Sawadeeka: Maya and Beyond (means Home la)

Got up early again and proceed for breakfast before packing all our things, checked out and driven to the jetty before boarding the ferry to the Koh Phi Phi island.

I was really dead tired by then from the heat, and thank goodness for the sturdiness of the ferry otherwise I wouldn't be able to get enough rest on the ferry from the motion sickness like I did. The ferry ride took close to an hour I think to get us to Phi Phi island.

Was all well-rested when we reached our destination! Hehe... The others? Were all up on the deck, soaking up the sun haha.

Checked into the Phi Phi Hotel, really nice and decent place. larger and slightly more luxurious that the Hotel Srisuksant we stayed in Aonang. When we got our keys, it was a little over 1pm and only a couple of rooms were ready for us to put our stuff in. So Kenneth took a set and TY took the other. 'Instructions' were barked out from Sergeant Evan for us to get ready, set out for lunch and then get ready later for more island hopping.

Needless to say, the whole bunch crammed into our room instead of half going over to Kenneth's lol. Just changed into my swimming stuff, and headed out to fill our food-deprived stomachs.

Koh Phi Phi island is so flooded with tourists that everywhere you turn, you see boobs hanging out, covered only by the tiniest piece of lycra. Great fact about this island is that, no motorized vehicle is used here, well, except for the long tailboats and other water transport. But otherwise, on island, no motorcycles, no tuk-tuks, no cars. Just plain bus #11 or bicycles.

Again, we ordered the favored banana honey pancake and coconut milk shakes lol. I think at this point if I am being served with another of those pancakes I would literally vomit my insides out. I don't know. Being sick after a vacation also makes me sick of the food I overeat while I am there. Like kerabu. Sick.

Sigh.

After a bit, we headed back to the hotel to lay back and rest. I took a shower because the heat outside is so overwhelming that I was almost pretty sure that we were 10 times closer to the sun -__-

Our boat gets its fuel from this boat close to the shore!

Probably diesel? Not entirely sure but fuel is brownish-red in color. This is some mobile fuel station lol. Fuel is transferred to our boat with only a transparent tube.

Long tailboats are so rocky -.- Received another hit of motion sickness, even on a short boat ride off the beach. Our guide lowered the anchor and we just snorkeled right in the deep sea. Without a doubt, the corals and reefs here are so breathtaking as compared to the ones we experienced in Aonang.

I started wearing life jackets back off the Aonang waters because I decided that I was too lazy to swim. Then the life jackets were too huge for me and they sort of bunched up above the sea and chokes me up. So this time around, I was a lot smarter (but no less lazier) and dived into the sea without them. I miss having flippers like we did when we were in Sapi and Manukan island off Sabah.

We were first brought to a lagoon where I was told that the filming of The Blue Lagoon (starring Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins) took place. However, a quick search on wiki left me with results other than what I was told. Blue Lagoon was actually filmed in Fiji and Vanuatu. Hmm... Can't be that I heard Blue Lagoon and Brooke Shields wrong right? Nevermind. Maybe a short scene actually took place here.

The clear blue waters belie the actual condition of the environment. As it is a lagoon, rubbishes like empty bottles, plastic are brought here from the sea current. It is kind of oily here to, much to our disappointment. None of us except for Kei Gor dared to go into the water.

Brace yourselves for the highlight of our trip....

Doesn't this look like a setting of some thriller genre film, where you stumble upon this rocky-waves crashing and only one point of entry thing? Well, there are in fact 2 points of entry into our next POI. One is clearly the stairs, another is right below the stair, under the cave and you have to climb over boulders and shit like that.

Evan, who was here before a couple of years ago couldn't believe that we were going to have it easy because the stairs is apparently a new addition. Lol. Anyways, we had to swim from our boat to the boulders because the boats couldn't get any closer. TY, who was indecisive as to whether he should be lugging his DSLR along, last skali threw in the bulky camera into the wet bag (water proof surf bag). We were, needless to say, rewarded with the best view I have ever set my eyes upon.

