Koh Phi Phi: Paradise or Party Hangover? Exploring Thailand’s Famous Island!
Welcome to Koh Phi Phi, an island in Thailand! This is my first full day on the island, and it’s late in the afternoon. The reason for that is I’m feeling a little bit delicate after partying a bit too hard last night. Just to give you a quick view of where I am, I’m actually in the ocean. The reason I’ve come out this far is because the music coming from over there is still loud enough, but look at that—the water is clear-ish, it’s warm, and it’s beautiful. So, Koh Phi Phi is only about 28 square kilometers. There is a population of about 2,500 people that permanently live here, with tourism being the main thing they do. Obviously,
when you get all these people coming over, it gets a little bit busier, as I found out last night. Now, if you’re following me, you would have seen in my last video the hostel I turned up in. Most hostels I stay in, I pay on Booking.com for one night or whatever app I’m using, and then I’ll pay directly to the hostel for staying a bit longer. Mainly because it’s only fair that the hostel gets no commission off me. But it was full. So,
I stayed one night and had to move. I’m actually staying in a hostel just down there. It’s about £5 a night and not the best. I had to check out at 11:00 from the other one and, while staying in this one, I had a little lie down on the bed. I took this quick video on
my phone of what it’s like, and yeah, this is me. But I tried to book another night, and they said, “We’re full tomorrow.” So, I’ve had to find somewhere else to go over there. Three nights, three different hostels on one island. Oh well. So, what have I got planned for this video? I’m going to try and make it as quick as possible so I can sit down, relax, and recover. I’m not going out tonight; I’m going to have a night in. But I’m going to try and take you through the town—or the center
of the island—just to give you a quick sort of feel for the place. Then there is a viewpoint, which I do believe is up that way, and that gives you the view of the whole island. Now, I have been to Koh Phi Phi before. I was here way back in February,
and I did do a video for this place. But my camera at the time wasn’t the best, and it wasn’t the best video. I was still learning, still exploring what I do with YouTube. So, this one’s going to be so much better and so much clearer. 4K, HD, and all that rubbish. So yeah, I’m going to head back out of this water, which is a shame because I’m actually enjoying it—a little splish-splash—and then head up towards the beach. But you can just see, it’s so busy. What I’m planning to do tonight is have an early night and then tomorrow morning,
because I’ve been to Koh Phi Phi a few times, I’ve never actually seen it when it’s quiet. So, I’m tempted to go tomorrow morning and just see what it’s like with no people around. But that’s tomorrow. This is today. This is me trying to focus. Let’s go. The biggest problem with filming around here is the amount of music you get from all these places around. You’ve got everything from jewelry shops to cannabis bars, etc. Now, Koh Phi Phi did have a bit of tourism on the island, but in the year 2000, a film came out called The Beach with Leonardo DiCaprio. That kicked it off big time.
I’ve just tried to find somewhere that had no music, and this is the only place. Oh, and I’ve got Santa Claus behind me. The Beach was a massive film, and it was filmed on an island not too far away—just a smaller island—and that drove tourism to Koh Phi Phi. But over-tourism sort of damaged the island. It was closed for a few years and just recently reopened in 2022 so people could go down and see the beach where Leonardo DiCaprio was, if you can remember the film from that far back.
So, I’m going to have a walk up to find the way to the peak to see the view of this place. Even though I’ve been there before, I haven’t got a clue. One thing you find about this island is people are coming and going all the time. There are ferries coming at all hours of the day, so you just see people walking around with backpacks, looking lost, a bit like what I did when I first arrived. There is every single nationality here, every single age group—families, backpackers—it’s just a total mix of people. Right, I’m on the way. I’m hoping this is the right way. It’s just a busy, busy place. Obviously, there will be loads of people on the various beaches around the
island. A lot of them are still shopping, or worse, starting drinking early. So, where was I last night? Where wasn’t I? On the main street. I’ll probably take you down there later. There is a woman I saw the last time I was here who sells buckets. Basically, you get a big bucket, she fills it full of alcohol for 150 baht (£3.50). I had a bucket of mojitos. Very good. So, this is the way to the viewpoint, and there should be a sign coming up here somewhere. But yeah, after that initial bucket, which did send me a little bit tipsy, I went to various bars. I think I finished about half past three in the morning. When I
got back to my room, I found I was the first one back. The rest of them were still drinking away. Oh, this is a lot quieter than everywhere else. Right, this should be… there you go. Viewpoint. There’s loads of music at the front as I start climbing the stairs. So, this is… well, I’ll show you how far I’ve gone. It’s not that far.
