From all the places we have been in Thailand so far, Koh Phi Phi is our absolute favorite. Especially one of the days was just perfect. I want to share the details of that day with you, one day you might go there too and do the same as us.
We stayed at Ton Sai Bay at “The Beacha Club Hotel” right at the beach with a beautiful sea view from the room. It was a bit more expensive to stay at the Northern side of the island but it is more convenient and fun too, since all the parties and bars are at Ton Sai Bay.
On our “perfect day” we took a private long tail boat at 6am in the morning for 2000 Baht (around 40 Euro). We picked up my classmates from Copenhagen, Giulia and Alisa, whom we met coincidently the day before.

Sailing to Maya Beach

The Beacha Club Resturant

Sailing to Maya Bay

So the four of us and our boat driver named “Mr. Potato” sailed down South to Maya Bay, which is famous because of the movie “The Beach”. We arrived there early enough to avoid all the tourists and tours.
Thomas and I went to Maya Bay “The Beach” in 3 different ways. The last time was on our “perfect day” with the private boat, which was the best way to enjoy Maya Bay. (Click read about the 3 different ways)
This time we could enjoy the bay and white beach without having any boats and tourists in front of us.
Like Leonardo DiCaprio, we had the entire island almost for ourselves. We sat down and enjoyed the view. What a great way to start the day.

We had the Beach all to ourselves!

Cliff jumping

Afterwards we spend an hour at “The Beach”, Mr. Potato brought us to Losama Bay Phiphi, which was right opposite of Maya Bay. Thomas informed himself the day before and there he found the perfect spot to do cliff jumping. Full of excitement he climbed up the cliff and took the 17m fall into the blue ocean (Click here to View)

Click to veiw post and video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61rPkkXYUUM

Monkey Beach and Dolphins

At this point we agreed, that the day couldn’t get any better. Little did we know that this was not the end yet. We took a break at Phi Leh lagoon for a quick swim and snorkeling.
Then we sailed up North towards Monkey Beach, a beautiful spot with white sand and clear blue water with monkeys playing on the beach.

 

Snorkeling at the lagoon

On our way there we were very lucky and met a pack of dolphins. They were swimming around our boat for a while. Mr. Potato informed us that dolphins come closer to the beaches after a few rainy days. None of us knew it, but apparently dolphins are that uncommon near Koh Phi Phi.

Our 3 hour boat trip ended after we visited Monkey Beach and we took a dip in the water, surrounded by high cliffs and rocks. Thomas and I both agree that it was the most beautiful beach during our entire trip. If you are travelling in Thailand, you should stay a few days in Koh Phi Phi! You can rent a canoe for about 200 bath and sail from Ton Sai Bay over to Monkey Beach (it only takes about 10 minutes).

This picture is from the day before, when we canoed from Ton Sai Bay to Monkey Beach

Monkey Beach – Koh Phi Phi Island

The end of our “perfect day”

We were back at our hotel around 11 am and got some breakfast at the beach which came free with our room. The rest of the day we spent swimming and tanning at Ton Sai Bay until sunset. Personally, the best way to end a “perfect day” is getting dinner at “Grand PP Arcade”. Alisa recommended the place, because she read a lot of positive reviews about that restaurant. Indeed, it was the best service and food we got in Thailand. Nat, the waitress, spoke perfect English, remembered us from the day before and she made sure that we got the food exactly how we wanted it – not too spicy and vegan for our friend. There was no wish she couldn’t grant.

the sunset we enjoyed from the Beacha Club rooftop

Lovely food at the Grand PP Arcade

That was our best day in Thailand. So, if you are in Koh Phi Phi, stay at “The Beacha Club” and make sure to get a private boat and not a tour, wake up early to avoid the tourists at Maya Bay and Monkey Beach, enjoy the sunset at Ton Sai Bay and get dinner at Grand PP Arcade. I promise, you will love every minute of it

 

Tuni

Ao Nang Thailand

Before we went to Ao Nang, we heard mixed things about the place, which was 20 minutes from Krabi. After we stayed there for a few days, we still have mixed feelings about it.
The beach didn’t look as pretty as the ones in Koh Phi Phi or Railay Beach for example. The sand wasn’t nice and the waves made it impossible to swim.

What we loved about Ao Nang was the lively vibe and atmosphere around town. There were many nice bars and restaurants to grab a drink during the day and the hotel we stayed in had live music every night. Another good thing about Ao Nang are the tours you can book and start from there. Half or full day tours to the islands and temple around are very popular. We did 2 tours (7 island hopping and Tiger cave and Emerald Pool) and liked them both. It was a fun time and we met a lot of nice people during the trip.

 7 Islands Tour

Like I mentioned before, we really liked the tours from Ao Nang.
On the 7 Island Tour the weather turned on us and half of our stops had to be cancelled because of strong waves and wind. If it wouldn’t be for the weather, the guides would have shown us the surrounding islands and we would have the chance to climb of a high rock and jump from 5 to 30 meters into the deep blue sea. Nevertheless, Thomas and I had a great time with the people on the boat – we went snorkeling at Chicken Island, sailed around Railey Beach and saw glowing Plankton during our night swim after the sunset. I bet the tour would have been perfect if the storm hadn’t hit us that day.

The second tour was an all-day program which showed us the above mentioned places. First stop was the Tiger Cave, a temple on top of the world. We had to climb up more than 1200 huge steps to get to the temple.
After that the guide took us to the Emerald Pool. It was a magical place and I am so glad I experiences it, because it was so unique. We arrived at a national park 50km from Ao Nang and after we walked along a small river, we arrived at the Emerald Pool – a turquoise spot of happiness. It was a magical place in the middle of high trees and small waterfalls. A perfect spot to cool down after a walk through the rain forest.

After cooling off, the tour lead us to our first hot spring experience. It was a beautiful collection of natural Jacuzzis’ flowing like a waterfall from pool to pool down to the river.

 

Railay Beach

I already wrote about this island in my last post but there is one last thing worth mentioning.  Railay Beach and its lime stone cliffs has become the Mekka for rock climbers from all around the world. One of the activities we really wanted to do but couldn’t, was “Deep Water Soloing”. It’s basically just rock climbing over deep water and the climbers can push themselves and climb as high as possible. If you can’t go any higher or got to the designated jump spot, you can just jump “safely” into the water.  Sadly our plans got ruined by too high waves that week, but we will surely come back and try this out.

Poda Island is where the tours will take you to try deep water soling.

 

If you want to see more pics go to this guys flickr page

 

Sunsets in Ao Nang

You can actually get some pretty good sunsets at Ao Nang despite it being on the east coast. It doesn’t cost anything and you get to see one of the most magical things. There is a saying that no one is ever not stunned by a sunset, no matter how many times he or she has seen it.

Where we stayed
After we had a horrible night at a very shady hotel (Sunset Hotel), we had to find another place to stay. Only 5 minutes walk down the road we found “Ao Nang Beach Resort”- a way better place for the same price. It is quite central opposite of the oceanside, surrounded by bars, shops and restaurants. The resort had a small outdoor pool and the rooms were clean and bright. The service was helpful, but some of them couldn’t understand much English, but it was enough for the necessary things. There was great live music every night at the restaurant downstairs. We enjoyed both the entertainment and the food there. The breakfast however, was horrible and not fresh at all. Except this, I would recommend the resort to everyone, who wants to stay a bit more luxurious than a hostel (price per night 700 to 1100 Baht in low season ~ 20 to 30 Euro).

Tuni