On Koh Phi Phi

Over the last week, I learned a few new things about myself. For one, I look Thai. I have been approached by many people that mistake me for being Thai. Secondly, I tan really fast. I’ve made an effort to stay out of the sun, but somehow I'm darker than my friend Harvey who is darker than me when we are in Canada. Fascinating, isn’t it!

We are leaving Koh Phi Phi for Rai Lay today. Rai Lay is known as the one of the top rock-climbing destinations in the world. It’s beautiful beaches are surrounded by jungle and large limestone formations (the kind of rock formations you would see at the beginning of a Bruce Lee movie like Enter the Dragon).

I had my first Thai massage on Wednesday. My masseuse gave me a great massage and she was very funny. She kept on calling me Thai boxer, and whispered I love you in Thai in my ear. I kept laughing especially when she kept on repeating and saying “you lovely man, you strong man”. Beck from England beside me was laughing too. The masseuse made my first Thai massage a hilarious experience. Later that evening, I watched some Muay Thai boxing at the Reggae Bar around the corner. The Reggae Bar was large, and decorated with a Jamaican feel to it. In the center of the nightclub was a large boxing ring. Foreigners were rewarded with drinks if they volunteered to fight in the ring. We took in two fights. The first fight featured two heavy-set tourists from England who had very little boxing skill. This fight ended in a draw. The second fight was between a couple of Thais. Unfortunately, the punches, kicks and knockdowns were well performed in this fight. We came to the Reggae Bar to witness a fake Thai boxing match!

On Thursday, we hiked thirty minutes to Long Beach where Robyn, Aaron, Megan, and Jimmy were staying to snorkel for sharks in the water. Harvey had his first swimming experience in the water that day. Harvey was amazed with what he could see with a mask and snorkel. That same night, Jimmy and Aaron hiked over to the Tourist Village to hang out with us on their last nite on Phi Phi.

Working on 3 hours of sleep the next day, I joined Harvey and Dan, and we went on a 7 hour snorkeling trip that took us around the surrounding Phi Phi islands. We stopped to snorkle five times. During the last snorkle, Harvey crashed into some coral, and that cut up his leg.

Here are some more pictures of Phi Phi.

Bye,
Arnie



A Bird's Eye View of Phi Phi Don



Trying to act like a fish



The tsumani destroyed this 7-11



Bamboo Island one of our snorkeling stops



The tourist village on Phi Phi Don