Ko Phi Phi

I've spent the last week on Ko Phi Phi. On our second day here, Jon and I discovered, directly across from our guesthouse, a tiny bar owned and run by Tiki, a charming Thai woman. We've since spent a large proportion of our time here.

Aside from going scuba diving, I've spent much of my time relaxing and meeting other visitors to the island. A few days ago we decided, with a group of new friends, to hike across the island to a remote beach, Rantee Beach. We set out with Tiki, Ruben (from the Netherlands), Synnøve (from Norway), and Lotta and Siv (from Denmark). There are a few bungalows on the beach and one bar/restaurant owned by a Welshman, Sam. In the evening Tiki, Jon, Synnøve, and I decided to stay the night (despite having nothing but the swimming trunks we were wearing). We spent the night on the beach and the following day, having decided to spend another night at Rantee, headed back to Ton Sai (the main town on the island) to get our bags and check out of our guesthouse there. We did so, loaded the bags onto a boat, but then decided to stay in town a for a couple drinks and walk back over the island. By the time we ended up leaving it was too dark to walk, and we couldn't get a boat as the tide was out, making navigating the reef near Rantee dangerous in the dark. With no room and our bags now in Rantee, the five of us spent the night on the floor of Tiki's bar. The next day we finally made it back to Rantee for another night on the sand.

Jon left for Bangkok this morning, while I'm going to stay in Ton Sai for another couple nights. While Ton Sai itself is a bit crowded with tourists and guesthouses, the island is nonetheless stunningly beautiful.