cruiser is

much quicker. But won't grumble. We got the tickets half price through

a friend of a friend.

As we had arrived just a few minutes before departure time, the boat

was packed. No room upstairs, and the only places we could find to sit

were cramped down in the front of the boat with a headroom of about 4

feet! Not real comfy. I was not expecting it to be so crowded. The

trip over was calm, and I did get upstairs for the last 20 minutes to

show mum and dad the islands and be their tour guide.

A bit of a scrum to get off and I could not get back inside to help my

wife carry baby boy. If you have kids on these boats, keep them close.

Water looked clear, even off the jetty. A man was throwing bread into

the water, and a melee of sergeant major damselfish raced for a

mouthful.

The first 10 minutes on the island were spent trying to work out what

our friends wanted to do. A friend with her 3 year old son and 4 month

old baby, her sister and cousin had decided that morning to join us,

but it was clear they were slowing us down! Getting from the boat to

the main street in Tonsai you have to pass about 20 touts for tours,

boat hire, etc..and the area is a bit crowded. We were already hot and

thirsty, so I stopped at a little shop to buy drinks..

Realised that Phi Phi is expensive. In the little shop, canned drinks

were 30 Baht - the normal price in Phuket is somewhere from 13-15

Baht. Once we were a hundred meters from the jetty, the touts were

gone and we could walk unmolested. That part of the village is rather

cramped, with buildings on both side of the narrow street. There are

no cars on Phi Phi, but you do need to look out for locals on bicycles

and the occasional motorbike (can't be more than a few on the island).

I got another shell daddy! The main street opens out a bit after a

hundred meters, and you have a clear view of the bay. I was vaguely

aiming for the viewpoint, never having walked up there despite many

visits to Phi Phi. Looked like a fair walk, and I knew the girls with

the young kids were not up for it. Finally they decided to go find a

place for a drink. We soldiered on, crossing over to Loh Dalam Bay,

after letting my daughter find some shells on the beach. She always

loves that.

Towards the end of Tonsai Bay is a path going over a small hill to Loh

Dalam Bay (the "other side"). Up on that road you have some small

guesthouses and some local houses. A path leads off to the right

saying "small view point 400m", but this is not the main view point.

When you get to the other side, first thing you see is a big mess

where the water treatment plant is being rebuilt. Not pretty, but

looks way better than when I was there last in June 2005, when

everything was still covered in mud and sand.

The path to the viewpoint carries on to the right (a small sign points

the way). We passed a few more rooms and cafes, then came to a steep

stairway. Someone said it would be a 20 minute climb. I am supposed to

be fit, but was feeling rather hot and was carrying my 13kg "little"

boy. Dad's knee playing up, wife was carrying a much-too-big bag....in

short, we chickened out and went to find a place for lunch near the

beach.

Dad (mum walking past behind)

Charlies was almost empty and close to the water. Its a simple

structure, built since the tsunami with nice wooden furniture (always

a bonus - I hate the plastic chairs and tables) and the staff seemed

friendly too. Dad looked a bit knackered. Some cold coca cola revived

him. The varied menu showed us again that Phi Phi is not so cheap -

and remember this is coming from someone who lives in Phuket... But

then I reminded myself that an average tourist would be saying "Wow

this is cheap". I mean we all ate for 600 Baht - less than 10 pounds,

at a restaurant with a view over the beach. I'm sure you can eat way

cheaper in Phi Phi, but hell, we're on holiday!

My little boy on the beach, Loh Dalam Bay Mum and I ordered some fried

rice and a chicken with cashew nuts. Dad had some "real" food - cordon

bleu with chips, and he was happy to see some carrot too. Food was

tasty and plentiful, though not cheap. After eating we headed for the

beach. It was low tide and many longtails were stranded on the sand.

Time for little boy to run around. He always enjoys getting free and

loved getting dirty. I had to put a stop to it when he started

throwing handfuls of wet sand in the air, landing in his hair. I think

he liked the view. Daughter looking for more shells. There were not so

many people on the beach (see photo of dude playing keepy uppy). Quite

pleasant and quiet. What I had to remind myself was that this area was

once full of guesthouses. Now very empty (which I think is nice). Some

places we walked, you could see tiles on the ground that had obviously

once been the floor of a hotel room. I could not help but stare out to

sea across Loh Dalam Bay and think how horrifying it must have been.

With no warning, there is just about nowhere to run. There's a sign up

just along from Charlies that says "Tsunami Hazard Zone - in case of

earthquake, head inland"...but along most of the beach, there is no

"inland", you walk 2 minutes and you are on Tonsai Bay...

As a day trip just staying in Tonsai village, it's a bit too tacky for

me. Lots of day trippers (it was Sunday, so lots of Thai daytrippers

too). We had wanted to hire a longtail boat, and I think we will go

back sometime soon. The weather was not great - see dark skies above

dads head, and if you really want to see the beauty of Phi Phi Ley

island, blue skies help a lot.

I have stayed overnight in Phi Phi many times on dive trips and in the

evening all the day trippers are gone, the bars open and I always

enjoyed the evenings. On the dive trips we normally stay at the Phi

Phi Bayview Resort. Was there for Christmas one time and remember

dancing half drunk in Apache Bar. Many times getting rather p*ssed on

free tequilas in Tin Tin's bar (which I think has gone now). There's

always a good crowd in the bars, and no bar girls molesting you. I do

think Phi Phi has to be careful where it's going. Certainly heading

more up market, nicer hotels, less for the backpackers who "made the

place what it is today", for good or worse. There are still cheapish

bungalows, but a lot more mid price resorts with pools, plus on the

other side of Phi Phi, you have top quality resorts like Holiday Inn,

Phi Phi Erawan Palms, Phi Phi Natural - all very nice places indeed.

You also have the excellent Phi Phi Island Village which also has a

dive center run by Joerg and Yvonne who both used to work in Phuket.

Indeed Yvonne was one of the first people I met here and was very

helpful to me when I was looking for work. Nice people. For more hotel

info, you can click on the hotel links above.

dude playing keepy uppy, Loh Dalam Bay, Phi Phi The diving is also not

as cheap as it used to be. Dive centers all charge the same prices

now, and its quite a bit more than the average on Koh Tao, though the

diving is better. Things change, and Phi Phi is starting to squeeze

the backpackers wallets.... More day trippers coming from Phuket, and

I have a feeling coming BECAUSE of the you-know-what, to see if

there's any damage left to gawk at, or because they feel they should

"do their bit" to support the island. For me a day trip from Phuket is

a bit tacky, as you don't have time to do anything much. I would like

to do the blacktip shark snorkeling, which is meant to be very good.

Well, if we have a sunny day at the end of the month, we'll go back

and hire a boat to see the more beautiful parts of Phi Phi. You cannot

deny that a place like Maya Bay or Losamah Bay is spectacular, though

in the middle of the day it can be crowded. Staying overnight and

getting a boat nice and early is a good option so you get there before

the boats from Phuket. Early morning is a great time for travel, great

light, cool air and nobody around...

Going to Phi Phi? Some useful links...

o Phi Phi Island Dive Sites

o Phi Phi Dive Packages

o Phi Phi Island Hotels

Planet Holiday - Thailand Hotel Booking - Guaranteed Lowest Rates

Jamie's Phuket Blog - The Real Phuket!

Jamie's Phuket: Family trip to Phi Phi - 16 months after the Tsunami

more about phuket : Phuket Weather | Phuket Hotel Booking | Thailand

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