Koh Phi Phi. It’s an interesting sort of a place.
Along with Khao San Road in Bangkok, this little group of islands east of Phuket is synonymous with backpacking in Thailand. Thousands of tanned young bodies arrive at the small port on Ton Sai beach looking for somewhere to party, get sunburnt and hook up – and not necessarily in that order.
Despite – or maybe because of – the reputation, I’d never set foot on Phi Phi during previous trips. The closest I’d got was mooring out in the harbour during a sailing course, where we cracked open a few beers on the deck, fired up the bbq and listened to the music spilling from the beach bars several hundred metres away across the water.
From the vantage point of my yacht the environmental damage couldn’t be missed. The side of Phi Phi that most visitors choose to ignore was lapping up against the boat all night. Rubbish floating in the water. Diesel slicks from the never-ending stream of longtail boats ferrying tourists around. Raw sewage flowing out of pipes straight into the popular diving areas around Phi Phi Le national park.
If this was what it took to make a place into backpacker heaven I was happy to pass. We raised anchor the following morning and headed out of the bay with something approaching relief. I didn’t look back.
The intention was to go to Koh Lanta via Krabi and avoid the place this time around as well, but as usual plans changed at the last minute and after leaving Nai Yang we headed south to the ferry terminal near Phuket Town instead. In a flash backpacks replaced suitcases and the average age dropped by at least twenty years. We were off to Phi Phi.
Sitting on the deck made for some gorgeous views as we neared our destination, but two hours in the sun also meant we were a bright shade of red as we pushed through the touts on the pier. The main tourist area is really quite small and nowhere is more than ten minutes from anywhere else, although the maze of streets was a little disorienting the first time round.
We headed for the area near Loh Dalum, finding a clean fan room for 800 baht at Lux Guesthouse. Prices double during high season so this was one of the better cheap(ish) options. While nowhere on Tonsai is quiet, this spot was slightly raised above the crowds and the noise from the bars was almost drowned out by the whirring of the fan. I’d happily stay there again.
Even in my sweaty and sunburnt state, I’d noticed something surprising as I’d wandered through the town a little earlier. Somehow, despite the souvenir shops and Irish pubs, Beer Chang t-shirts and tourist agencies, I’d found myself actually quite liking Koh Phi Phi.
I was shocked.
Coming from Phuket where we felt like the only people not there on a package holiday, the swarm of backpackers made me feel at home. The narrow streets were paved and relatively clean, and the lack of motorised transport slowed life down to bicycle pace at best. Even the infamous Phi Phi stink only came in fleeting waves – perhaps most of the sewage makes it out to the dive spots these days…
Sitting beside the beach in Carlitos Bar and sipping an over-priced drink, it was hard not to appreciate what Phi Phi once must have been. The sun was setting behind the limestone cliffs and the fishing boats and longtails were pulling up on the beach. Any rubbish on the sand was hidden by the encroaching darkness and I couldn’t see all the development behind me. This was still a beautiful spot, despite all the efforts to make it less so.
With an early afternoon ferry to Koh Lanta the following day, we made a half-hearted attempt to get in some sightseeing via a morning walk up to the Viewpoint. At nearly 200m above sea level this is not a trek I would have wanted to do after a big night on the buckets. Dripping with sweat by the time we got to the top, the views out over Tonsai’s twin beaches to the hills beyond made the effort worthwhile.
It was an idyllic scene up there on the mountain, gazing at the yachts drifting slowly in the harbour as the birds and bugs clamoured to outdo each other. The bustle of the streets below was invisible to us, the never-ending offers of dive courses and longtail excursions nothing but a distant memory.
Finishing our short time on this island with a drink at the perfectly chilled-out Sunflower Bar, I wandered back through the lapping waves and reflected on my new found appreciation. While it isn’t somewhere I’d choose to stay for months – it’s too expensive for that – Phi Phi was a lot better than expected. The food was decent, the beaches were reasonably clean and the crowds were bearable. It was more attractive, relaxed and fun than it had really any right to be.
As the ferry to Koh Lanta blasted its horn and slipped away from the dock, Lauren and I turned to each other with sunburned smiles.
“We’ll be back”.
Have you been to Phi Phi? What did you think of it?