Trip Report: Ko Phi Phi, Thailand

After spending almost a week in Bangkok it was time to escape the concrete jungle and retreat to paradise.  Matt, Logan, and I hopped on a plane from Bangkok to the city of Phuket in southern Thailand.  From Phuket we took a ferry to the incredible island of Ko Phi Phi.

Ko Phi Phi is one of many islands in the southern bay of Thailand.  The islands in the area are known for their  massive cliffs that seem to have fallen from another planet and landed in the middle of the ocean.  The cliffs are massive, in some areas exceeding thousands of feet, straight up.  Many movies have been filmed on the beaches around Ko Phi Phi, most notably the movie The Beach by Leonardo DiCaprio.

The majority of accommodation on the island of Ko Phi Phi are built on the sides of the mountains.  We had our own cottage built into the bluff on the side of the hill with an amazing view of the ocean on both sides of the island.  Waking up in the morning is so much more enjoyable when you have a panoramic view of the ocean!

We spent our first day in Ko Phi Phi hunting down the ever elusive black tip shark.  After hearing many exciting stories about shark sighting we rented snorkeling gear for the day and went on our hunt.  The coal and fish were amazing!  Every fish in Finding Nemo could be seen from less then a few hundred feet from the beach.  Unfortunately we were too late in the afternoon to see any sharks, but the coral and fish were so incredible we were satisfied.



Another thing that makes Ko Phi Phi unique is the night life.  One beach is lined with outdoor bars that will do nearly anything to get customers.  Boxing matches, fire jump rope contests, fire limbo contests, dance contests, and Maui Thai fights all along the beach were just some of the entertainment offered by the bars.  Most activities would be highly illegal in any other country, but in Thailand it was normal.

We spent our second day in Ko Phi Phi on a boat tour.  We began with an intense cliff jumping session.  Matt and I both took turns jumping from 8 meter, 11 meter, and 13 meter cliffs ( 26 foot, 33 foot, and 42 foot cliff jumps).  It was one of the scariest things I have ever done, but extremely exhilarating.

After the cliff jumping we got another opportunity to snorkel in hunt for our shark sighting.  The hard work had paid off and when I was off near a cliff in the ocean I saw one.  Not huge, about 6 feet long, lazily moving through the water.  The instant I saw it I chased after it in attempt to get a closer look but the black fin sharks don't like people and it swam faster then me :(.   Swimming less then ten feet from a shark is a pretty awesome experience.

After the cliff jumping and snorkeling we continued island hopping until sunset.  At sunset our boat tour took us to a private beach only accessible between a small gap in the cliffs.  It was an incredible place, a patch of sand surrounded by hundred foot tall cliffs except for one five foot gap letting water in from the ocean.  We enjoyed a bbq buffet and a private fire show from the beach.  

After the private beach dinner we headed back to the crazy bars on the beaches and enjoyed another wild night.

The next day it was back to Singapore... what a let down.  Ko Phi Phi is one of the most entrancing places in the world.  Blue skies, clear water, white beaches, massive cliffs, and some of the wildest parties in the world made for one hell of a spring break.

It's been nearly a week since our trip to Thailand.  I had three midterms since then that all went very well.  Last weekend Matt and I traveled back to Kuala Lampur, Malaysia for one of the biggest music festivals in Asia.  It was a wild three days of incredible music.

There were 50,000 people at Friday nights concert.  It was an unreal experience.

Thanks to the fact that Matt and I each have at least 50 pounds on every other person in the audience we had front row spots for some of the biggest  bands in the world.  We had front row seats to watch Psy preform Gangnam Style and Fun perform.  In the United States having front row for those concerts would mean camping out for days waiting, in Asia all we had to do was say excuse me a few hundred times and had front row seats.

I am now over the half way mark for my time in Singapore.  It has been the most insane 12 weeks of my life.  I have yet to be in the same country for more then five days in a row.  I have seen the best of seven countries, from sprawling cities to remote islands, every new place is an incredible experience.

 Studying abroad in Singapore is without a doubt the best decision I have made in my life.

  I can't express how thankful I am to have so many wonderful people in my life.  God has given me the most amazing family and friends in the world.  Being born in the United States of America is an amazing blessing that I will never take for granted.  I can't wait for the adventures and stories that are going to come from the next 10 weeks of my time in Singapore, but I also can't wait to go home and enjoy the truly amazing life I have in Iowa.



Life is good.