Koh Phi Phi: Mar. 2nd-Mar. 4th

March 2nd: 

Our last few days in Koh Phi Phi were spent soaking up the sun and exploring the island. 

We read books we were able to download on our phones and frequently jumped in and out of the water to escape the heat. It gets hot in Phi Phi (like muggy- hot). The air is heavy and you have to constantly keep a water bottle with you. 

Doug and I enjoyed walking the random maze of paths connecting all the shops and make-shift street markets. We bought random gifts for friends and family back home and enjoyed haggling with the locals. It's become a game between the two of us. We try to see who can getter the better deal on the exact same item. I think I do a better job than Doug does, but he will most likely say otherwise. You have to be careful not to start to low with a price. Doug found that out in Koh Samui really fast when he totally offended a girl (ask to hear the story if you really care-- was pretty funny).

It ended with her saying (kind of yelling actually) "I've never met anyone like you!" We still cannot stop laughing about that encounter. 

Walking around the "streets" of Phi Phi proved to be beneficial. We found a cheap sandwich shop with a fiesty, fun-loving owner who we would later visit a few times. We also found a nice little shop that sold fresh fruit for a great price. 

We tried new fruits, some absolutely delectable and some that quite frankly tasted like feet. My favorite fruit was by far the mangos. They are probably the best that I have ever tasted. 

 

We snacked on fruit during the day and drank tons of water even though I'm pretty sure we were still dehydrated. 

Later that day we got lavender oil massages (amazing). I absolutely loved it. Doug did too (sort of). 

He had eaten food that didn't agree with him and let's just say a massage may not have been the best idea. (Again, ask to hear the real story if you care!) 

After our massages we were so relaxed that we walked up the steps to a bungalow that wasn't even ours! Doug put the key in and everything before I looked through the door and realized that those were not our clothes inside! Mind you, Doug had been basically shaking the door to get it open!  We ran away really fast hoping people weren't watching us! Luckily the people weren't actually in their room or that could have been REALLY awkward! 

March 3rd: 

The next morning we woke up and had some breakfast by the beach. We lounged in the bungalow and by the pool, listening to music and reading books. We got some nice R&R time in and had great conversation ranging anywhere from food to insurance to politics to airplanes. 

I think after spending three months together we can pretty much carry on a conversation about anything with one another. You would think we would be completely sick of one another but surprisingly that hasn't happened yet...(knock-on-wood)! 

Once the weather cooled down a bit, Doug and I decided we would adventure out and attempt to find the Koh Phi Phi viewpoint. 

We thought it was going to be just a short walk away but it ended up being much further from our bungalow than we had anticipated (of course)! Somehow Doug always manages to find a hike that will "only take us ten minutes" but really it takes us an hour! I've learned to go with it and when he says ten minutes that usually means about sixty. By now--I know how he works! 

We definitely went out of our way a couple times but I didn't mind--- except for when we had to bypass the Phi Phi "sewer system." 

I'll admit that one was my fault though. I told Doug his directions were wrong and look where it got me---next to a huge pile of poop (dang it)! That was not an enjoyable moment. :) 

Later on however, we managed to stumble upon a bunch of wild monkeys and stopped for a while to watch them. 

Seeing a monkey in its natural habitat is way different than seeing one in a zoo, and I can honestly say it is 100x better. 

It was funny because we saw just one and then the closer we looked, we realized they were completely surrounding us (a very cool moment). 

We kept our distance but enjoyed the short break from the up-hill hiking. We had throughly drenched our clothes in sweat but going to the viewpoint was completely worth it: (1) Because we saw monkeys (duh) and (2) Because the view was incredible. 

Once we got to the viewpoint we were surprised to find that we had to pay to accomplish the last 30 feet to the actual viewpoint. After we paid our 20 baht we climbed up a very rickety and shaky staircase to reach our final destination. 

From the Koh Phi Phi viewpoint we were able to see the small stretch of land that connects the larger portions of the island.

We got a nice view of both bays and made it in the nick of time to witness the sunset. 

To our surprise, many others had the same agenda we did and we reached the top only to be joined with at least 50 other travelers, mainly backpackers like ourselves. It truly was a beautiful view and everyone was actually super quiet, giving the beauty of the sunset the due respect it deserved. 

