now that we have the activity portion of phi phi covered, let’s move on to food and lodging!

TO STAY

there are many hotels and hostels available on phi phi but i really think we lucked out with the hotel we chose — pp palm tree. it is in the hub bub of the island “city” but we never heard any noise and it made it convenient to explore. we were provided with complimentary beach towels for the pool / beach, in room air conditioning (thank the heavens. not sure how people survive with just a fan), breakfast served daily and a hot shower (it’s the little things when you are away from home you know). pricing was fairly reasonable for the island but i will say phi phi was the most expensive place to stay of the three cities.

below is a view from our patio. it was the perfect island escape.

TO EAT

A lot of the restaurants are fairly similar — meaning a mix of thai and western food. i swear three of the restaurants we ate at were probably indistinguishable from each other so let’s just keep to the best of the best.

le grand bleu – we ate here on our last night on the island and i am so glad we saved the best for last. b’s scuba instructor actually recommended it to us. after living there for many months, he had decided it was the best food on the island and i would have to agree. it is a mix of thai and french food. we ordered a couple appetizers along with our entrees and each dish was delicious so i am sure you can’t go wrong. i especially loved the duck dish (on the french portion of the menu) and yellow curry (thai portion of the menu). le grand bleu is a complete step above the other restaurants available.
it is located fairly close to the dock where the ferries arrive / depart.

anna’s restaurant - tucked away from the main road, this place is also a gem. again, it is another mix of thai and western food. i heard or read somewhere that the owner of the restaurant (a european man) married a thai woman and so that is why the mix of western and thai is so authentic. i did ask our waitress if anna was around so i could meet her but sadly, she was killed in the hurricane.

b claims anna’s serves some of the best wiener schnitzel of his life! the food was all around tasty but i especially love the mocktails. i couldn’t get enough of the refresher, which was made up of orange juice mixed with another juice and topped with crushed cucumber. how refreshing right?

ps are you dying over b’s pants above? they are his “thai pants”. they were sold everywhere and b insisted he had to get a pair to fit in with the locals. b said they were the comfiest pants he owns. we bought them in chiang mai and tried to get another pair in phi phi but they were way more expensive. one will have to do.
and no i did not see any locals wearing them. insert crying emoji here.

blue lagune - ready for some pure thai food? blue lagune is the place for you! it is a little bit aways from the hotel meaning you will have to take a water taxi to the other side of phi phi to get there but why not have a little adventure? the owners of the restaurant are so welcoming and help you find the best entree for your tastebuds!

amp cafe & restaurant – another great thai option but this time located a little closer to home base (for us pp palm tree). it is rustic and has a view of the ocean. what is not to love?

oh and i can’t vouch for the food but there is an amazing fire show attached to a restaurant right on the water. you will see signs for it as you walk around. you must attend! the performers are so skilled. it was definitely a highlight on our trip.

so long phi phi, you are one in a million.

last stop, phi phi island!

so we knew we wanted to see thailand from all facets of life hence why we started in the big city, worked our way north to the jungle and finally flew south for the island life.

there are many islands/peninsulas to choose from including koh samui, koh phi phi, railay, krabi, phuket… this list literally goes on and on. it made it quite difficult to choose where to have our home base. i had heard that it was easy to visit surrounding islands by water taxi but home base to me was crucial. i finally settled on koh phi phi (pronounced pee pee) but it really was on a whim after much frustration with weighing the pros and cons for all the islands.
i don’t regret my whim one bit.

koh phi phi is stunning although time consuming to travel to so be warned. we took a taxi from our chiang mai hotel to chiang mai airport then caught a flight to phuket (via air asia because one of the only direct flights — great airline). from phuket, we took a taxi to the ferry station (40 min+ taxi ride) then a ferry to koh phi phi (about 2 hour ferry ride — it is air conditioned!).

