Ko Phi Phi

A bus to a shuttle to a boat, I got to know all of them pretty well, mostly nyu juniors who were abroad in shanghi for the semester, and one cousin who just found them. 5/6 jewish, a funny crew to spend christmas with. The boat ride was awesome-- 2 hours of gorgeous open sea, only dotted by a little non-threatening rainstorm mid journey.

When we got to the pier they realised that the bungalows they had booked were not anywhere near the populated bit of the island, and all the worries I had had about not finding accomodation (which is why I was going to ko lanta) were bullshit, as thai people stood at the pier offering their guest houses and bungalows. To get to 'long beach,' the site of their bungalows, we had to take a taxi, which on ko phi phi is a longtail boat. Fixed rate of 100baht a head to get us the 10 minute journey to the epic staircase leading up to our spot.  So epic that we put our bags ona little trolley that got pulled up pulley-system style, as we trekked, puffed.

Checking in was funny as they tried to convince the little asian lady that I was just a friend dropping off her bag, and not actually staying over.. Vaguely true-- wasn't sure what my plan was for the day. 

We all split off and I went with ariel to explore the island and make our way to the main area. It was about an hour trek to the main part, filled largely with irritating walks over incredibly rocky bits and small cuts on my feet (shouldn't have journied barefoot). We decided to get lunch at some random place where I got literally the most hilariously massive omelette ever. The menu suggested it was one with various sides, but it became clear that they were all just amongst. Though we started with water, we rapidly moved to beer and drink after drink we hung out exploring the beaches, mid day. Ariel ended up investing in a bucket, a move I didn't make, and we watched hundreds of crabs scurrying by our feet for ages. 

We found some sort of dodgy scaffolding bit and climbed our way to distant rocks, lying there until we were properly eaten by mosquitos and had to leave.

We went to a near by baar, and for like the 3rd time by this point, ari acted nacoleptic and fell asleep. I hung around the bar and met a cool group of british people, mostly drawn to their fully inked physiques. 

By the time I went back to check on ari's state of living, he had gone, and I was alone for the night to find new company.

The night wore on and soon the epic beach christmas eve party began. There were stages, a crazy pole people were climbing on and dancing on (met someone a few days later who had a massive crash off of it), fire shows, and masses. They burnt a massive xmas eve sign and everyone celebrated hard. I ended up helping take care of a massive australian dude who drank too much and was puking, and then called it a night.

Come morning I was up early, and decided to start 'the beach,' which isaac had given me, while waiting for everyone else to wake up. I had never seen the movie, and knew little of the story, but apparently it's a must see/read, especially if you're in thailand. I was hooked and barely made it to breakfast with the rest of the crew.

I also noticed that now, for the second time, I woke up with an extra pair of fake raybans. I'm a sunglass clepto it seems.

I spent most of my afternoon lounging around on the beach, swimming in the gorgeous clear sea waters, reading and relaxing. Vincent, the only non jew of the christmas crew was busy seeking out internet for a lot of the day to skype and call his relatives for the holiday. 

Over lunch with elan and ryan (ryan being the only one who wasn't studying with everyone in nyu and china, was the cousin of nick, and just joined them) we decided to sign up for a massage. This was gonna be my first ever massage, and from warnings of the potential harshness of a thai massage, I went with a coconut oil massage. 5 of us got them, nick ryan elan me and josh, and man it was amazing. Pretty cheap and crazy weird. I had no idea I'd be as naked as they made me get, nor fully massaged everywhere, but once I stopped ticklishly laughing, I was relaxed and loving it. 

Every so often the lady killed a mosquito on me, which I guess is the stress of an outdoor sunset massage. When it was done, we all got cups of tea and hung out on pillows for a bit, before heading back up the steep steps to our bungalow to find everyone for dinner. We ate on our side of the island, and though there were mixed views on whether or not to get on the piss at night. Decided against it and went back to the room for much needed sleep. I had ended up paying to stay there for that night, so I got my own little mattress set up in the room.

Come morning I got the free breakfast and decided to get to the main part to figure out how the hell I was getting to ko tao. I thought it would be a little trip, but found out it was going to be yet another nearly 20 hour mission. I booked my ticket and wandered around the main area a bit, getting food and stealing wifi from outside the place I had lunch in the day before. 

The trip out was a 130 2 hour ferry first. I sat outside, getting sunburnt and soaked form the splashing waves, tearing my way through 'the beach.' The next move was a 430 a/c bus to suritani, then a night ferry to ko tao. By ac bus they meant, tiny minivan, a centure I didn't want to take. The people were friendly and I pulled my same previous trick of removing the headrest to use as a window pillow. That took a few hours and then he had an hour in a weird restaurant rest stop, where the tv screens were playing jackass. I got dinner there and chatted with a british couple. We were dropped off at our boat at 730 pm and then had to wait till 11 before going off to ko tao. In our wait I had met a dutch couple on the tuk tuk that took us from bus station to pier (of course, leaving out the hilariously excessive extra modes of transportation), danique and jost, two awesome awesome people. 

We sat with another dutch girl, linda, and a canadian guy, jake. For the duration of our wait we each took turns going to the 7/11 picking up beers for the group, so well tipsy I entered the boat.