Thailand is famous for their immaculate beaches and breathtaking islands and whatever island you end up staying on, you'd be remiss if you didn't explore the Phi Phi (pronounced "pee-pee") islands. There are a few options for exploration. If you have a group of 4 of more, I strongly urge you to rent a private boat for the day. You can join a popular large speed boat tour of four islands for 2000bht per person (around $58), or you can rent a private long-tailed boat like the one above for 2500bht total (around $73). Brains!
The Four Island tour is a bit of a misnomer because one of the islands included on the tour is actually Krabi, where we were based. The 4 Islands include stops at: Pranang Cave, on the southern tip of Krabi, where we'd later kayak and paddleboard to; Tup Island; Chicken Island; and Poda Island.
This is on Chicken Island and during low tide there's an isthmus that connects this island to the ones behind us, which is Tup Island. We decided to pass on visiting Tup Island because it's extremely small and was already crowded with tourists. That said, we beat all those tourists to Chicken Island, so it was like having our own spot.
Complete with swing.
Walking along the isthmus during high tide. There are life guards near by that yell at tourists not to stray too far into the sea because the current is strong and can snatch you away quickly. If you look closely on the right, you can see buoys. On the other side of this island, there's some solid snorkeling.
The clear waters of Poda Island where we were ablt to chill for a moment. Soft white sand, warm ocean.
The clouds crept in and it was back to the long-tail.
The other side of Poda Island. My favorite spot out of all the Thai island beaches we visited. This was like a mini-Maya Bay from the movie "The Beach," which is just a little further down. It was completely secluded and no one else came out to this side. Our guide knew we wanted to go away from all the other tourists. Incredibly soft sand. Like walking on powder. Softer than Destin, FL.
Using a rope to climb to another vantage point.
Which looked like this. The weather was still overcast, but when you're looking at a view like this, who gives a ___! This was our last stop on the tour and we got back to Krabi around 430p.
Couple days later, we rented a private speed boat to take us to Ko Phi Phi, snorkel gear included. The total was $12,000bht, which comes out to $350 (divided by 5 of us, for the entire day!). If you saw this speed boat, in the states that would easily go over $1000 per hour. I don't know that for fact, but it seemed that way. If you go to Ko Phi Phi from Krabi, you'll want a speed boat. The long-tail boats will only travel that distance if the conditions cooperate - and it's a long, choppy ride even in a speed boat, so I can't imagine doing it in a long-tail.
The famous Maya Bay. Leonardo DiCaprio's sanctuary in "The Beach." It is spectacularly beautiful, but overpacked with tourists. It's one of those spots that you feel obligated to visit to say you were there, but it's really not that enjoyable. I feel totally snobby to say that and am happy that we went, but we stayed for less than 30-minutes. The beach was absolutely packed, which this photo isn't actually indicative of. On the far right, you could hardly find a spot to lie on the beach. That said, the water was warm and green and the sand was wonderfully soft.
Still pretty damn gorgeous, though.
A festive long-tail.
After bailing on Maya Bay, we went to a lagoon area to swim. Reminded me of spring break at Lake Havasu but instead of houseboats anchored next to each other, it's long-tail and speed boats. The lagoon is deep here.
Our next stop was Monkey Beach, which actually features an incredible spot for snorkeling. You'll see a lot of the Willem Dafoe fish from 'Nemo,' some rainbow fish, puffer fishes. Interesting that most of my knowledge of sea life only comes from a Disney-Pixar movie. Also some impressive underwater rock and shell formations that make you feel like you're scuba diving when you're just snorkeling. GoPro had taken an unfortunate unrelated dive at this point, so no footage.
Dude was parched.
You could've shared with these little babies, at least!
This dude scared the hell out of me. He was legit ready to pounce and beat the shit out of me. So I obviously had to take a pic before getting my face ripped off.
Next stop: Ko Phi Phi Don. This island is the biggest of the Phi Phi Islands and there's a huge marketplace. We were came here for lunch and ended up haggling at a store and getting another GoPro for around $430 US, which is not a great deal, but when you're a video fiend and need a video-shooting apparatus, what else can you do?
Forgot the name of this restaurant, BHM or something. It was delicious as we raided the entire menu as usual - noodle soup, green curry, glass noodle, mango rice, etc.
Our last island, the name of which escapes me, had some rocks to climb around. It was overcast and drizzling so we didn't stick around for too long. The ride back was choppy as hell and left some feeling less than ideal.
If my "The Beach" memories are correct, this is the view Leo saw when he decided to swim for their secret beach (which would be Maya Bay, which is not what you're looking at). I haven't seen the movie in over a decade and didn't really care, so if that's not true, oh well. Fake news rules these days.
Jaco, pronounced "Haco" - like "taco." Now you're an expert!
