Ko Pi Pi (Phi Phi Islands)

Member Name: tlg

Product:	Phi Phi Islands
Date:	23/06/00 (1578 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: tropical paradise

Disadvantages: environmentally disasterous with tourism

Ko Pi Pi, Thailand

Island paradise or tourist-ridden and spoiled Eden? Some guide books, the ones we had, suggest not going to Ko Pi Pi as it is not very attractive or special, and it is a protected reserve. A plausible attempt to keep a myriad of backpackers from turning up and ruining what is a picture-postcard, white-sand, limestone-cliff, and tropical nirvana.

A two-hour boat trip from Krabbi on the southwest Thai mainland, Ko Pi Pi is two islands ? Pi Pi Don and Pi Pi Lay. One a sheer cliff fortress of limestone, protected by the locals as it is the source of birds nests that are the main ingredient of a certain soup that Campbell?s has yet to condense; the other, slightly larger, a centre of tourism and dream destination for the active and lazy. This is the poor mans Phuket, which is but a short boat trip to the northwest. The island was used to film The Beach and created an enormous rush amongst the backpacking world to get there when it became known that they were using backpackers in the film for smaller parts and for extras. The story goes that the rush was so great that they stopped people from going there, as the place became too crowded with too many wannabes.

We found ourselves on Ko Pi Pi after a number of days searching for a beach to relax on after months of travelling without much let up. Mid-November is the rainy season in this part of the world ? just weeks before a tropical cyclone had hit Southern Vietnam and had tragically killed thousands of Vietnamese fisherman (a storm which passed over us while we were sleeping in a hotel in Saigon, Ho Chi Minh, waking us up thinking the rain was a bit heavy that night). We had the choice, according to the Thai weather reports, of going to the much talked of east coast islands Ko Samui and Ko Phangan where clouds with rain drops were appearing in large clusters, or the west coast resorts of Ao Nang, Krabbi, or Ko Pi Pi where clouds with no rain drops were gathering for
som
e sort of summit. I get enough rain in England, so the wise choice of heading for the western side of the country was made where the cloud summit had ended and a lot of wet looking backpackers were drying out after making a different decision to ours.

Arriving by boat to the main village on the island, sprawled between two horse-shoe shaped bays, you are confronted with the choice of joining the crowd and finding one of the many hotels that cater for all budgets, or hopping straight onto one of the smaller boats which act as taxis to the 30 or so smaller beaches around the island. Wanting nothing more than peace and quiet, we opted for the latter and headed for the next beach along from the village, Long Beach ? so named because it is quite a long beach. The resort here has accommodation for all, ranging from the very cheap (£1 a night) to the slightly more comfortable. Being cheapskates we ended up in a wooden hut at the far end of the beach that had a large bed with mosquito net, a table and a small balcony. The huts are all on stilts in case of high tide, which meant we had white sand beneath us and a clear sea collapsing distance away.

The main village is the active centre of the island, where you can take trips out around the island, organise your scuba-diving, do a PADI scuba-diving course and join in the rastafied heaven of smoking the day away listening to Bob Marley on a pile of cushions with a bunch of strangers. Tempting, but the ?Bangkok Hilton? is not where you want to end up.

For those not comfortable with strapping a tank of air to your back and startling the gilled creatures of the waters, an experience that is, in truth, simply amazing, you can take the seemingly less exotic option of snorkeling. A pair of flippers, mask and snorkel can be hired for about £1 a day. This will afford you the reality of floating in a giant tropical fishtank, staring in wonder at the colour of the corals and fish alike. This is also a go
o
d opportunity for the aquatic flora and fauna to have a good look at you ? beware the flora that has eyes. Snorkeling is just as amazing as scuba diving, although different to some extent. The more colourful creatures tend to stay nearer the surface amongst the corals within snorkeling vision, whilst the weirder and larger ones can be seen diving. Night dives come highly recommended.

At night we were treated to the most spectacular lightening shows on the horizon in every direction, without hearing a single clap of thunder, and the sheer brilliance of the Thai full moon, so bright that it cast shadows underfoot. A Thai full moon on an island is also a very popular excuse for an enormous beach party. Definitely worth the effort of getting to one, these are the parties that are talked about for a long time after, but we were warned that it was also a great excuse for some unscrupulous types to go shopping around the rest of the islands? huts and hotels whilst everyone was out.

For a peaceful holiday get a good friend (experiences like these need to be shared), a few good books, a swimming costume (for decency?s sake), sun cream and gallons of bottled water; a disposable underwater camera is an optional extra that is well-advised. We arrived for a quiet day or two to see if it was as horrible as the guidebook suggested. A week later we dragged ourselves away, heading for Malaysia. I felt like we had cheated the system, there in a tropical paradise that you see in a holiday brochure with a price tag to match a small nations debt, having spent about £20 each the entire week.

But the guidebooks are right. Ignore all of the above. This is a horrible place. To suggest that it is well worth a visit would be to invite many more people to a place that is overdeveloped already. I hear that the beach at Camber Sands near Rye, East Sussex is beautiful; and I suppose you could go snorkeling there too?

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