Koh Phi Phi - 6:44pm

I've been on Koh Phi Phi since March 25th. I took a slow-ass bus here from Bangkok on the same day as I last posted. It arrived in Krabi harbor at noon on the following day and then I had to wait (i.e. have a lot to drink) until 3pm to catch my slow-ass ferry here. I didn't check into my place until around 5pm.

Just like on Koh Tao, there's a strip of dive shops all trying to get you to sign up with them as soon as you step on the island. I asked some guy about a cheap room and he pointed me towards a co-worker. I asked her where I could find a cheap room and she told me that anything less than 700 baht was IMPOSSIBLE. What about The Rock I said, it says in my Lonely Planet that they have rooms for 300 baht. Well, I could always go there if I wanted to she said, but she couldn't help me book a room there. Why the fuck would I need you to book me a room there, I can WALK over there in 2 minutes, right? She stopped talking to me.

I checked in to the dorm (I think there's 8 bunk-beds arranged in rows in a single room and half of them are currently taken) which was 250 baht a night, the next cheapest and available accomodation being a bungalow which was over 1000. So I checked in, met some of the locals, got offered some pot, and then found out what the hot-spots were.

On the first day, since I didn't have much daylight left, I hiked to the top of the mountain and took in the sunset (if this computer was faster I would upload and post my pictures, but alas, its not to be). That night I crashed early because for the past two nights I had slept, and not well, on a bus. I got up early yesterday and hiked out to a place on the island called 'Long Beach' (or 'Hin Yao' in Thai) and spent the day laying out, reading tragedies, swimming, and snorkeling. I got some dinner and while I was eating saw the guys I met the day before heading out to the bars. I tried to figure out where they went but had lost them completely.

Today I got up wicked early and watched the sunrise from the same place as the first day. After that I got some breakfast and checked my Lonely Planet for something to see. It said there was a sketchy trail across the island and it led to places where I assumed cool deserted beaches would be. An hour later, I had completely lost the trail and was losing my footing coming down the face of a mountain. Only several minutes earlier I had stumbled across a 5-foot lizard eating something inside of a dead tree trunk. I heard drums off in the distance (which is how I was finding my way through the jungle) and it became clear that I would never reach them. I got lost even more and then came out at a construction site. A new resort maybe. I found the beach from there and then wandered on a bit. I got a little drunk as soon as I found someone selling booze (Archa beer?), and eventually made my way back here to the main town with the help of the inhabitants of a tiny village only connected to the rest of the island by an overgrown foot-path.

This island was badly damaged by the 2004 Tsunami and there are now evacuation route signs everywhere. I followed some of the signs and found out what the 'evacuation' center was. There was a sign pointing straight up a hill and the message was clear, go up there where the water can't get you. Thanks for the help.

There's a sea gypsy village on the northern tip of this island as well. I found it today because it sounded sexy in my Lonely Planet. You know what a sea gypsy village is? Nothing. A few shacks hammered together with spit and dead bugs and the entire area was covered with trash.

Also, Koh Phi Phi is actually an archipelago. The two islands where I am, Koh Nok and Koh Noi (maybe) are joined be a sandbar and the town is on the sandbar. Not too far away is Koh Phi Phi Leh and that's where they shot a lot of DiCaprio's vehicle The Beach. Its uninhabited and you're not allowed to stay there overnight, but that's where I'm headed tomorrow to go cliff diving.

Miss you all.

Oh! So I can feasibly head to Malaysia or Myanmar from here. Anyone have suggestions? I have to fly to Nepal on the 13th or 14th to meet Luke and regardless of where I go I'll have to fly. The border between Myanmar and India is completely closed.