Ma Ya Bay

I cannot even describe how majestic cliffs rise over the bay, sheltering it from three sides. The cliffs / limestone hills measured up to 100 meters tall. The sand is silky white gives a pristine view through the length of the beach.

If the name Maya Bay or the view looks familiar to you, then it's probably because you've seen it. This is the filming location of the movie The Beach, which stars Leonardo diCaprio.

And a sad little attempt at creating a panoramic shot haha! Epic fail.

Just for the record, we used the cave entry on the way out. All salty, stinky and sticky later, we got back to our hotel. Before that, out boat stops over the underwater memorial for the tsunami victims. As the tide was high and the memorial over10 meters deep, none of us got to see the memorials.

Dinner was supposed to be a buffet affair, but apparently the shop only opens during the peak season (October onwards or so), so as we walked around, Evan and I agreed to dine at a restaurant we hand-picked (based on the yummy looking grilled items they have lined outside the restaurant lol).

One of the best BBQ-ed iems I've had - kebab of chicken cubes, tomatoes, onions, chilis and also de-shelved large prawns.

Queen of all Som Tams. So spicy all three (Gecko Hunter, TY and I) were hissing and smoking our way through dinner!

And the usual green curry chicken and seafood tom yum gong with steamed rice. Total bill came to about 100 Baht per person, which really ain't bad at all. I made a passing comment to Gecko Hunter that I wouldn't mind setting up a shop here and live here just to have these food everyday lol. Well, of course, being sick and all completely changed my perception. Ahem. Nope.

Fat lazy cats are all over Ko Phi Phi

Not only was I feeling under the weather. TY soon confessed that he doesn't feel all that good. Two of us then made our way back to the hotel, after downing some coconut juice. Bade our goodbyes to Horse and Drunkard, changed into my PJs and downed a Uphamol. Terus pengsan until midnight or so where I received a call from Horse.

"Eh, you guys sleeping already ah? Anyway we are downstairs at the pool and drinking that Bacardi we bought earlier ah. Come over la ok".

Me,"Ok". Hung up and slept till the next morning. Lol... Old people. Well apparently, Horse, Drunkard and Gecko Hunter were at the Slinky Bar or something like that, drinking and watching some fire shows when there was a power outage for nearly half an hour so those three took their drinking over to the hotel pool.

We were also supposed to get up some time around 5am to hike up to the Viewpoint of Phi Phi, catch some sunrise and also the view of the two coasts, separated by the town of Phi Phi. I was woken up around 6am by Evan's knocking on the door. I initially wanted to go but didn't want the others to have to wait for me to get ready so I forgo the opportunity and shook TY up. TY was a bit worse, saying that the night before was pretty cloudy and he doubted he could get a good sunrise. Well that being settled, TY and I were plunged back into slumberland.

A similar but not quite view which you can get at the Viewpoint that TY shot from the top level of our hotel. The breakfast buffet spread at the hotel was great! There were bacon strips, little croissants and my favorite baked potato... yum yum. After the heavy breakfast, I posed a question to TY, asking him if he wanted to get a foot massage (I was still very de boh ka muan over my maiden Thai massage back in Aonang). He said yea ok and so we made a rush for it, to the massage shop just opposite our hotel and requested for a half hour foot massage.

The last is definitely the best, cukup oomph (probably because we were the first customers, all energy still intact) and power. I left Phi Phi with happy feet.

And last skali, a shot of a battle ship that was washed to shore from the tsunami hit. Sawadeeka!

Sawadeeka: Limestone Hills over the Vast Andaman Sea

Woke up with heavy eye bags and after a quick shower, trudged downstairs for the breakfast spread. We had the options of ham, eggs, and sausages or fried rice and both me and TY opted for the whole protein breakfast. After paying BHT360 for snorkel equipments and boat ride, we got back to our room and got ready for a whole day out at the beach and snorkeling.