Doug and I have watched the sun rise and set in several locations throughout the last three months and honestly it never gets old. It's kind of calming and comforting in a way to know that no matter where we go and in all the crazy locations we have been, it's always the same sun. God is good. 

Though we didn't mind being joined by all the other travelers we couldn't help but wonder where they had all come from. They certainly hadn't gone up the same path we did because we sporadically only saw about six other people on our way up. Turns out there was a much easier path (go figure), although it was without monkeys.

 We took the newly discovered path on the way back down because the one we came up in the first place was not well lit and my phone battery was dying (probably not a good combination).

We were glad we did the walk but it was super muggy. It looked like we had jumped in a pool of water. 

We ate dinner, cleaned up and headed in for the night. This was our last night in Koh Phi Phi. Ending an island or location with a good sunrise or sunset has sort of become a tradition for the two of us. 

We couldn't have asked for a better time in Phi Phi. God was on his game when he created that place, because the combination of the views, the water color, and not to mention the sea life was just absolutely stunning. 

Koh Phi Phi looks like a page straight out of one of those island calendars you put on your fridge to remind you of warmer weather. We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful location. 

March 4th: 

The next morning we ate a quick breakfast (rice and fruit mainly) and packed our bags to catch the morning ferry. Our ferry ride back to Krabi was much more pleasant than our ride to Phi Phi had been and for some reason it was about an hour shorter. 

When we got off the boat, it was complete chaos. People were rushing everywhere to try and find their bags. There was no organization to the system whatsoever. I attempted to find our packs but they were nowhere to be seen. They definitely were not where we had left them with the others stacked on the rear of the boat. I got off the boat while Doug kept searching. I thought it was a lost cause and that the bags had vanished into the blue abyss of the ocean. However, Doug managed to find both our packs.... in a lower cabin of the ferry....behind a door...near the engine room (to be exact). How they managed to get there--we will never know. I was just happy that he found them and apparently so was he. He came off the boat with both hands in the air like he has just won a world championship or something! I hate to admit, it was pretty funny! 

After we figured out the bag situation we got on a janky bus (which lacked an air conditioner) that took us to Ao Nang Beach. The bus shook a lot and we could barely squeeze our knees behind the seats in front of us, but it worked and that's all we needed. 

 

By the time we got to Ao Nang our sweaty bodies were glued to the seats and we basically had to peel a layer of skin off to get unstuck but we made it! The bus dumped us off along the beach, but we still had to walk a couple miles to reach our guesthouse. 

I think Ao Nang somehow managed to be hotter than Phi Phi. Doug and I kind of just laugh at how hot it is now and make fun of how much sweat drips from each other's faces. Even if we feel miserable, I think we've become living proof that laughter truly is the best medicine. And in that case if laughter is a drug- consider us overdosed! The past three months have been some of the most inspiring and wonderful times, laughter and all. 

We are currently still at Ao Nang Beach and will be hanging around here for the most part until our time runs out and we have to head home. 

Thanks so much for reading! We truly appreciate all the kind words, thoughts, and positive vibes everyone has been sending our way! It won't be long before we are home and able to tell our stories in person (dramatic facial expressions and amazing hand gestures included)! 

We hope this post finds you happy and healthy. Enjoy your life today! 

(Credit for the beautiful flower photo of course goes to Doug Bontrager). 

Koh Phi Phi: Feb. 26th-Mar.1st

February 26th: 

After 12 long hours of travel Doug and I were beyond ready to be in Koh Phi Phi.  As soon as we stepped off the boat we met a guy holding a sign that read the name of the guesthouse we would be staying at. We had no idea where it was so we figured he might be taking us there by boat or something. Some of the other people with signs were doing that, so we thought we would just hang out with that guy for a bit. 

Next thing we know he is taking our bags and throwing them in a cart and motioning for us to follow him. Not knowing any better we followed the guy. He seemed nice at least. Little did we know, there are no roads in Koh Phi Phi. 

There are merely walking paths that don't seem to follow any sort of pattern whatsoever. The paths weave in and out of businesses that are also randomly scattered about the land. Phi Phi doesn't have much organization to it so we were all sorts of turned around. 

