Life Of Two In Asia. Day 24, Boat Trip To Phi Phi Island, Thailand.

There is little I can say to pass on the beauty we have witnessed today. We did the tourist thing and went on a speedboat cruise around some islands, one of them Phi Phi.
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Two hours and an Iron Man movie later, I am still looking for a way to talk about today without falling into ridicule or cheesiness.

The boilerplate of the Phi Phi trip.

The speedboat trip we took was nothing out of the ordinary. It was one of the zillions of boat trips you are offered in Aonang. We chose to see the Maya beach (where Leonardo di Caprio made us cry with envy in the movie The Beach), the Monkey Bay (nice story with this one: tourists were staring at monkeys and monkeys were staring back at tourists — and some of us still debate evolution), the Bamboo Island (I quote from Nancy, our guide, here “It used to be bamboo on this island but then ‘sunami’ happen and no bamboo”), the Phi Phi Island (which is pronounced ‘peepee’ btw) and, finally, to do some snorkeling around some corals.

Nature is truly amazing.

There is a reason why everybody comes to Thailand. It really is as great as they show in pictures. The steep cliffs, the emerald water, it’s all the stuff of postcards. I will never understand why, after seeing so much beauty, people still do nothing, or almost nothing, to protect it, people still use tons of plastic and consume consume consume. I will never understand how, when you look at a coral or an anemone and you see how fragile they are, you still question global warming.

Talking about corals, I think snorkeling was the absolute high point of this trip for Alin.

You should have seen his face. I mean, we have already established he has fish DNA or something. When we got to snorkeling, I will always remember how, after a minute or so with the head under the water, he came up and said the biggest “WOW” I ever heard from him. And he kept coming back, just as amazed, again and again, for a good half an hour. I did the same some years back when I first saw The Great Barrier.

Speaking about high points or funny reactions …

If I say what I consider to have been the high point for me, you will think I am ungrateful. So, what I really, but really, really enjoyed was the way the boat kept bumping into the sea after every large wave. It was like a rollercoaster ride. There was that short moment when your stomach feels funny and then you hit the apparently solid surface of the water. It always made me weeeeheeee and laugh. I simply couldn’t stop smiling the entire way. Alin said he’s never seen me smile that much.

There is a new type of animal in town … errr … in nature.

Again about funny reactions. This will sound a bit mean, but hey, have you met me? Plus, I think I hinted to this some time back, so it is not completely new.

There is a new type of activity you can do when on one of these exotic holidays. It’s called selfists’ safari. I can almost hear the guide speaking: “In this kind of tour, you will get the chance to see this brand-spankin’ new breed of animal called ‘the selfist’. This animal has recently come to life and is very much linked to the existence of social media. You know, that place where people show just fractions of their life/body/holiday with the sole purpose to gain recognition or, better yet, create envy among their fellow social animals.”

Going back to the selfists’ safari, I am really sorry I haven’t taken pictures of more of them, but they are e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e. On all beaches, temples, markets, every corner is populated with people taking pictures of themselves or dudes taking pictures of their girlfriends. I mean, guys, how does that make you feel? Seriously, I am asking. How don’t you want to mess up her hair or tear a fake eyelash or smudge that lipstick from the duckface?

What’s better yet, I think they think an experience/view is only as good as the picture it enables. Yuck! How about living for a change? How about breathing in that air, tasting the water (my lips are still salty even after taking a shower), feeling that sand under your feet?

But, at the end of the day, it’s fun for the rest of us, mortals. In a gorgeous landscape with emerald water and dramatic cliffs, it’s easy to ignore selfists and consider them part of the landscape. Just like … those more unspectacular fish we saw today at the reef.

The best of today besides the obvious things

There are three things. Their order is random, but they are all equally important.

1. I ate the best watermelon on the Phi Phi Island where we had lunch. This was my lunch. Loads and loads of watermelon. You see, I felt rather sick (all those waves, ehem!) so I didn’t want to take any chances with Asian cuisine.

2. After that, we had the best donuts. There was this lady selling them. She seemed like she had come out of a story of sorts. She didn’t fit in, but she had donuts. Hands down the best we ever had.

3. Point 3 is rather connected to point 1. What do you think happened after eating loads and loads of watermelon? Yes! It’s peeing time. Only that we had already left the island and, as Nancy, our guide, sweetly framed it with a smile at the beginning of our trip,

“Tis boat have no toileeeeet, yeah.”

So, do you remember those waves and the bumps? Yeah, combine those with loads and loads of watermelon that passed through me with the speed of a … speedboat. What you will get is me batting eyelashes at Nancy to let me off the boat on the first island we stopped at on the way back. Her answer, while fixating me through her sunglasses:

“Yes, but pee in the water. No go on the land. Low tide, shallow water.”

Yes, That happened. Best pee ever was on the coast of the Railay beach at low tide. Thank you, Nancy, for not making me pee on myself (your boat) and, better yet, for delicately ignoring my embarrassment.

Today was a good day.

We are home and fed and happy to have witnessed nature. I feel like there should be a special place here for Alin to express his joy. 🙂

Thanks for reading and don’t forget to check our Instagram.

Good night, friends, wherever you are!