Dear Wandering Spirit,
On my first trip to Thailand, I visited a true paradise on Earth, with plentiful nature and vivid colours: The Archipelago of the Phi Phi Islands.
Half-Day Journey to Eden
This lovely name refers to a group of islands in the Krabi province, 40 km south from Phuket Island, reachable by speedboats or long-tail boats. 🚤 The two biggest islands, Ko Phi Phi Don and Ko Phi Phi Le, are the most visited, while the others are very small and nearly uninhabited.
We took a speedboat from Phuket Island on the 24th December, and I can’t forget such a sunny, relaxing Christmas Eve. You can book this half-day journey directly on site and get great prices. The journey lasted 1,5 hours with some stops, with the first one to Ko Phi Phi Le.
Environmental Issues and Maya Bay
The giant rocks, the emerald sea, and the tropical woods became popular worldwide in 2000, as the island was the location of The Beach movie 🏝️ starring Leonardo DiCaprio. The second-biggest island suffered from this fame: both the movie production and tourism contributed to the environmental destruction.
The tsunami in December 2004 did the rest. For these reasons, boats could not stop too close to the island but only admire it from the ocean for several years. Maya Bay, as well as many other spots on the islands, were closed at that time and until to allow the ecosystem to recover and are protected as national parks.
It reopened at the beginning of 2022, so now you will be lucky to see it in its full beauty. Despite the restrictions, we had enough time to swim in the calm ocean and snorkel for a while. 🐟🐠🐡 I admit I was scared as I’m not a great swimmer, but the beauty of the place overwhelmed my fear. So, I ticked another box on my bucket list.
Viking Cave and Monkey Beach
Going ahead with our route, I could watch (also from a safe distance) the Viking Cave, a spot with edible birds’ nests. This delicacy is well-known in Asian kitchens, especially for soup, and is very expensive. Unfortunately, the birds’ nests are decreasing for the same reason.
Other great things were the mangrove trees and funny encounters with long-tailed macaques. 🐵 Before we could step off the boat, we were told to leave all shiny objects, as the monkeys are very curious and sometimes nasty. I followed the suggestion, and I had no trouble while walking among them on Monkey Beach.
A Paradise Called Phi-Phi Islands
Lunch was included in the trip fare. I enjoyed a local buffet with an ocean view, had rice, fruits and juicy drinks. 🧉 The last stop was on a very tiny isle (you can cover the whole surface in 10 minutes), which is pristine, but has one wooden stilt house serving snacks and cocktails. The water was incredibly clear, transparent, and warm.
I admit it was quite hard to leave that untouched slice of Earth. Even though I truly believe that it is for the best to leave some space to the regenerating nature. What can I say more? If you are travelling to Thailand and especially in the nearby of this Eden Garden, 👙 make sure you have time to swim around here!
Stay tuned to discover more about my Thailand travel.
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