Nonetheless, we followed the guy and his push cart and eventually turned a random corner to see the reception area for our guesthouse. Apparently I spoke too soon about Expedia in one of the last couple of blog posts, because this time reception could not find our reservation anywhere. We had to wait around a while and try to communicate to the receptionist that we truly did have a booking. We were hot, tired, and very sweaty (not fun). Eventually the manager called Expedia and discovered that we did in fact have a booking. We were taken to our room which was basically a sauna, it was so hot. Our room had three beds for some reason (weird), but it was clean and had air conditioning (that eventually kicked in) and a bathroom so we were happy. We went out that night only to eat dinner and look around a bit. The 12 hours had gotten to us and we both just wanted to sleep. Our room was located in a big time party area of Phi Phi so I was sweetly lulled to sleep by the sound of techo beats and bass thumps. 

February 27th: 

When we woke up the next morning we FaceTimed our families at home and then went out to the beach just to check it out. 

It was not exactly what we had expected. The side of Phi Phi we were on did not have the nicest beaches. Unfortunately they were littered with evidence of parties from the night before and you had to be careful not to cut your feet on broken beer bottles. It's kind of a shame because it could be so beautiful. Instead there was garbage in the water. 

Next we packed up our bags because we were headed to the opposite side of the island to stay at a different guesthouse that we also booked through Expedia (fingers-crossed that it was booked).  It took us a little while to find our way but we eventually made it! This time we were not let down. Our place was a minute from the beach and had a pool. Our room was more like a little bungalow this time instead of a dorm room. We loved it so much that we decided to lodge there for the remainder of our stay.  

Our first day at the new hotel was spent completely by the pool. And even though I lathered myself with sunscreen... I still somehow managed to break out in blisters. They looked pretty bad, but we bought some aloe and they were gone within a day. 

The sun is insanely hot in Phi Phi. We basically lived in our swimsuits the entire week. 

February 28th: 

Saturday was also mainly spent the pool/beach. That night Doug and I tried some new food at a restaurant we had been eyeing known as Carpe Diem. We would later regret the delicious food (don't ask). 

After dinner we met up with a guy from Island Divers and signed up to do a couple dives the next day. 

March 1st: 

Sunday morning we woke up and grabbed a quick bite to eat before meeting with our dive master for the day named Adam. He was a nice guy, probably in his forties and from England. He prepped us about our day and we met the two other people (a girl and a guy) that would be diving with us as well. 

Next we walked to the docks and borded the dive boat. It took us roughly an hour to get to our first dive spot. Once there, we put on our gear and performed our buddy checks. We were more comfortable with boat dives after doing a couple of them in Koh Tao. However, diving in Phi Phi was way different from diving in Koh Tao. 

Off the coast of Phi Phi the diving was amazing! Our impeccable range of visability seemed to be never-ending. We were instantly surrounded by schools of fish the moment we deflated our BCDs (buoyancy control devices). Our equipment was great and the dive seemed effortless. 

Everywhere we looked we saw multicolored fish with various patterns, coral of all different colors and sizes, and starfish everywhere. It really was quite beautiful and the song "Under the Sea" from the Little Mermaid played on constant replay in my head (which was very fitting if I do say so myself). 

I could not believe how clear our view was. Even through his mask I could tell that Doug was completely stoked about our dive. His eyes lit up every time we saw another school of fish or a "Nemo" (clownfish) pop out from its anemeni. 

It's weird when you're underwater because you can't talk to one another. Hand signals are what you rely on for communication. Occasionally our dive master would tap his air tank and point us in the direction of where to look or swim to next. 

It was nearing the end of our dive when we went into an area much more shallow.  We had been diving at 18 meters and were slowing working our way back to the surface after completing our safety stop at 5 meters. I thought we were heading back to the boat when our dive master swam around an underwater cove. Doug and I followed and there they were dead ahead of us.....sharks!!!! 

Imagine my surprise! 

Three black tipped reef sharks swam in a small group not even 30 feet away from us. My entire body froze in the water. Doug was to my right and just a little ways ahead of me. He looked back at me and made eye contact with me to make sure I had spotted them as well. I think he could tell by the size of my pupils that I had DEFINITELY seen the sharks! 

