Ko Muk was another place where we would have liked to go diving, but Christi still had some congestion and a cough, so we decided to skip diving. Other than diving, laying out at the beach and going to the cave, there isn’t much to do at Ko Muk. Besides, we really needed to get some money. We pulled up anchor this morning at 0945, bound for Ko Phi Phi Don (pronounced Pee Pee — the “h” is silent. No laughing, this is a serious name!). The ride was short, taking only 5 hours.

We are happy to report it was pleasant and very smooth on the way there, though Eric needed to be vigilant about avoiding the fishing lines. There were small islands all along the way, making for a scenic drive. The bad news is that Eric turned on our spare auto pilot to give it some exercise and it did not work. That is probably not a good thing.

From the distance, the Phi Phi islands looks similar to Langkawi, with tall vertical cliffs jutting up out of the water, except these islands have more unique shapes in the peaks of the cliffs. Phi Phi Don is in the first picture, actually two separate islands connected by a small isthmus of sand between them. Next to Phi Phi Don is the smaller Phi Phi Lee, the second picture, and there are a few tiny rock islands near the larger Phi Phi islands.

We pulled into Ton Sai bay on the southern end of the isthmus at about 1500 (3:00 pm). There were tons of boats in this small bay, large ferries, long tail fishing boats, diving boats, and speed boats. Many were moored in a field of mooring balls to the left of the ferry dock. Those not moored were coming and going at full speed, often times weaving through the moored boats, and creating a lot of large wakes that kept us rocking constantly. The cruising guide didn’t have much information about where to anchor, so we just grabbed a mooring ball. We were hesitant to do so because there wasn’t a single private yacht on any of the moorings all were commercial boats. We wondered if the moorings were privately owned. After getting Kosmos situated and the dinghy down, we asked a near by boat if it was OK to use that mooring ball. We were told no, but we could use a mooring up ahead because the owner was gone today. We moved to the mooring that was pointed out to us and a few minutes later a dive boat pulled into the spot we had just vacated.

Ron had been to Phi Phi many times before the 2004 Tsunami, and had gone to Phi Phi immediately after the Tsunami to help with feeding the abandoned animals on the island, but has not been back since. He was looking forward to seeing how Phi Phi had been rebuilt. We landed the dinghy at the west end of the beach. The beach is a fine white sand. From where we stood, it looked like there are buildings placed haphazardly around this section of the island with no real sense of order, direction or zoning. As we walked east along the shore, we got to the little village area. Here is a shot of a long tail boat and you can see the beach and village in the background.

There are no cars on the island, so there is no need for roads. The “village” is made up of about a little over a kilometer of narrow sidewalks lined with buildings on top of one another. Some of the buildings are relatively nice, some are more than one story, but most seemed to be single level shacks. Most of the shops were selling clothes, and mostly the same clothes. There were several bars, some street food vendors, and a few restaurants. The sidewalk was packed with people, the vast majority of whom were young, scantily clad Europeans, with a few Muslim locals with bodies completely covered and headscarves. Talk about contrast. The whole scene felt very claustrophobic too many people, too many buildings too close together, the sidewalks are too narrow. It also felt very hedonistic, like most of the people there really didn’t care about the beautiful scenery, they just wanted to party.

Eric found an ATM, and then we set out in search of Ron’s favorite bar. Ron was disappointed to see it wasn’t there. He asked some locals, who told him the owners were gone. He didn’t ask what “gone” meant. We went to dinner at a French restaurant that Ron really liked. He commented right away that the menu was different. He asked where the owner was, a Frenchman who made a habit of greeting every table. Our waitress told us his wife died in the tsunami and he went back to France. The food was OK, but not as good as Ron remembered it.

Ron said that Phi Phi Don used to have an eclectic charm to it. It was a small community run by colorful characters. The place was very original and unique almost magical — thanks to all the artsy, creative people. It had a lot of soul. Many of the people that made Phi Phi Don special died in the tsunami or decided to leave as a result of it. While Phi Phi Don is mostly rebuilt, it has been haphazardly put back together, and it doesn’t have the same look or feel. Now it is just another tourist trap with nothing special to make it stand out, beyond the natural scenery of the hills. He was pretty disappointed.