Longtail boat ride in Koh Phi Phi Don

Reluctantly abandoning Bangkok, I took a flight to Phuket and then hopped an easy boat ride to Koh Phi Phi Don. The allure is the promise of great snorkeling and kayaking.

I am staying in a budget hotel on the southern tip of the island with fantastic views and laughable amenities. It is far from the center of town- entailing a 30 minute walk over slippery shoreline rocks or a $6 boat ride into town (it’s only $3 if it’s more than 2 people- discrimination against single travelers!)

The hotel offers an excursion to a few of the islands surrounding Koh Phi Phi Don. The biggest draw is Mya Beach which is where they filmed the movie “The Beach.” So today 7 Germans and I clambered into a rickety longtail boat and we were off. The boats are called longtail because of the easily moveable propeller which is at the end of a long tube- I believe the idea being that they’re easier to steer and avoid smacking reef/rocks.

Our captain was mute except for the words “one hour” and dropped his anchor on all kinds of reef and rocks instead of mooring to the established buoys. This was evident in the water with all of the smashed coral, but it didn’t seem to affect the fish too much. There were so many kinds- plenty of Dorie’s friends, but no Nemo. There were quite a few barnacles (?) that looked like purple oyster-shaped “lips” wedged into the coral, and they would retract when one approached. Some of the fish looked like long skinny tubes, and some of them looked like the original inspiration for the fluorescent “OP” brand shirts that were popular in 1987.

In the evening I had dinner with 3 French guys whom I was surprised to discover watch 10x more American TV than I ever have. (i.e. J’adore Izze en Grey’s Anatomy!) It made me wonder if they are unusual for Frenchmen, or if all the Frenchmen I’ve met are hiding how much TV they watch from me!