I did NOT sign up for this!!
Near death experiences definitely were NOT on the brochure I looked at when signing up for my day long island tour.
The girls I met up with in Krabi were now in Phi Phi and we decided to make the most of our time here and do a day trip around the nearby islands. We found a great deal: 500 baht ($15) for a full day tour of snorkeling/kayaking around all 6 islands in the Phi Phi area. This program started at 10 and ended at sunset. It included breakfast, lunch, snacks, dry bags and fresh fruit. What they failed to tell us was that we would have to risk our lives to get to some of these destinations!
We were all a little hesitant to go on the trip to begin with b/c of the terrible weather, but we figured screw it, what else were we gonna do, sit in our rooms and watch TV in Thai? No thanks. Rain shmain - I'm from Seattle for crying out loud.
Our first stop was awesome! The rain had briefly stopped and we jumped off the boat and snorkeled around amazing coral - I think I saw more snorkeling than diving! I got tired of snorkeling and decided to go back to the boat to get a kayak to ride around. I went back into this secluded area where big boats could not fit through - it was incredible!!!!! My neck hurt from straining so hard to look up at the enormous limestone cliffs. It was so peaceful back there! I will never forget it!
Sadly that was about the only enjoyable thing on our trip. Originally I was really looking forward to our next stop: Maya Beach. This is where the movie "The Beach" was filmed. What the tour failed to tell us was that we were going to nearly die getting there. Our boat anchored and our guide explained to us we needed to leave our flippers behind (but carry our shoes on our hands) and swim to those stairs over there...okay, I thought, I can do this, it's not THAT far. Little did they let on that there was the STRONGEST current I have ever felt in my life. They didn't bother to ask anyone if they are strong swimmers or not. Had they asked or let on that it was going to be tough I would have taking the kayak option for sure. I kid you not I nearly died. Sure the first 2-3 mins were fine, but soon I was struggling against the current and the number of longtail boats nearly running over my head. I started to panic and let me tell you, panicking and water do not, I repeat DO NOT mix (I found this out last summer in Moses Lake - thank you Bonnie for saving my life - I could have used you again today!!!) After freaking out, crying, and nearly drowning I made it to safety or so I thought. Just when I thought it was over and I reached the rope that lead to the stairs, huge crashing waves threw me against the rocks and it hurt like hell! After risking my life again on the other side of the stairs (more rocks and water to navigate through) we made it to Maya Beach. Not going to lie, it looked nothing like the movie, but that's b/c they obviously did not film this movie during the monsoon season!!! We got hit with a crazy rain storm which left our bodies stinging - for the first time in 10 months I had goosebumps. We had a full hour at this location, so to stay warm we jumped into the water where we were constantly battling the waves. I held on to a bouy and got massive rope burn on my hands, but it was better then the needles being pelted into my body from the rain so I took it. Stinging, freezing, and badly bruised I was ready to move on to our next destination.
I wish it got better from there but it didn't. We ended up skipping the next island b/c when the tour went there yesterday there were too many jellyfish around. Fine with me I thought. Well unlucky for us, all those jellyfish must have made their way to our next destination b/c we got attacked by them. Oh man - the pain, not fun!
I am sure I can think of other stories from the day like when our huge boat stopped and the all the Thai men (minus the driver obviously) jumped into their Zodiak and went to grab the dead fish floating a few hundred feet out (there's their dinner for the night) and how I was turned into a mermaid, but I will save them for in person.
Crazy Thailand adventures were what I was after my last week here and I think I achieved atleast one today. More to come I'm sure of it.
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