Obviously there are just too many breathtaking photographs which I can't include all in since blogger has the storage limit and I'm not about to bother linking to flickr or photobucket... Last skali I just took whichever ones I fancy from TY's camera because mine just doesn't seem to cut it :(

On this trip did I only start to realize that I actually have sea sickness. Especially so on the longboats! So damn rocky waseh pening kelapa @.@ You could immediately feel the effects of someone shifting his/her butt an inch to one side.

Krabi surely provide a sight that is rarely seen on the coasts of Malaysia.

Our first island is the Phranang island. The sun blazes over us, I feel just like a human kebab roasting in the heat.

The Phranang cave isn't like any other cave. An altar is erected in honor of... I'll let you guess based on the picture.

Yes. Penises. We girls were practically having a lot of fun picking out the different sizes of figurines to pose with while the guys stayed safely 10 feet away. Dugong was the best, asking Mrs Dugong not to touch anything when she wanted to take a photo with the altar rofl.

We had the option of exploring the cave but none of us were interested in using our time in the sun for some time in a cold, dark cave. So we found a spot some distance away, took off our clothes and just in time, a rain cloud rolled in and lazily rained over us pitiful people hahahah.

As it was only a passing rain, we weren't too worried but damn, the wind that came with it sure is cold! Before long we were all soaking in the sea for its warmth. Rain lasted for about 20 minutes before the sun peeks out again. I am pleased to say that that was the only encounter with bad weather throughout. I was told by a Thai expat friend that the range of dates we have picked falls on the monsoon season, the peak season for traveling to the West Coast is from October onwards.

While frolicking in the sun, we found this rope hanging off a jutting rock. Yours truly actually managed to climb up, pictures as evidence :p

With my admiring fans all around rofl. I would love to put up more pictures of the surrounding view but I have to be extremely choosy in my choice of photos, so no :( After a bit, Jeff called us to move on to the next island. Not before stopping by this island called Chicken Island, which resembles, well, a chicken. Hmm.. not quite, I thought it looked more like a turkey.

Then Jeff pointed out a smaller limestone hill which he referred to as the James Bond island. It's not quite the island which a JB movie was filmed. In fact, it is a smaller version and is henceforth called the Fake James Bond island.

Fake or not doesn't stop us from camwhoring with it.

This is my favorite picture out of the entire album.

I think we spend the longest time on the Poda island (don't ask). Tried snorkeling there but the snorkeling mask seems faulty and water seems to be getting into it. Well either that or I still very much suck at using snorkeling gears. It was close to noon by then and my stomach was growling. Unable to contain my hunger, an ice-cream vendor (with an icepack strapped) passes by in an attempt to seduce me with his icy sticks.

An ice-cream cone is priced at a staggering 80 Baht (RM8). Hunger overwhelms and I gave in. Oh well, better poorer than having irreversible gastrointestinal related diseases (justify, justify!).

This is me looking like crap + moody + boh sim + seasickness. Could barely talk except for showing this lcly face hahahahhaha. Thank goodness for Mrs Dugong's hong iu which somewhat made the boat ride a little bit more bearable. TY who loves boat ride looked like he's having the time of his life. With a glittery tan.

I believe this is one of the Tam Tam islands - three interconnecting islands which is possible to travel by foot to each of them when the tide is low enough.

Sun burnt, hungry, sticky with suntan oil and sunblocks, a hairy mess later, we got back to our hotels and cleaned up to get ready for a very late lunch. I'll call it tea because it's already around 5pm I think.

Famished, close to 7 dishes were ordered.

Som Tam - Thai Green Papaya Salad. Julienned young papaya and mango with dried shrimps, cashew nuts and seasoned with sugar and chillis. Perfect balance of sour, sweet and spicy.

Stir-fried asparagus with shrimps and mushrooms. Bland.