As has become tradition for me, I always like to start the New Year off properly with an international trip. Since I normally don't have that many vacation days - contrary to what all my friends would believe - I try to find places that don't take long to get to. This has led to a strong amount of Central America travel, and perhaps the most popular destination outside of Mexico in Central America, is Costa Rica. We were there from Dec. 30 - Jan 5, staying in Jaco, a surf town on the Pacific side, then drive to Turrialba to go whitewater rafting on the Pacuare River, which National Geographic rated among the Top 5 places for whitewater rafting, then finish at the hot springs and volcano in La Fortuna. If this sounds like a lot of driving - you're right! And it turned out this Pythagorean Theorem map route wasn't the wisest.
First things first! My first ever First Class experience on a connection from Hartford to Miami. How many times can I type the word "first"? Sadly, I didn't even get a Bloody Mary and just slept the whole flight. #loser
It was early, y'all.
Our Airbnb in Jaco with our rental car, which is a hell of a machine! If you do an airbnb in Jaco, I strongly recommend going with a property that belongs to Kattia Jimenez. She owns several rental properties in the area is extremely helpful with any tips and suggestions for your trip.
Big fan of the graffiti art in Jaco. These surfer girl impressions were all over the place. Jaco is really about one thing. Not the skateboarding.
Sunset at Jaco.
Dinner at Wahoos. Not to be confused with Socal's fish taco joint. Although I think I ordered fish tacos. Solid bar/grill spot that also had karaoke. We did not bless the locals with any Backstreet Boys renditions. Needless to say, they were disappointed.
Grilled avocado with vinaigrette.
The local beer. Imperial Lights are far better than Imperials, which has the taste equivalency of getting punched in the stomach. However, you have to drink the local beer when traveling - otherwise you're just an ugly American!
Breakfast at Taco Bar, which is super cheap (like $3), but not that good. The banana-mango-pineapple smoothie on the other hand was massive and delicious. This place is ideal for a post-surf morning breakfast. I find I love eating rice and beans in Central American countries, such more flavor than Hormel's canned beans I normally shove down my throat.
You might think this is a cool statue, but this poor surfer woman was actually frozen alive like Han Solo in "Empire Strikes Back." #SpoilerAlert!
For an intermediate (read: crappy) longboarder who likes waves from 4-6 feet, Jaco was perfect. There were a lot of spots for beginners, but what sets Jaco apart from other surf destinations I've been to is the ease and frequency of waves. Unlike many places, you don't have to spend much effort paddling past the break to get to the waves. It's a very easy paddle out, then depending on the tide (high tide was sunrise and sunset our entire time there), there were plenty of long rolling waves to catch. Instead of exerting all your joules paddling, you can actually spend the whole time surfing.
Did I mention the water was warm, too? Cuz it actually got warm with the rash guard. Pristine.
Pete crushing waves like he does the ladies!
Giving my girlfriend a quick tutorial on how to surf. This is described in ye' olden days as "the blind leading the blind."
Like a gentleman, I'm helping her hold the 7'10 board.
Success! Who needs to stand?
I do! These waves weren't even during high or low tide. You have to be more patient, but a few sets would still consistently trickle in.
One of our sunset sessions were solid. Another, not as much. The waves tended to crash far quicker at sunset for whatever reason, and Pete (behind me) and I were victims more than a couple times.
Playa Herradura. 5 minutes north of Jaco. Not worth a visit. This makes it look better than it is.
Manuel Antonio Beach. It's considered a tourism destination near Jaco but I still think it's worth going. It's around an hour south of Jaco, you have to pay to get in - I forget what admission is but there's a lot of bartering for parking and skipping lines. Just go, you bum! What else are you going to do?
Outbreak Monkey says hello from Manuel Antonio National Park! You now have Motaba! I actually Googled "Outbreak movie disease" to keep that joke accurate. Who says journalism is dead?! This monkey kept trying to grab my GoPro which was attached to a monopod. Ahem - monopod, not a selfie stick. Totally different!
In a less aggressive state.
Sloth butt!
Smiles! Joy! G'times! #Weeee
Hey Zac Brown, toes in the sand!
Shrimp pasta at Lemon Zest, a very gringo restaurant option in Jaco, but good enough. Very hearty. Like every restaurant in Central America, the service runs on Island Time (even though CR is not an island), which means "I'll bring you your food whenever I'm done finishing the Tico Times crossword puzzle of the day." I also think our waiter was tweaking out on Four Loko and cocaine, but that's another story.
New Years Eve revelers at midnight in the streets of Jaco. A lot of residents from San Jose (the capital of CR) drive down to Jaco to celebrate the new year. It's just a 2-hour drive. Getting service on Jan 1 and 2 takes forever, which is really saying something in Costa Rica.
Forget about the epic Asian lantern festivals to celebrate the lunar new year, we've got a CR version! Several locals were lighting up lanterns and sending them off their way. Evidently there's an art to it because I saw a lot of struggling. The fireworks behind us were a free for all. I don't know if there were any official fireworks being set off, it just seemed like we were surrounded by explosions set off by every 5-year-old in a 100-foot radius. Many locals drove onto the sand and just set up shop with picnics, drinks, etc. The celebration epitomized Costa Rica's attitude of Pura Vida.
The locals can't get enough of Costa Rican Pete.
Hello 2016.
And scene.
Go Pro video.
Next: Exploring one of National Geographic's top 5 places to whitewater raft in the world.