Perceiving that I was okay he started to swim a little bit further towards them. I quickly reached my hand out and smacked his left flipper. He looked back and I blubbered through my mouthpiece for him to "get back here!" It probably sounded more like "bbbyew bbtt bbach beeeer!!" And he probably didn't even hear my muffles but I think he got the message when I pointed at him and then back by my side. 

The sharks were probably 5 & 1/2 feet long, one fuller bodied than the other two but holy crap they were sharks! After I managed to get my breathing back to normal, I actually enjoyed following the sharks around and watching how they moved in the water.  Mind you, the Little Mermaid theme song I had playing in my head quickly changed to the theme song from Jaws. 

Doug absolutely loved the sharks, it was pretty obvious. However, we couldn't follow them for long because one of our group member's air supply was getting pretty low. 

We came up and signaled for the boat to come pick us up. I kept my mask on and kept looking underneath me (for sharks) until the boat arrived. Everyone was super excited about the sharks and the dive altogether. The visability was incredible and Doug loved it! I loved that we survived! 

Doug would dive one more time that day where he would also see a leopard shark.  It was sleeping on the ocean floor and was nearly 6 feet in length. 

Once our dives were finished we cruised back to Phi Phi Island. 

We spent the reminder of our day in the sun recapping every exciting (and terrifying-in my words) detail about the dive. 

Our first few days in Koh Phi Phi were a blast, but we still had some exploring ahead of us. 

Thanks so much for reading! I hope you all have enjoyed following along on our journey. We only have a few more stops before heading back to the snow of Indiana. The past three months have absolutely flown by and we are so thankful for everything we have seen and experienced. God is good- all the time :) 

Have a lovely day! :) 

Koh Tao

Koh Tao was four days of travel, planning, sun, and scuba! We had heard from many people (mostly those we met in New Zealand) that Koh Tao was great for scuba diving. Since Doug and I are both open water certified we decided to try it out. 

Getting to Koh Tao required a long ferry ride from Koh Samui and then a taxi ride to where we were staying. The first night we stayed in a random hotel that we found in a Lonely Planet Traveler's book. The hotel was nice and we had a clean room but didn't have any plans of staying there longer. 

Doug and I both had friends who had stayed at another place on the island known as Big Blue Divers and that is where we headed next. We stayed at Big Blue 2 (their newest complex) and were surrounded by people of all ages who also came to Koh Tao to dive. Doug and I booked a 4 person dorm room because on the days we went diving we paid half the room cost instead of the full. It was cheap and we loved that! 

Now, I should note that Doug is usually the one who books our hostels, guesthouses, and hotels because (as he and I have both learned---many...many times), he is the overthinker in this relationship.  But I could see he was tired after the ferry ride so I decided that I would book Big Blue 2. I did so and things went smoothly. I paid the deposit, got the confirmation email, yes! 

And then.... About an hour after I had booked it I got another email saying something along the lines of: "Thank you for your deposit Lydia. Your ending balance is 13,400 Thai Baht. You may pay the rest of the ending balance when you check out of Big Blue 2." 

My response? 

WHAT?!? 13,400 Baht?!?! It was supposed to be like 4,200 Baht (which included room fees and diving/equipment fees)! Of course, the ONE TIME I book something, I totally mess it up. How in world I did that, I have no idea. So, I had a minor freak out and Doug calmed me down saying "we'll figure it out the next day." 

He's sweet, but I'm pretty sure he enjoyed the fact that I totally screwed it up. You know the feeling when someone does something wrong and they should have just let you do it in the first place. It's that "I told you so" feeling. Yeah, I'm pretty sure Doug was enjoying that moment....dang it! 

We went to Big Blue 2 the next day and met Steven, an instructor that we would eventually see again on our dive boat (Fyi, he sounds exactly like the genie in the oh-so-popular Disney film, Aladdin.) 

I explained to him what had happened and luckily it was all a big misunderstanding and the fault was on. their part and not mine. (Take that Doug! I am capable of booking things afterall.) Luckily everything worked out. We had a nice four person bunk bed room all to ourselves because no one ever showed up to stay in the other two beds. 

