Phuket – Kho phi phi Islands
I arrived at Rassada Pier in Phuket at noon to catch my early afternoon ferry to the Phi Phi Islands. I would be there for an uncertain amount of time. As I arrived to the pier and checked in for my ferry, I commented on the shirt of a bloke with some interesting Greek art and motivational quotes. He turned to me and appreciated the gratitude. His name is Ben, and turns out he and his boys are from Manchester, with one, Ethan, living in Melbourne, Australia.
I walked up to him after we got our tickets and started talking. We made good conversation waiting for the ship to board, then came the ferry. We sat together and I shared some moonshine I had bought coming back from Old Phuket Town with them plus some strawberry soju I had purchased from the 7/11 that morning to keep myself “hydrated”. The ferry ride was 2 hours long, and throughout the journey the boys and I, plus a girl named Lauren that tagged along with them as well all talked, smoked, and drank aboard the ferry, awaiting our rendezvous to the island.
Once we arrived, we gathered our gear and headed to the pier, joking and talking about everything we had yet to experience. I asked them where they were staying and after it had become apparent they had booked a stay at a fellow Englishman’s hostel called “Dormsinn”, I told them that I guess that’s where I was headed and paid for the 3 nights to spend with my newfound friends. Jason, the owner of the hostel from the UK had moved out here some years ago, and it became apparent that making up all the money lost during COVID was important for everyone around Thailand, but he gave us some important bits of information regarding the best places to eat, also coincidently called Tom Yam. This Restaraunt was the rendezvous points for many a morning and a night. The food and drink choices were immaculate, and we shared many laughs and cigs throughout the journey. The smoked salmon T-bone there is to die for by the way.
The first day, we had been drinking and sat down yet again at a beach bar to enjoy the happy hour 2 for 1 drinks. We weren’t sloshed with the exception of Georgi, which had been drinking like a mad lad since before I could even remember. His outgoing personality was the call for a good night, and Ben’s ambition was shared with mine to visit a place called the Reggae Bar, which was everything but a relaxing, good music rest stop. This bar was a brawl fest of drunkenness. You volunteer yourself to step into a Thai boxing ring and put on some gloves, and fight a random stranger interested in throwing down for a free bucket of booze.
A Thai man approached me and asked if I wanted to spar, and I agreed, but little did I know that he wanted me to go now. He paired me up with an English fellow if I’m remember right, brawny and cut, the man looked like he’d make a good fight. Him and I kicked it off with the first fight of the night, and put on a show that catapulted the bar into a frenzy. My mate Ben got great videos, and shared my successful win with memories that will stick with me.
Fight after fight, we saw progressively cabbaged people duking it out, drunken master style. My mate Georgi was paired up with a stone-cold sober massive Thai dude and for a solid 3 rounds, got the shit beat out of him. It was a sight to see that you had to be there for. Incredibly, people wanted to keep going- the night was in an uproar. It was so good in fact, I volunteered a second time to fight, I was the 10th match of the night, after my 1st match. I paired up with an hombre from the UK that also stayed at our hostel, Holden.
After continuing on my second win, and watching some actual Thai fighters bout themselves for the views, we decided to head to the beach for the after party. Bars line the sands with music and fire shows- massive party vibes. The first two nights, we took it pretty mild. Drinking was good, and my mates Georgi, Ben, Ethan, Lauren, and some new girls at the hostel Kalia and Lucy joined us, plus an American from Alabama named Bella. Our group projected the energy of true Farangs. Through Georgi’s drunken stupor to losing his phone and Ben and I having to haggle a shop owner to give us back the phone after wanting 500 baht from us, to losing each other through the night, through meetings with the Thais, the Irish, the Russians, the British, the Danish, and anyone else lucky or unlucky enough to find themselves in our wake, we created lasting memories together.
We had gone kayaking through the ocean that Saturday. With no life vests, we paddled deep into the islands surrounding the bay and landed at Monkey Beach. We had been warned- the monkeys are vicious. We docked our boats and within minutes, the swarm of monkeys began their plot against us and the people of the beach. Like sacred territory, we witness a 6 year old getting jumped, and our kayaks being ransacked by intelligent monkeys opening our bags and stealing things- anywhere from passports to sandals, to biting through our water supply.
Poor Georgi, minding his own business found himself laying in the sand enjoying his few minutes of rest, when out of nowhere a horde of monkeys descended upon him, they attacked him and within moments, was bitten upon his arm. They tried stealing his hat and other items, as I was attempting to protect my water from the baby monkeys that had tried to drink out of my bottle. The monkey bit my hand, and after that endeavor, we decided we needed to get the hell outta there. We pushed off on our kayaks, the 6 of us: Ben, Ethan, Georgi, Bella, Lauren, and myself. We decided to head to a lone island perched next to the main island, and the waves began to rise, with wind picking up. Once we reached the island, we noticed the waves we as big as we were, and through careful consideration, was in our best interest to head back, as we could notice the kayaks disappearing amongst the monstrous waves. With Georgi unenergetic from his previous drinking, he was in no capability to assist Ben if something were to happen. So with the wind in our backs, we pushed back into town onto the sandy beaches of safety. I needed to spend the next 4 hours with Georgi in the hospital to get my rabies shot plus antibiotics. It was a nightmare.
The next day was Sunday, the last day before we left was the wildest day. We woke up per usual later in the morning and headed to Tom Yam for some breakfast. The eight of us, the six plus Kalia and Lucy, prepared for a day for a boat trip around the islands on your typical Thai long boat.
We hopped between island to island swimming and snorkeling to see the depths. We visited all of the beautiful islands only accessible by boat and finished our trip visiting Maya Beach, an oasis between the islands, and a protected beach from tourists as swimming is not allowed. We were lucky as it has been previously closed for years with new plans to close again in order to preserve it.
Once we were on our way back we met a reporter from Italy named Mattia Sorbi, who said that while journaling in Ukraine, ran over a mine in which his driver died, and he was recovering in the hospital for 6 months. He now had a new renewal for life. He was so funny, and such a memory that we all enjoyed.
At the end of the night, we went out to party. That night went hard. We stopped at Tom Yam and got food and 2 buckets each of booze. 2 mojito buckets for me and I was sloshed. I drank throughout the night. Through the dancing and partying, I unleashed the crazy American that everyone witnessed, and that night I became a certified Manchester with the boys, and was given the invitation to return to the UK to party some more.
The party was immaculate and we partied throughout the night, with most of us ending back to hostel past day break, and I caught my ferry in the morning at 9am to head back to Rassada. While the mates headed to Krabi, I said my goodbyes to the boys and the beach in order to head to a quieter and cheaper life in Chonburi, and good company with Honey to get shown the true style of Thai life.