This could be my fitness for the day, getting rid of any alcohol that’s in my system. Wow. I’m still following the signs. It’s 50 baht (£1.15) to see the view. Good job I’ve got some money. I think last night taught me a lesson to always take some cash with me. I can already see the stops. That’s stop one. But already, the view is starting to look nice. Can’t see any sea yet, but hey, keep climbing, keep climbing.
Right, this is viewpoint number one. Money paid. Hi, how are you? Are you tired? Thank you. Oh, change, that’s handy. That’s how tight I am—I forgot my change. And the view from viewpoint number one is there. Wow, that’s stunning. The last time I was here in February, all those apartments were just being built. You can see the other side of the sea. This is like the straight,
thin point of the island. You’ll see it as I go further up. I’m glad for this little rest now. All the way around here, there’s fruit: apples, bananas, and strawberries—or at least, I think they’re strawberries—because I haven’t got a clue what they are. On that board up there is what life was like on the island before the tsunami hit. This happened in 2004, on Boxing Day, 20 years ago last week, and it devastated a lot of the islands, especially this one. I’ll probably show you where it hit, but it’s not a pretty sight.
There’s a tsunami memorial garden further down on the mainland, and I’ll take you there later on. Even now, you can see the other side. Look at that. See? Very slim in the middle. Right, viewpoint number two, which is a five-minute walk… hopefully. People are still living up here, building. Already, I can feel it’s a lot cooler, even though I’m sweating. If there’s a car that can come up here, why can’t I get in the back of it? So, one thing I noticed last night and this morning while swapping hostels is there’s a very distinct smell of weed wherever you go. There are so many
weed shops. It’s one thing I’ve never done. I’ve had loads of people over the last couple of years while traveling saying, “Try it, you might like it.” No. I’m taking another little rest. I’m swearing… and this isn’t even a viewpoint! But it’s beautiful. Look at the color of the sea. Wow. All right, I’ve caught my breath. Let’s go to viewpoint two. Now, it’s been more than five minutes. They lied!
It’s not five minutes. It felt a little bit longer. But this is the viewpoint—the top view. Obviously, there’ll be loads of people taking photographs. And there it is. So, this is the path I walked up, all the way up there. The stairs are all carved into the rock. Come on, this is it. Beautiful. Now, something in me says I should have waited until tomorrow once
I’d gotten over my alcohol intake, because that was hard. I was just trying to work out… when was the last time I did anything physical? That was in Klang, when I did the hike in Malaysia, and that was about a month and a half ago. I need to start doing some fitness. All the way around here, there’s a garden down there. Coffee… we like coffee. Oysters… we like pearls. It’s time for me to take my Instagram pictures. I’ve been up here for about 10-15 minutes, just chilling. That sea breeze is starting to come
down now. In the background, down there, you can hear the music coming through. So, you can imagine how loud it is on the beach. There are still people coming up, still taking their photographs, as I did. But it is a beautiful view. Now, going down will be a lot easier than coming up. That view on that side is just keeping me going. I’m coming down, and I think everybody else is doing the same. That
viewpoint at sunset would probably be amazing, but I’d be worried about the lights coming down, not being able to see, falling over, and ending up in the hospital. Plus, I need to go to bed. So, I’ve come back down. Thank God. There’s still a bit of a steep climb coming down, but this is the main high street. Obviously, there’s music in the background. But
when I was talking about the lady with the bucket, that’s her in there. Now, I’ve just passed all the bars. I couldn’t film anything else because of the fact there was music going. It’s coming up to half-past five, so this is the start of the early evening when people start getting their food in. I’ve just gotten away from that place because it was a little bit too loud, a little bit too crazy. So, I thought I’d come down here last, which is the memorial garden for the tsunami of 2004. As you walk down, this is the quiet end of town. Just there is the tsunami place where everyone’s meant to be if it hits. I mean, it doesn’t look like much, but I suppose it
saves people’s lives. The garden is just down here. This is it. I think so many people walk past this without even realizing. It looks like they’re doing a bit of refurbishment on it, cleaning up. This garden is dedicated to all those who lost their lives in the tsunami that struck Koh Phi Phi on December 26th, 2004. There are all the names. As I said, so many people walk by and won’t have a clue. So, that was Koh Phi Phi. That was a long day for me, but you know,
life goes on. I won’t be doing that again until at least… oh, New Year’s Eve. I am here for another day and then back off to Koh Lanta to spend New Year over there. If you’ve enjoyed this little journey around Koh Phi Phi—the highs, the lows, and my hangover—press that like button. If you want to see more, I think I’m going to be going out tomorrow
morning and just checking out this island so early, so early. Then all you’ve got to do is press that subscribe button. But until next time, I’m going back to my hostel. Bye-bye for now.
2025-01-07 23:49
