ko phi phi and patong

ko phi phi is of course made up of 2 islands: phi phi don and phi phi leh.

phi phi leh is a national park and this is designed to protect it from us humans. it doesn't work. we visited phi phi leh and went swimming around it. i couldn't really enjoy the natural splendor because i kept mistaking plastic bags for jellyfish. the plastic bottles and empty cans don't really add it either. nor the sight of tour guides jumping up and down on coral for the benefit of entertaining the tour groups.

i also swam with jellyfish. they were real jellyfish, not plastic bags. there were thousands of baby jellyfish off the coast of phi phi don. i asked our captain if it was safe to swim. he said yes. i felt the jellyfish brush past my cheeks and lips and all down my body. everywhere were jellyfish. and they didn't sting me once.

after ko phi phi we went to patong on phuket. i tried to think of an apt name for patong. the one i liked was disneyland for the damned. during the day in patong you can roast your flesh under the fiery sun and that's all you can do because the waves are too rough to swim. you can haggle for over over priced tat and get hassled for taxi and massages every 10 metres. you can indulge your lust. you can see fat middle aged men walk around with prostitutes. and then night falls and hell breaks loose.