Ko Phi Phi and THE Beach

So today was our long awaited trip to Ko Phi Phi to see the famous beach from a certain Leonardo Dicaprio film, we had been holding out for good weather and after many days of rain today was forecast to be a beaut and the weatherman didn't disappoint! We were picked up and driven to the other side of Phuket to the harbour where we got on a speedboat with about 50 other people.

Our tour guide said it would take approx 1 hr to get to Ko Phi Phi and waved some carrier bags just in case... famous last words less than half hour in we had our first sea sick casualties followed by many others. Kris and I were quite smug that we skipped breakfast although did feel a little queasy watching everyone else be sick.

The beach was worth it as after an hour we entered crystal blue waters and saw white sand ahead, unfortunately the reality had imitated art where people had heard (and in this case seen) about paradise and tourism has ruined it. Our boat backed onto the beach along with numerous others to the point where you couldn't even swim in the water, and couldn't walk along the beach as it was too packed to move. The water was so clear you could see every piece of litter and pollution in it although Kris still managed to get a couple of amazing photos capturing its beauty.

Next stop was to monkey island where we stopped by cliffs to watch wild monkeys go about their business, then the boat moored to give everyone a chance to snorkel in the clear water. It was like Finding Nemo with so many colourful fish swimming right up to you.

Finally after lunch and befriending a tame monkey we made our way to Khai Island to hang out on another awesome beach and snorkel in the water. Finally as the sun started coming down we set off on our bumpy ride back to reality.

As I sit writing this with some remaining motion sickness my reflection on today is we saw natural beauty at its best today and unfortunately tourism at its worst. Maybe these places should be left alone.