After 4 days of traveling, I have finally reached the island of Koh Phi Phi Don (pronounced Ko Pee Pee Don). And what do I do? I find a room and the nearest internet cafe to write my first update. I haven’t really talked to many people in the last 4 days, so you can imagine the pent up verbal energy. Ha, I feel sorry for you. ;)

Bangkok was good. I had a *fabulous* stay at the Westin. It was nice to start off at such a nice hotel to really decompress after such a long flight and stressful last few weeks. Now, of course, I’m getting sticker shock (I could survive for 2 months out here on what I spent in two days) but at the time it was really, REALLY nice. I do recommend starting any long-term travel trip with the first night in a nice hotel to get your bearings, especially if it’s your first time on the road like this.

The Westin's Heavenly Bed

The view from the Room

I’ve now done a total 180 and am paying about $45 a week for lodging. Not bad. It seems to be one of the cheaper fares in town, as well. Not as cheap as my bamboo hut in Ao Ton Sai (near Krabi) in 2003, but this is made of brick & mortar and is neat and clean, so I’m not complaining. I don’t think I’ll be stepping on any scorpions in this place…

I’m getting ahead of myself.

Bangkok: stayed 2 nights, 1.5 days. Was for the most part exhausted so didn’t do anything worth mentioning. Had a nice (free) 30 min Thai massage at the hotel, did a little shopping for those last-minute items that I didn’t have time to get at home (like an adapter), and dipped in the pool to refresh from the layer of stick that occured every time I ventured outside. The septic Bangkok air takes some getting used to.

The island of Phuket was interesting. Had a “fun” experience getting a cab across the island to Phuket town. Once at Phuket town (finally) I got the cheapest hotel available… about 4 bucks for the night. It had a double bed and a sink. Fan, no Air con. It was OK actually. Very simple. It did the job. Anyway, once settled in my room, I decided to continue a one-piece bathing suit search which had begun in Bangkok – there seem to be no suitable sporty options around. Blast! What else is a girl to scuba dive in?? I finally managed to get a not-so-sporty one-piece. I’m extra large here. How depressing. :P

My room in Phuket

I also managed to get myself COMPLETELY lost for a few hours in the process. A nice, tiny little Thai woman finally saved me and took me safely back to the hotel, where lay in the room for a few minutes and splashed my face with cool water before going on a search for food. Thank goodness I didn’t have to go too far. Had much better phad thai for about $1.50 than my fancy room service at the Westin the night before (which was pretty cheap itself at $6). Watched American Idol while eating and then went back to the room and was asleep by 8pm. Exhausted.

Wide awake at 4:30am. What the hell was I thinking to go to bed so early? I’m never going to learn.  Listened to the rain for awhile (did I mention it’s been raining a lot since I got to this area? Good idea coming in Monsoon season, dude). *Finally* it was about 6:30 and I could get up. This of course meant that I instantly became sleepy again and didn’t want to get up. I’ll never be happy.

The people picking me up for the boat to Koh Phi Phi were 6 minutes early. This is not Latin America. Thank goodness I caught it; I was definitely expecting slack schedules and was in no rush. It was a fairly big tourboat with lots of people on it, both western and Thai. I managed to be in between various Thai people who were prone to seasickness. One boy nearly spewed all over my bag (he did spew, just barely missed my bag). The lady in front of me was also spewing. In fact, it seemed everyone around me was spewing. A boat worker came by and handed out plastic spew-bags. The boy wouldn’t stop, and his aim wasn’t the best. Bless his heart, poor thing, but not something I wanted to sit next to exactly.

Problem is, I couldn’t escape. I was wedged in by my own bag and gear, as well as my seasick Thai neighbors. Finally, one of the boat workers on bag-duty took pity on me (noticing the predicament) and asked if I wanted to move. I nodded. He helped me up and over the laps of the spewers, said to leave the bags and go on. I broke every backpacker rule and left my stuff unattended to go on deck for a while. It was worth it. (No worries mom, all my important stuff was in my little day bag which I kept with me). ;) Of course, nothing happened to my gear and I was *much* more comfortable outside. This also meant I could take pics as we approached the island. Always a plus.

Approaching Koh Phi Phi - before the tsunami, you couldn't see the other beach from this side.

Getting off the boat at Koh Phi Phi Don, the first thing you hear is the sound of construction. This place is a bustling construction zone. There are about as many foreigners as there are Thai, but it is still very quiet as far as people go. You can see garbage and rubble everywhere, next to fairly new-looking buildings and stores. They have internet and and an ATM (which I hear only works sometimes), as well as a few bars. You can tell where the priorities are. ;) It was odd to think of people partying as I choked up while walking around. I could all-too-vividly imagine the wave going over the entire lifeline of the island. It became real, and very, very sad.

I met an American named Scott who bought me a banana shake and a girl from Scotland named Kaz who is the nurse’s assistant. Apparently the nurse had her first day off in 2 months today. The American told me that about 2,500 to 3,000 people died on this island. I can’t remember the figures – I’m sure you could all look it up. Pretty devastating.

Devastation

I inquired with some people about diving. I think tomorrow I may go. I’ll find out – tonight at 7pm at Carlito’s bar, they give the assignments. So far, no free lodging (remember, $46 for the week) and I thought that was part of the deal, but to be honest I don’t mind paying and as far as I see it, I’m getting to dive for free and help out, which is worth a LOT more. Anyway I haven’t talked to anyone about the “benefits” yet as all the people are still out working today. I just talked to some nurses and this Thai dude who is going to teach me to spin fire. :) wheee! Oh, and he might teach me some Thai, too. As long as I make it clear I’m not going to be his girlfriend I think we’ll be OK.

My guest house (I am in the pink buildings at the back)

My room

Man this is long. See, I told you I’d be chatty. I haven’t really talked much in the last 4 days (if you can believe it)! Now I finally have people to hang with. The most frustrating thing about being a foreigner, female, alone, and sticking out like a sore thumb is that people either 1) want your money or 2) want to get in your pants. There is very little opportunity for true conversation. I’m on the defensive most of the time, for good reason. Women are easier to talk to, but hard to find. They protect themselves with other people, which, arguably, I should be doing too. Huh.

Well, that’s about it for now. Time to go explore the island a bit. I may not be able to get online for a few days… as it’s rather expensive here, but hopefully next time I won’t be as pent-up with random things to tell. Or maybe there’ll be more, who knows.

More photos here.