We hung out at the beach the first day and explored the town a bit. It was nice but definitely an island for mainly divers. 

We found a few presents for people and meandered through the plethora of road side stands. I even convinced Doug to get a pedicure with me because our feet looked absolutely disgusting and the pedicures are super cheap in Thailand.

I laughed the whole time he got his pedicure because (#1) he is super ticklish and was squirming around the whole time and (#2) well.... his feet were absolutely volatile. The lady had to put on bigger glasses when cutting his cuticles because things were flying everywhere. I'm honestly surprised she didn't take out a handsaw and a pair of pliers. 

We ate a later dinner after the pedicures and went to bed straight away. Well- Doug did at least. We were diving the next morning at 6:30am and though I tried to go to sleep the photo of the whale shark on our dorm room wall haunted me all night. 

Whale sharks are massive, beautifully scary animals and we had the potential to see them on our dive. Any kind of shark sounds scary to me no mater how big or small it is. I've seen the movie, Jaws, and I've unfortunately watched the movie, Shark-Nado way more times than I care to admit. I didn't really care to see one but Doug (of course) was all about it. 

We woke up early the next day, got fitted for our wetsuits and gear and packed up. 

We loaded on to a small boat that took us further out to our dive boat for the day. 

I was nervous because neither of us had ever done a boat dive. 

However, both of our dives that day went great. We dove with two other girls and another dive master also named Steve, whom I thought shared a strong resemblance to how I would picture Jesus to look. (So that was reassuring at least.) 

Our first dive went great. We saw lots of fish and coral. I only hit Doug in the face one time and he only kicked me once. Swimming beside another person underwater is not the easiest, especially when you have all that equipment on you. Both of us agreed after that dive that we were getting better at the "relaxed breathing" method underwater. Despite my fears, we did not see a shark. The dive was super relaxing and overall easy. 

Our second dive that day was a bit different. The visability wasn't as clear, but in all it was still a decent dive. Doug and I did a swim through, which is where you basically swim through an underwater cave-like structure. It gets a bit closterphobic, but wasn't too bad. However, on the other side of the swim through we were welcomed by a black and white banded water snake (totally poisonous by the way). 

It stayed about 4-6 feet away from us and was fun to watch. I texted my parents about the snake after the dive- my mom was not too happy about that one! Whoops! 

Our second dive lasted about an hour and once complete, we got back on the boat, took off our gear, and snacked on fresh pineapple and watermelon. The rest of the day we relaxed and swam on the beach. 

That night we planned some more for our trip to Phi Phi Island. We went to a little travel hut and booked all of our necessary means of transportation for our trip to Phi Phi. The man we booked through was not the most organized person so we weren't exactly reassured but we just rolled with it. 

That evening was spent doing laundry in our room. My friend, Audri gave me a portable washing machine bag for my birthday, which we've used numerous times to clean our clothes. It is super handy and Doug and I admittedly have a lot of fun using it. Plus it's kind of a nice little arm workout. Thankfully we never ended up getting two other roommates so we were able to hang and dry our clothes all throughout our room! 

Koh Tao overall was a nice island to stop at for a few days. We would have stayed longer had we wanted to dive more there, however the clarity wasn't the best. Therfore, we were excited to journey towards Koh Phi Phi where apparently at this time of the year, the view is spectacular underwater. 

Our last morning in Koh Tao we woke up super early, hopped in the back of a taxi truck and caught a ferry to the mainland. Once we reached the docks we had a break for bit so we both ate something and used the restroom quick. Much to my surprise the toilet I was to use was only about 6 inches off the ground......don't...even...ask. 

We then caught a bus to Krabi and then got in a van for a bit and then boarded another ferry until we finally arrived in Koh Phi Phi. 

It was a total of 12 hours travel time but we made it to Phi Phi alive and well! 

We've been in Phi Phi for a few days now and it is absolutely gorgeous. The diving has been amazing here and we have plenty more stories to share. And just to keep you guessing about the next post I will say this. One of my greatest fears came true in Phi Phi and it happened under the sea :) 

Thanks so much for reading! We appreciate all the texts and messages we've been getting from our friends and family. I promise we will try to bring the warm weather back with us :) 

Have a great day!