stepping off the ferry into the heat of koh phi phi was thrilling and overwhelming. there are so many people getting off with you and trying to find their hotel rep.
we were told by our hotel that there would be someone to greet us and take us to the hotel. little did we know that all the hotels provide the same service and so the long list of hotel reps can be daunting. we finally found our rep after countless questions to the other reps. i expected him to show us the way to the shuttle. wrong! there are no cars on the island. he took our bags and led us through a sea of people and dirt roads. ten minutes later, we had arrived (my whole body completely sweating ha — the heat and humidity are real).

but please don’t let all the traveling time get you down, it really is worth it. i just wanted to add a little background because i felt a little clueless when arriving.

now to the fun part.  i have put together a city guide of all the best things to do , eat and see on this picturesque island they call phi phi.

TO DO / SEE:
snorkeling tour of surrounding islands – there are many companies on the island that provide similar snorkeling excursions. we chose to do the afternoon excursion with ibex climbing and tours. it was a great way to see the surrounding islands including monkey beach, maya bay (no sign of leo sadly) and pileh lagoon. i do recommend ibex because our tour guide, richard, was so fun to be around and knowledgeable. we actually booked the tour online before traveling to thailand but it was not necessary.

below is a picture of maya bay. it is a little overcrowded during the day because of all the different boating companies but it really took my breath away. some of our friends that we met in thailand actually camped on maya bay for a night and i think that would be a great option to beat the crowds.

scuba diving - don’t have your scuba license ? no problem. most scuba companies on the island will allow you to dive down to 12 meters without a license. i was a little apprehensive so decided to sit this one out but b went and loved it. he claimed it was 1000x better than snorkeling. b was able to swim with eels, small sharks, schools of fish, etc. his two dives in phi phi are going towards his scuba certification! he is hooked.

hike to the viewpoint – completely exhausting yet completely worth it. please do this hike in the early morning or early evening and not as we did in the heat of the day because it is intense with the sun beating down on you and lots of humidity. and yes i am not the most physically fit person so you may say pish posh to my advice but it appeared everyone around us was winded by the end of the hike (besides the locals who climbed it speedily and with ease).

the hike to the viewpoint is about this steep the whole way up.

then you see this view and it all seems worth it.

how darling is the seating up at the viewpoint? makes me wish i would have brought a deck of cards or tea set.

hire a private long tail and escape to bamboo island – one of my favorite activities! there are many boats available for hire on the island that will take you anywhere you want to go. we were deciding between mosquito and bamboo island and in the end settled on bamboo island. bamboo island is a 40 min boat ride from phi phi. it is a small island with nothing on it but a small snack bar and gorgeous beaches–just the way i like it! the sand is white and soft. the water is crystal clear. i kept on pointing out how pretty the water color was to b on the boat ride. it was like nothing i had ever seen before.  be sure to lather up on sunscreen because the sun is strong and the white sand reflects back on you (or so we think because of our sunburns ha).
note! you may try to haggle with them about pricing to the nearby islands but it doesn’t do much good. it appears they are all in an alliance to have the same pricing. oh and you will have to pay a national park fee in addition to the taxi fee for bamboo island, maya bay and mosquito island.

hike to long beach – we originally thought it would be a short walk to long beach from our hotel. news flash–it is a hike through the jungle. you may feel lost at times since there appears to be no clear path but never worry, the thais have you covered with their storybook style road signs. long beach is the best beach for swimming and lounging on the island. there are two restaurants close to the beach that provide decent food so i would recommend eating before or after. there are a few hotels on this side of the island and part of me thinks it would be dreamy to wake up with a view of long beach but it is fairly secluded from the city portion of the island.

and now I am looking at what a long post this is turning out to be so what do you say we keep the best place to eat and stay for next time?

have i got you buying a ticket to thailand yet?

linked to: treat yo’ self

it is safe to say that chiang mai was our favorite city that we visited during our trip.
heck, b even brought up the idea of living in this jungle city at some point in our life.

we enjoyed the less humid climate, easy navigation through the city (compared to bangkok) and the slower pace.
it is referred to as ” the rose of the north” for good reason.

so without further or do here is a list of our favorite things to do, eat and see!

