Finally – DIVING!!!! J I may sound like a scuba freak and I admit, I really, really like diving! In the water, below the surface it is a different world: tranquile, silent, mostly peaceful (in my romantic view). Yet at the same time forceful, filled with a power that you can feel in those moments where you get into the surf or at shallow depths, feeling the waves moving you gently, yet powerful.
Diving at Koh Phi Phi
Phi Phi has no real house reefs like you find them at other places. Hence boat trips for mostly two dives are usual. 30-60 minutes to the dive site, first dive (no 1 hour limit here!). Then have a break with hot drinks, fruit (pineapple) and preordered meals, before it comes to the second dive, at a different place. That’s how it works in general, probably across all tour operators.
We decided for Phi Phi Scuba, one of the larger operators here under English management, and with german diveguides, basically because they were already on the short list from our previous research on www.taucher.net, John the owner was the quickest to answer our email, and because they were the first we came across, so Georg, one of the Germans here, could successfully “hook us” J Otherwise it might have been Island Divers as well, having even more charming people approaching potential divers (sorry Georg, but Christina and Dania were even more charming (of course, that’s a very personal judgement and bears no claim to be true in general 😉 )
Anyway in terms of diving we were guided by “JoJo” Jochen. He seems to be a real luminary when it comes to know which fish is where.
Dive day 1
First day though was still a bit dodgy. After days of tropical rain- and thunderstorms the visibility still was comparable to “Neufelder See” on an average day, clouds still hanging over the divesuite and a bit of drizzling rain coming and going. Under water: we could clearly see the effect of the coral bleaching, that took place a few years ago. The sea had temperatures around 34°, as JoJo told us. No chance for corals, many of them were dead. At least some nice fish. We dived in a group of 4 (two French guys, , Lupo and me, guided by Jojo. The Frenchies apparently having gills and coming out of the water with more air than they entered it.
Dive day 2
The second day was already much better. We had a chance to get to Bida Nok and to Phi Phi Leh Westside (Turtle guarantee!). Visibility was already better, though still not comparable to Red Sea or something similar. However the fish and corals were more, and this time it was really discovering one thing after the other. JoJo gave Lupo and me much more freedom after having seen us diving on the first day. Thus he also could concentrate more on the german couple that was in our group this time.
This time we had a Leopard Shark (my first one! Yippieh! A really nice, beautiful animal!), Ghostpipe, giant trigger. Furthermore there were turtles, scorpionfish, lionfish, lot’s of snails (“Nudibranches” for the aficionados among you) and the other usual suspects. Hey, what shall I say: after this day, I was completely reconciled with Koh Phi Phi after my deep, deep, weather related frustration two days earlier. It was just cool, though JoJo would have loved to show us “his” divespots with a much better visibility. Well, maybe in two years 😉
Pum: one of the best restaurants at Koh Phi Phi
The rest of the days here consisted mostly of hanging out in some restaurants for breakfast/lunch/dinner, enjoying massage, taking some pictures, having a walk, and enjoy live in general.
Apropos food: A league for its own is “Pum”, setting a totally new standard. Well the other restaurants serve decent food as well, though they clearly cater for the international party community. And the local food on their menu appearing to be not much more than a concession to the country. But Pum was outstanding in terms of taste, colour, the way of decorating the food, service, (open) kitchen standards, well, everything! In my opinion: Best Restaurant on the Island. Folks, the Prat Nam Prik Pow here is just paradise for the tongue: medium spicy, rich in flavours, strong colour and just the right amount to leave some space for “Mango Sticky Rice” as dessert: And that is Yummie!!!! 😎
Anyway, these days had also to come to an end and it came much too early in a way. Though I am already looking forward to see my friends in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore next week, I would have loved to stay a bit longer and to feel the warm sun shining, while sitting in one of the many cafes next to the waterfront path. Now I am sitting at the airport in Phuket in the aircondition’s cold air stream and enjoy a last Singha beer and the free WiFi to update my blog. In a few hours I will be in KL.