Big fat juice oysters yum yum. Considered an aphrodisiac but I'm just happy to be slurping them in, after a squeeze of lemon and a dribble of Thai green chili. There are 5 other dips provided, fried anchovies, garlic slices, chopped bird's eye chilis, chili ketchup, chili with chili oil and Thai green chili. Without a doubt, the Thai green chili has to be the best oyster companion, after lemon of course.

Tom yum gong - TY requested for a super hot tom yum. And they certainly delivered... though not quite as hot as the Keng Som fish (details later ;)) This tom yum comes in a clear broth but the fragrance of lemongrass whets the appetite for more.

Our spicy lala. Gone within 5 minutes served at our table. Damn these Lifeguards.

Omelette.

The Pa Miong (hope I somehow got it spelled correctly) which is a type of leafy bitter vegetable that is supposedly only available in Krabi / Thai. Cooked stir fried with eggs and I have no qualms about eating bitter vegs. Love this one.

And the fish that made us all wept.

Keng Som fish. Which is literally Asam Pedas in Malay. The fish is first deep fried then braised in a sour and spicy broth. Every sip of this broth packs a punch! One of the many rare dishes that got me wiping my forehead from sweat and hissing between sips. Syok!

Killer keng som.... you have been warned!

Walked over to the beach for a shot of the group with tetek in the background. Oh, Mrs Dugong wasn't able to join us for dinner because she didn't feel well. I think she was the only one besides me who had problems with the longboat.

Even after that humongous, er, tea, our Gecko Hunter still hiao want to find more food (deep fried, of course) at one of the stalls.

I especially liked the deep fried whole prawns (whole including head, tails and all).

Finally a daylight photo of our hotel. Clean, great service. Oh, I have not mentioned about our little misfortune on our first night at the hotel. Digressing, before leaving on the first night we checked in, we left the air conditioning on to cool the room. When we got back, the room was as hot and stuffy as ever. Didn't help that TY has left to capture star trail shots. So I called the reception asking them to fix the air-conditioning. One of the staff came along and all he did was to move the vents one way to another and he left -.- Didn't help either that his English was poor and my Thai was limited to 2 words - Sawadeeka and Hong Nam.

A second call brought the same guy over, but this time he had this gas coolant or whatever it's called, I breathed a sigh of relief. Couldn't sleep in this humidity! After being stuck in the balcony for close to 20 minutes, the hotel staff came out and I thanked him profusely. Air from vent came out cool and breezy. Happy ending.

Ok, back to after that deep fried shrimp story. The plan was to go back to our hotel, take a rest and then we go out again for our much discussed and planned aloe vera massage. Jeff brought us to this place which Gecko Hunter reckoned is way over-priced. So we went on a hunt along the streets and found a road sign which seems to keep everyone happy. In we went along this dodgy looking alley...

The spa lot charges 350 Baht (RM35) per hour for a combo of Thai massage with aloe vera. I was looking forward to this a lot but thanks to the lazy masseur that I received (which Horse observed to always checking the clock), my fairy tale massage crashed into the gates of hell beneath.

Her presses on my back is comparable to a cat treading on my skin. Jeez.... seriously geram thinking about it. I requested, twice for her to exert more power "Stronger, ya" and she nodded and proceeded with her meow meow paw massage. Sigh.

Coconut ice cream for supper afterwards. Still can't believe I got such a lousy massage from a Thai. Didn't even manage to crack my bones or whatever. Not with her kitty arms.

We walked back to the section where our banana shakes are sold and on a separate stall, ordered grilled fish and corn.

Assignment: print out top picture and draw curly mustache.

Grilled fish was ok, had fun forking out the meat. Grilled corn was extremely dry and hard.... Our banana shake stall was closed and we got our shakes from another stall, which made our shakes really diluted and practically used up a whole can of condensed milk for a drink.

Phi Phi tomorrow!