TO DO:

elephant nature park – are you tired of me talking about my love for elephants and this incredible experience that elephant nature park offers? hope not!
elephant nature park provides people the opportunity to walk, feed, bathe and love on asian elephants. it is a great humane option but on the pricier side!
check my previous post for more details.

rent a scooter – the best way to tour the city in my opinion! it is also very cost effective. we rented a scooter for a few dollars a day. do note they don’t drive on the same side of the road as we do in the states so that can get a little confusing.

shop at night bazaar – a bustling outdoor market with souvenirs, clothes and food galore. it has by far the best prices i have seen for merchandise in thailand!

exfoliate your feet – have you ever seen those tanks with the fish in them that supposedly eat your dead skin? well those tanks are available at the night bazaar. b loved it and kept putting his hand in the tank for the fish to eat the skin off. i, on the other hand, am way too ticklish. i am not even a fan of pedicures because they touch my feet too much.
i didn’t think i would be able to feel the fish as much as i did. i could literally feel every single fish sucking and i was not having it. you have to have a lot of self control to participate!

get a massage at zabai thai massage – massages in thailand are cheeeap. like ben got a massage almost every night cheap. this place was on the pricier side when it came to massages but both b and i agreed it was well worth it with ambience of the spa and the professionalism / experience of the employees. b said it may have been the best massage he ever had.
i paid around $18 for a one hour aromatherapy message (thai massages are a little too rough for me but b prefers it).

take a tuk tuk – tuk tuks are more readily available than taxis in chiang mai so this was another way we would get around to dinner/massages. i love tuk tuks. i love the wind in my hair. i love bartering with the drivers before hand (you must decide on a price before entering or they will swindle you!). i love all the different smells you encounter on your drive through the city. it really is so thai.

a lot of thai – another highlight of the trip for me was taking a half day cooking class with chef yui. the half day class includes three dishes and a tour of the local market (full day is 5 dishes + local market tour — wish we had that kind of time!). this is the perfect way to bring a piece of thailand home with you.
yui is an amazing teacher with a low key approach that makes you enjoy the dish you are creating. not to mention she is hilarious!

TO EAT:

the house restaurant – lovely atmosphere with vibrant thai dishes ; gingers restaurant located next door is also a great dinning option but a little pricier!

the riverside – a great mix of western and thai food ; moderate pricing ; live music ; eat on the patio by the water!

la fourchette –  confession. we did not eat thai food the whole time we were there. sometimes my body just wanted to mix it up and la fourchette is the place to do it. it is a french restaurant with exquisite dishes like duck and lamb.

la petite chiangmai - wonderful authentic northern thai cuisine with exceptional service!

mamory delicious for good memories – we actually did not eat here but it was recommended to us so i thought i would pass down the recommendation to you. please let me know what you think of it!

angel’s secrets – this is the kind of bakery / coffee shop that you could spend your whole day in and be content. the food is delicious. the restaurant is located in the center of the city and they have a garden. what more could you ask for?

TO SEE:

wat chedi luang – to be honest, this was the only temple we were able to visit while in chiang mai. a lot of our time was eaten up by excursions and so we didn’t have as much time to explore as we would have liked.
this temple is 600 years old and used to house the emerald buddah, which is now at the grand palace in bangkok. i love the elephant statues and the steep staircases. i can only imagine what it would have looked like in its’ prime!

do explore the other exquisite temples in chiang mai for me! here is a great guide.

we simply adored the city of chiang mai. our only wish was that we could have spent at the very least a couple more days. we were only there for 2 full days and one day was with the elephants. but we will take what we can get it!

oh chiang mai, you have a special piece of my heart.

linked to: treat yo’ self