2nd of April, 2024.
Hitchhiking in Thailand: Maya Bay
I am really hoping that only a few people have joined the tour. I am the first one to arrive. One of the boat members gives us a chicken sandwich. That’s our snack for the trip.
I think we are about twelve in total. It could be up to 20, so in anyhow it’s OK.
The journey to Maya Bay takes around 30 minutes. Our first stop is at Viking Cave, just a quick stop outside for photos, we don’t get in. Then, Pi Leh Bay, which is very beautiful and peaceful, at least when we come there is only one other boat. We stay here, in the boat, for a few minutes. Next is Maya Bay. There is not a queue per se, as I saw from the Ferry when I came to Phi Phi Islands (and it was a huge queue back then, sometime around 11 a.m.), but a big group of people is already waiting for them to open, as we also do. But the wait is short, and in about 5 minutes we can already walk in. We have to be back to the boat in one hour. Nobody is allowed to stay more than 60 minutes at Maya Bay; and the whole amount of people at once cannot exceed 300.
I can’t help myself but to feel a bit as in The Beach, with Leonardo di Caprio, as I walk pass through some trees, knowing where I am about to end up. There is a lot of infrastructure on the way though, much more than I expected.
Yes, the place is truly beautiful! But for me, is much more than “just the place”, it is all the history of it. How this bit of paradise was almost unknown before the 2000’s; then it almost died when, human beings, being human beings, almost annihilated all the corals of the beach, and over flooded the location with garbage; it was closed for years, on an attempt of bringing life back to it; and now it has all these strict rules about it. So, for me, when I walk onto the beach, and feel the sand under my feet, it is inevitable to feel a bit as in a fairy tale, looking at all this beauty and wondering at the same time if this is really a unique place on Earth. Is it? Part of me believes that there are some other hidden paradises out there; this one was just which we found and it became popular, famous.
It is also inevitable to think about how much they lie in the movie. Laugh. I know, the movie is just a movie and not a documentary about Maya Bay but it is so fake. Not only the digital effects they added to the scenes, but geographically speaking, almost nothing in the movie makes sense or matches with reality. It is actually funny how inconsistent the whole thing is.
I walk across the beach. I almost can’t take my eyes out of it. But I have to, in order to take some photos. I ask two or three people to take photos of me as well. They are OK, but nothing great. I keep walking, and reach the far end of the beach. There is a tiny portion of sand farther away, but you cannot go there. There are many spots under the rocks which offer some shade. For the whole hour I spend here, I am astonished. But it seems that not everybody feels the same. Soon enough, people seem to “lose interest”, and behave “normally”. I don’t know how to explain but that’s just what I see and feel about most of them. Time passes so fast and soon enough we already must go back. I am happy I came. I am glad to have the opportunity to be here.
You will have enough opportunities to have a photo without anyone on it. That’s a plus of not having more than 300 people at a time. Well, at least early morning the rule was pretty much being followed. I honestly cannot speak for the most crowded hours. In any case, even if they are strict about that, you still will need to wait under the sun, in a very crowded pier, for about one hour, if you come after 10 a.m.
Our next stop is outside Maya Bay, as at its “gates”, by the sea. We can see the bay at a distance. This will be our snorkelling place. The water is so clear that you can actually see the fishes from the boat. There is not a huge variety of fishes but a lot of them. I had told myself that I would try, even without my glasses, because you can use a life-jacket. Actually, many of the people who can swim, also wear it. But first things first, and I ask the guy who is driving the boat to take a few photographs of me sitting in the far end of the tail boat. After that, I go into the water.
I am still learning how to swim, so it is not very easy for me to manage even with the life jacket. After only a few weeks trying in the 1.5 metres deep swimming pool of my apartment, this is the first time I am where I cannot reach the bottom. At first, I manage, and I see some gorgeous fishes really up to my nose. But the life-jacket being too big for me, makes me loose balance, and I keep rotating, so soon enough I panic (laugh) and all is lost. I finally manage to come back to the boat, and that is the end of my snorkelling adventure.
Our last stop is at Monkey Beach. Not so much worth it, in my opinion. We are back to Phi Phi Islands sometime after 10 a.m.
For these four hours tour (plus water and sandwich) I pay 600 THB. The tour company I used is called Phi Phi Travel and Tours, and this particular tour is called Good Morning Phi Phi. But there are hundreds of options in the island, so you just have to be patient and find what suits you better.
I go back to the hostel. I still have some time before the check-out time. I take a shower and get ready. My ferry to Koh Lanta departs at 11.30 a.m.
P.S.: One very strange thing about Ton Sai Pier is, alongside the pier there are not rubbish bins at all! Not one. I can see them only half way to the pier, when you are living to the boats or coming back form them. But if you are at the pier, eating and drinking from the dozens of restaurants there, you will have to carry your rubbish with you for a while. What a rubbish!
10 Years Around the World 