Diving Koh Phi Phi
In a town full of young backpackers, at 6:45 in the morning you can get pretty lonely. The good news is that we have our pick of tables for breakfast before heading over to the dive shop near our hotel. Today, Nick and I are going out for two dives, while Angela gets to stop and look at as many cheap trinkets as she wants without hearing me complain. There are trips that leave later in the day, but since we are starting early, we should finish up in plenty of time to catch the 3:30 ferry we are book on this afternoon.
We have heard from different conversations over the past few days that diving around Koh Phi Phi can be a little hit and miss. Generally it is quite clear, but that can change very quickly and you just never know what you are going to get until you are out in the water. Over the past few days though, conditions have been pretty good, and some of the bigger critters like turtles and black tip reef sharks have been quite common. Both of these sound pretty good to Nick and I, so we have pretty high hopes.
The first site we stop at is Bidah Nok, which is a small island just south of Koh Phi Phi Lei. It is only 40 minutes or so from the pier, so very quickly we are suiting up and in the water. Dropping down, it’s pretty obvious this is one of those days where the visibility is going to be poor, but a bad day diving is still better than a good day working, so we press on. We see a mix of things, including triggerfish, shrimp, lionfish, and another sea snake (these it turns out are so poisonous that their bite delivers enough toxin to kill 10 people, but we are oblivious to that at the time). The current is also very strong, which can be a little freaky, but Nick handles it like a veteran.
Between dives, we stop for “lunch” (it is only 10:15 in the morning) in Maya Bay, which was the setting for the movie The Beach. I’ve never seen the film, so don’t really know what all the fuss is about, but it is a very popular destination for day trippers, and had we been more organized, I might have tried to take advantage of the overnight camping trips they offer from Koh Phi Phi to spend a little time there without the hordes. Instead, we settle for floating in the bay, snorkeling a bit, and taking turns jumping off the top of the boat.
After lunch we are back in the water for what will be our last dive in Thailand. It is a pretty good dive, and we see a couple groups of cuttlefish (which I don’t think I’ve ever seen before), but sadly no sharks and no turtles. We’re both a little bit disappointed, but we know it’s not the zoo, and that the animals aren’t always where we’d like them to be. Nevertheless, it has been a high point of this trip for me to see Nick in the water and to hear the enthusiasm in his voice when he talks about the things he has seen.
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After the short boat ride back to the dock, we are turned loose again around 1:30. This gives us plenty of time to head back to Samee’s place (officially called the Thank You Restaurant I believe) for a second lunch and a parting mango sticky rice. From there it is back to the pier to board our ferry for the short ride to Railay Beach. This will be our last stop in Thailand, so we know the good times are quickly coming to an end.