the three amigos understood why immediately.
sunset on koh phi phi.
the small island was surrounded by lush green forests that crawled up into the center where a short hill stood overlooking the town. the town itself, one of skinny sand covered roads that allowed only pedestrians and bicyclists, was big enough to cover on foot in ten minutes. with barely any enclosed buildings, the town of phi phi looked and felt more like an open air market than an actual city. grocery stores resembled the dioramas you made in elementary school - a ceiling and three walls with the forth torn away so one can stare in and observe it all. the boutiques and scuba shops were concrete walls with tarped ceilings. and the restaurants never closed - because none of them had doors. zach and bryn & india walked through the curving alleys for ten minutes before they found a cheap guest room with big beds for 200 baht a night, dropped their bags, and headed off to find lunch.
with the recommendation of their friends liana & tristan in mind, the three oregon friends wandered until they found breakers bar, a wood paneled, picnic bench filled, beers-on-tap restaurant that was opened by two portland boys. covering the walls were oregon license plates, pictures of autzen stadium, and plenty of university of oregon memorabilia. after almost six months of traveling, india & bryn felt like they had arrived home. pineapple chicken and pints were consumed and, feeling very northwest and very full, the three walked down to the beach.
only zach and bryn are allowed to park in breakers.
as the sun set pink over the water, the three waded out into the bay. the ocean was so still, so protected from wind because of the curving mountains, that the group felt like they were swimming in a giant jacuzzi. when the night had finally set in, bryn, india & zach dressed and positioned themselves on low leaning chairs at the front of a bar. stomachs still weak from the previous days food poisoning, india and bryn opted to share a sweet smelling hookah while zach sipped bright girly drinks. india was taught to poi by a dreaded thai boy, and zach got drunk and lost in a game of musical chairs.
poi is the new juggling.
early the next day, the three joined a crew of fellow tourists for a boat tour of the island. the three made friends with an older couple from toronto who admired india's trailblazers jersey and the group sucked on pineapple and watermelon in a longtail piloted by a man who spoke no english whatsoever. every thirty minutes, the boat would stop, the driver would spread his arms wide over the water, and the five adventurers would don flippers and masks and jump into the water. they swam over shallow coral reefs, dodged cloudy jellyfish, and searched endlessly for a turtle. exhausted after three snorkel stops, their driver found an empty stretch of beach, and handed out styrofoam bowls packed with luke warm fried rice. india sunbathed, zach and bryn played cards. they played with monkeys. at the end of the day, their driver pulled them into maya bay, a part of the island hidden from the oceans view where leonardo dicaprio filmed 'the beach'. the three watched their driver catch a baby shark with his bare hands and swam and swam and swam. back to the dock by six pm, sunburned and sleepy, the group took turns showering before returning to breakers bar for another taste of home.
sunburned and happy.
the walk to maya bay.
snorkeling superstars.
maya bay - there's leo! look! right there!
that night, the three slept on top of the sheets with the fans on their faces. the next morning, they returned to the pier, bought bracelets and shared dragonfruits and boarded a boat bound for the mainland.
true luvz xxx.
