Phi Phi - we're still thinking of a witty title

Ferrying over to Ko Phi Phi, we soaked up some decent sun.  The five islands of the Phi Phi group are covered with jungle right to the water's edge.  Longtail boats (like those pictured above) zoom through the tranquil waters, delivering their touristy load to secluded bays and beaches.  

As we docked, a swathe of Thai flags and the yellow flags of the King fluttered in the island breeze.  All through Thailand you can see these flags on roadsides, on buildings, and on shops.  In fact there's not many spots where you can't see a flag!

We took a longtail out for a peek at the local scenery.  The dude navigating us through the turquoise waters looked a hardy chap, and with his bloodshot eyes and half-drugged mannerisms, we were sure to eye up the location of the nearest life jackets.  

Turns out the dude was a genius at reading the waves, and manoeuvring through in the most comfortable way possible ... even in his half-dazed state!  We stopped off at a bay for some of the others on the boat to jump off the cliffs into the ocean below.  Some went as high as 18m, which was brave.  At Viking Cave we saw some bamboo scaffolding that locals use to access the birds nests in the cave.  Little swifts make their nest from saliva, which are prized by Chinese for their healing properties and fetch heaps of money.  No thanks!

Little inlets and bays tempt a refreshing swim or snorkel.  Below is Piley Bay.

Lots of us may recognise Maya Bay in the photos below ... especially if you've seen the movie The Beach.  We arrived late afternoon, and saw the colours in the sky fade.  

One of the trippiest things about the beach of The Beach is how soft and fine the sand is.  Icing sugar is our best comparison.  Super for those of us who'd rather not have the gritty stuff between our toes or in our crevices!  It was delish.

In fact the sand was so fine, it was almost impossible to tell where the water finished and the sand began.  See if you can make out the line in the photo below.

We went for a snorkel in the bay, and people on our boat reckoned they saw reef sharks.  We were kinda glad we found that out after we were safely wrapped up in our towels on the boat.

Back on the main Phi Phi island we watched the fire shows a few times.  Phi Phi is a great hangout if you're into partying all night, or if you're 17.  We felt a smidge old as we saw hordes of young bikini clad kids wandering around with actual half-sized buckets filled with DIY cocktails.  Glad we weren't those guys the next morning.

Afternoons were spent lying in the sun (and for the first time I can recall, needing to escape from the heat), and hunting for ice creams and lime shakes.  The guy below has an ingenious chilled work surface where he pours ingredients, mixes them around, they freeze, get scooped up, and voila, it's ice cream in a tub!  Was pretty yum!

If you head to Phi Phi, be sure to grab a bottle of water and head up the 106 thousandish steps to the viewpoint.  The colour of the water is mesmerising, and the comings and goings of the longtail boats is fun to watch.

After a bunch of sun-filled days, it was time to explore new spots.  We ferried to Krabi, checked out the night markets there, and ate yummo pizza.  We're constantly saying to each other how grateful we are for this adventure, and how amazing our planet is.  Thanks for journeying with us.  Thanks for reading our blatherings and yarns.  There's a pic at the end of this post which is a cool concept to kick off 2015 with.  Hope it sinks in deep x