Ko Phi Phi & Ko Lipe, Thailand – Maybe it was the heat or just the length of time we had been traveling, or most likely a little bit of both, but we hit a serious wall in Bangkok and were really looking forward to the Islands for some much needed R&R.
The Thai islands had reached an almost mystical status in my mind, and I had come to expect near perfection from the tropical beaches that awaited.
It was just a matter of picking which one. We interviewed numerous other travelers who had been to the islands and found it nearly impossible to pick between them all; but we finally settled on Ko Phi Phi.
I came to Ko Phi Phi expecting paradise. And what I saw when we arrived at four in the afternoon after another overnight train, two hour bus trip and three hours on a ferry, was anything but. It was pouring, the beach was junked up with boats, the town was crowded and dirty, the streets were flooded with an inch of water and in some parts you cold smell the distinct odor of sewage.