Phi-Phi islands:
First of all, the name of the islands is pronounced Peepee NOT Fifi. I went there twice with some friends. The first time was back in August 2001 (Hi Simon and J-P) and the second time was recently in August 2003 (Hello Carl, Chun et Phil).
The Phi-Phi islands are a small group of islands in southern Thailand. We stayed on the one named Phi-Phi Lay. It's a little complicated to get there, but it's well worth the effort! If you are in Bangkok, take the airplane to Phuket island - also in southern Thailand . The trip is around an hour and twenty minutes . After that, you take a taxi to the port of Phuket city which takes around thirty-five to forty-five minutes . Finally, you take a boat to Phi-Phi Lay which comes to an additional two hours and thirty minutes . Be warned, however . During the rainy season, there are only two departures per day - one at 8:30 a.m. and one at 1:30 p.m.
After going through that whole transport ordeal, you finally make it to the paradisical islands of Phi-Phi !
It is here that I scuba dived for the first time . the fauna and flora are abundant AND diverse . We even saw a leopard shark! This species is not dangerous to humans . Simon even touched it! In my humble opinion, this is the most beautiful place to scuba dive that I've ever been to.
I went to Thailand during the japanese O-bon vacation. That period is also the rainy season in South-East asia. It didn't rain much and, when it did, it was only at the end of the after-noon for a short period of time. The fun thing about this small island is that it's not very touristic and therefore very calm and peaceful.
This
is the bungalow that my friends and I stayed in. This one is on the beach. There
are places to stay that will meet everyone's particular taste, but I recommend
that you take something with air conditionning. It's a little more expensive,
but worth it if you want to sleep well!
Thai food is incredibly good. On the island it was mostly seafood based - catch of the day! :) But be careful if you don't like spicy dish. If you eat what Thai people consider to be a mild dish you risk burning your tongue.
There's a cave on Phi-Phi Don island. I learned that it was used by pirates during the sail boat era to repair their boats and/or as shelter from monsoons. I don't really know if it's true but there ARE paintings of Chinese style sail boats in the cave. Nowadays the Thai go there to collect sparrow nests to make soup. Apparently it is quite good and expensive in chinese cuisine!
The scuba diving was fantastic but, unfortunatly, I didn't have a camera that could follow me beyond 3 meters...maybe next time!
I did, however, take some pictures with a disposable camera while snorkling at noon between the 2 dives of the day.
