Phi-Phi and Phuket, Thailand

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The ferry from Phuket, had only one engine working, so the two hour trip lasted four hours. During that time, however, we got acquainted with a delightful family from Bombay/Mumbai and spent much of the next three days in their company. They taught us a great deal about the rapid changes happening on the subcontinent. We hope to see them in India one day.
The pace of life shifts to lazy-island gear on Koh Phi-Phi (pronounced co-pee-pee followed by inevitable giggles). There are no cars here, only boats. Shallow water at low tide keeps the ferry at a distance from shore. So in a downpour, we climbed into a local long boat. When we got near shore, we took off our shoes, jumped into knee high surf, walked to a waiting truck and drove the final hundred yards up to the hotel. Staff greeted us with towels and a tasty fruit drink. It was made the most memorable arrival to any hotel yet on record. We spent three days on Phi-Phi boating, snorkeling, swimming and otherwise staying cool in the heat. We woke one day at sunrise in order to take a boat to Maya Bay. Our able captain had to surf the long boat into Maya beach and we had the place to ourselves. Leonardo DiCaprio filmed the movie "Island" in this idyllic and well-named setting.
Each evening we climbed to the top of the island to witness the sunset. It was here that the staff, guests and local sea gypsies spent two nights after the tsunami in December 2004. The isthmus across Phi-Phi was submerged and the main harbor destroyed, but now life has returned to normal and people don't talk about it much. After three nights in our beach side bungalow, we left for Kenya, rested and revitalized.

Traveler's Note: If you must go to Phuket Island, don't stay long and definitely don't stay on Patong Beach. While it's one of the few safe swimming beaches, leaving the hotel is like facing a gauntlet of touts. "Hello. You want a (fill in the blank) tuk-tuk? taxi? tailored suit? massage? t-shirt? just looking in my shop?" At night, Patong becomes a seedy cross between Bourbon Street and spring break on a Florida beach. We did finally find a travel agent here who could issue Eurail passes for that leg of our trip, so it wasn't a total loss.