Crazy Koh Phi Phi, March 12-13

We hopped on a ferry from Phuket and 1.5 hours later we arrived in the crazy, but beautiful, Koh Phi Phi. Koh Phi Phi really is crazy and beautiful. It has gorgeous crystal blue green water and mountainous cliff backdrops which you only see in the movies. It is hard to believe that you actually are somewhere that beautiful.

enjoying some Chang on the ferry to Phi Phi

Crazy, well because it is the famous Koh Phi Phi; party central for backpackers, holiday makers, students on a gap year, and all the above. Anything goes in Phi Phi. Booze, Drugs, drunken tattoos, bars, and clubs. It is nuts. Las Vegas has nothing on Phi Phi for the shear amount of crazy you can see on an island probably only a mile long!

view from our guest house... not too shabby for $20/night

Our first and only full night in Phi Phi, we wanted to make the best of it. Plus, its sooo loud and the clubs don’t close until 3am or so…. If you can’t beat them, join them! There were a ton of fire shows along the beach, so we stayed and watched that for a bit. Young Thai boys and teenagers were dancing and playing with fire, throwing it around for the show. As being the super professionals that they were, sometimes missing and the sticks landing in the crowd. Definitely, hilarious, but as everyone is drunk, no one seems to mind. I was a little shocked that there also seemed to be Thai boys as young as 8 or 10 taking part in the shows!

fire show !

Then, the fire games begin! Large ropes are lit on fire and the tourists are encouraged to jump rope (single and double dutch), or play limbo, all for a free watered down shot of something you hope is alcohol. Well, that was super entertaining and hilarious! The next day all you see is A TON of people leaving the clinics with bandages on their heads, arms, and legs from getting burns, but not realizing it until the next day.  Classic.

fire show/ party on the beach !

After the fire show, we heard that at The Reggae Bar, people fought for a free bucket of booze. It seems anyone will do anything for free booze in Phi Phi. So, OF COURSE, our next mission was to find Reggae Bar. We walked in and only Thai Boxing was going on, but we figured we would still watch. So glad we stayed for a few drinks, because the rumors were true! Men and woman were signing up to do 3 rounds of Thai Boxing for a free bucket! (Buckets are THE thing to drink in Thailand. It’s a large bucket of ice, a bottle of booze, soda of your choice, and normally Red Bull as well… be warned Red Bull in Thailand is 6x more potent than anywhere else in the world!). Well, this was a GREAT experience. If the two fighting were friends, to be honest it was boring, but if they didn’t know each other, it was GREAT!!!!! Two men seriously attempt to beat the crap out of each other. Kicking and punching, for 3 rounds! You didn’t know who you would fight, so sometimes there was a huge buff dude versus a little one. Or, a huge buff chick versus a little girl. I saw some giant woman give a smaller girl a bloody nose. All for a free bucket!

thai boxing for booze... nothing like a swig of beer between rounds.

the famous bucket o booze

After a few hours of that, we headed back to the beach where the parties were everywhere, mushed into one. Dancing on the beach, fires still going, and just general debauchery. Koh Phi Phi is an island I think everyone must visit sometime in their life under the age of 30 (or for those 30 year olds at heart). Everyone is young, super nice, and wanting to just have a GREAT time. We were not even in Phi Phi for 36 hours and made friends. It was great.

Due to the lack of time in Phi Phi, even though I had a somewhat late-ish night (1 am is early for Phi Phi, but not for me!), I woke up early (8 am is very early in Phi Phi) to sit on the beach. It was completely transformed from the night before. No one was around, it was cool out, and the scenic view was just perfect. That is why I loved Phi Phi, it was out of control fun, but if you got up early enough you had the place to yourself. I absolutely loved it. For me, one crazy night and two days was enough, but I can imagine if I were 21 again, I would want to stay longer. Like I said, anyone under 30 MUST get to Phi Phi… Vegas has nothing on Phi Phi.