This past Thursday was a Buddhist holiday, so we got a long weekend off from school. Most of the international students took this opportunity to head to the Southern part of Thailand. A few friends and I opted for the province of Krabi and the island of Ko Phi Phi, which is supposed to be one of the most beautiful beaches here.
It was definitely a nice place, but it was also very touristy. We were surprised at how few Thai people there were and how many foreigners. There were particularly a lot of Swedes there for some reason, which we found interesting. We sometimes referred to the area as "Little Stockholm." Overall, though, it was nice to be able to relax and look at some scenery. It also forced me out of my analytical post-Cambodia state, which was quite a relief.
The bus ride was 12 hours, overnight. We took a tourist bus back, which was very awkward since we're used to riding Thai buses. The rest stops were definitely set-ups with food at much higher prices than normal, and we felt weird being the only people on the bus that actually knew that. I'm definitely avoiding big tourist locations from now on.
Also, Ko Phi Phi is one of the islands that has recovered most from the tsunami. We saw some of the before/after pictures, and the recovery looked incredible. But I think that other regions in Southern Thailand (with the exception of Phuket, the main tourist beach in Thailand) have had more trouble reviving their tourism industries.
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