Kho Phi Phi Long Boat Trip

After much deliberation, we decided to extend our beach time by a couple of days and spend New Years on Phuket, so we bought a boat ticket from Ko Lanta back to Phuket with a pit stop in Kho Phi Phi.

This time we passed through Kho Phi Phi, however, Nick was feeling much better, so we were able to take a long-boat tour around the island.

The first thing Nick noticed when we got on the long boat was the super old-school motor that all of the boats were using - completely open and exposed to the elements.

We joked that they looked like they were relics left over from WWII, but weren't joking too much later in the trip when our motor died in the middle of the ocean and we had to preform an "emergency rescue" and transfer to another boat!

All things considered, it was a minor hiccup in the day - no harm done!

Our first stop on our long-boat trip was a little snorkeling spot off the coast of Kho Phi Phi Don. The water was incredibly clear and we entered a beautiful world of colorful fish and fascinating coral.

After our snorkel outing, we went to Bamboo Island, which is basically an undeveloped, absolutely gorgeous, looooooooooong white sand beach on a small island that pops up out of picture-perfect water.

I think I'd have to say that at this point in my life, Bamboo Island's beach is the most beautiful beach I have ever been too. We spent about an hour walking along the shore, eating our lunch, and catching some rays before getting back on our long boat and heading off to our next destination: Monkey Beach.

On the ride in-between Bamboo Island and Monkey Beach, I had the best seat on the boat:

Sitting up in the front of the boat all by myself was one of the highlights of the trip. Looking in any direction I could see islands littering the horizon, at one point I counted 8 within eye-sight - each one more beautiful than the last.

And the water was even more beautiful than the beaches! It was all different shades of turquoise and deep blue - clear and warm - I had to hold on to the edges of the boat to keep myself from jumping in while we were still moving!

After about 20-30 minutes of serene cruising on the Andaman Sea, we arrived at Monkey Beach. Just as the name implies, this beautiful white-sand beach has a colony of monkeys living on it. (They sure picked a nice place to live - the white sand is the texture of powdered sugar... the softest beach I've ever been on!)

The monkeys were lounging on the beach, hanging in the trees, and mostly looking for handouts of fruit from the tourists. Some people were even trying to coax them into the ocean by offering a banana, but they wouldn't bite.

They preferred their bananas sandy, not salty.

It seemed to me that these monkeys were not taking advantage of living on the beaches of Thailand. If they're not going to swim, they might as well trade places with me back in Denver or Pittsburgh, and I'll gladly take up residence on Monkey Beach!

After some time monkeying around on the beach, we jumped back in the long boat and took off. The boat tour took us past islands of limestone, their cliffs shooting straight up out of the water.

Some of the cliffs were so sheer that they looked as if someone took a huge cake knife and cut them in half and one side just slid off the mountain and fell into the ocean.

Some of the cliffs had stalactites hanging on them - like the inside of a cave, but on the outside.

After riding past Viking Cave

we made two stops on the water: one for snorkeling - we were looking for reef sharks, but didn't find any - and one in little cove, surrounded by more mountains jutting out of the sea, just for a little swim:

And then we set off for our final beach destination - another beautiful white sand beach with turquoise waters perfect for swimming in. AND I was lucky enough to find myself a special seat:

with a fabulous view

and just relaxed there for the entirity of our 45 minute stay on the beach.... sublime!

Exploring the islands around Kho Phi Phi was definitely one of the highlights of our trip so far; breathtaking beauty - the amazing water, fantastic snorkeling, and pristine beaches... it's paradise delivered to you on a long-tail boat!

Later that night, after the sun had set and we had eaten dinner, we took a stroll along the beach just in time to catch a great fire show:

The perfect end to a perfect day.