Thailand - Koh Phi Phi

There are two islands under the Phi Phi moniker: Don (the big island that everyone stays on) and Lei (the small island that contains “The Beach”). The pristine image that people have of the area comes from the picturesque Maya bay. It’s the location of the film adaptation of the Alex Garland novel The Beach. In it, the main character is a young traveller searching for a slice of untouched paradise. Ironically, it’s because of this movie that the location has become a paradise lost.

Upon arrival, it dawned on me that Phi Phi is almost a mirror image of Koh Phagnan. It’s littered with western restaurants, tourist shops and beach bars. While I was after those things on Koh Phagnan, I was not on Koh Phi Phi. I wanted something a little quieter and less geared towards the backpacker trail. Worse yet, the beach on Phi Phi Don served as a good place to party, but little else. The water was shallow, slimy and hot. It felt disgusting.

On the plus side, the viewpoint at the top of island was just a short 15 minute climb from our hostel and offered some of the most spectacular views. You could see for miles in all directions. The first day we went up mid afternoon and would have stayed until sunset had we not been so unprepared. Mosquitos were everywhere and we all got covered in bites. We had come without any repellent and did not feel like dealing with them for another hour. The following day, however, Alex and I timed it right and brought plenty of bug spray. The sunset was amazing and well worth the hike.

Alex, Jess, Martha and I spent much of our time on the island, lying in the sand working on our tans. At night we’d go out and rage at the beach bars. Much like the rest of the south of Thailand – that’s all there is to do. But after two days, the girls were off to another island and Alex and I took a quick tour of Phi Phi Lei before we shipped off for Bangkok.

On our tour were four peculiarly overdressed young Japanese tourists. The girls were in summer dresses and both guys were in jeans. And I’m still unsure as to whether they were two couples or some set of siblings. Only one of the guys went in the water at any point and did so in his jeans. It was odd to say the least. There were three stops on Phi Phi Lei. The first two were coves that we could leap out of the boat (which I did) and swim around in crystal clear water for 20 minutes. The third stop was Maya Bay.

As we approached the bay, one could already sense it would be far different from images you’ve seen before. There were boats lining the outside of the cove and it just got worse as we approached the beach. Speedboats covered nearly ¾ of the shore and there was a tiny little niche cordoned off to swim in. The whole area is swarming with tourists. I assumed it would be like this but it was sad to actually see it. And it was worse for Alex.

Eight years prior, Alex had come to Koh Phi Phi and enjoyed the beach with the company of just twenty people. At that time, there was only one tour group allowed on the island. They came from Phi Phi Don and weren’t even allowed in the bay. They needed to go to one of the coves on the back side of the island and hike down into it. He has pictures of the same beach completely empty. In those eight years, the government saw a goldmine for tourists and has opened it up for all kinds of boats to enter and dock on the beach – some come from as far as Phuket nearly 50 miles away. He hated seeing it this way as it ruined some of the memories he had, but he definitely now realizes the horrible side effects that mass tourism can have.

However, all was not lost. Our tour had one more stop: Monkey beach. We stopped for twenty minutes to interact with families of monkeys chilling along the beach. They were accustomed to people, as the tour companies come by multiple times a day, and were very friendly. It was a lot of fun.

Phi Phi was far from my favorite place in Thailand, but I wouldn’t call it a bad experience. It was definitely eye opening and has given me a greater appreciation for the places that are still untouched by man as true paradise.