Koh Phi-Phi Islands - Thailand

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In the southeast of Phuket, in the Port of Phuket, is the landing stage for ships to Krabi, 48 km, and to the Phi-Phi Island, 40 km. We used a hydrofoil, that drove with approximately 44 mls/hr over the rather rough sea. It is miserably cold in the closed cabin through the refrigeration and we are glad to get out at a wobbly landing place on Phi Phi Don Island. 

The island is very narrowly, we walk in a few mintutes on the other side of the island and find a marvelously white beach. But everywhere waste lies around, abandoned grill places with cans and meal-rests illustrate us that also dream-beaches are flawless only in the dreams. Far and wide we find original landscape, and a very simple restaurant, in which we eat a modest meal. 

But the water is clear and quite near we find a a coral-reef, that reveals us an underwater-dream-world with the snorkel. For hours we hover in the warm water and look at corals and coral-fishes, that exist in all colors and forms.

A pilot-fish, that affiliates a shark otherwise and accompanies him constantly, donates bewilderment. On long routes, he sucks himselfself at the shark solidly and is pulled by him. And exactly this tries the pilot-fish with me. He is not to be shaken off at all and confuses me so very much, that a pause and leave the water. 

But with the next attempt, I come abviously to near to a coral-rock, that has reserved a small perch for itself, too near obviously. Fearlessly he attacks me and pecks my leg again and again at. When I leave the water again, a little bit of blood of the leg streams out. Consequently, the small perch has attacked me successfully. But the incident was amusing rather than dangerous. 

With an as glass-ground-ship rebuilt, old freighter, we drive in direction of the sister-island Ko Phi Phi Le through the completely smooth sea. We pass rock-islands, that stick out steep and threatening from the sea. It looks as if we are near the islands of Phang-Nga, where one of the Bond films was produced. 

The island of Phi Phi Le is protected by splendid reefs. We stop at the Viking-cave. Mysterious old drawings of ships decorate the walls close to the entrance. Here, also a colony of Salangane nests, whose nests are used for the famous, particularly from Chinese valued Schwalbennestersuppe. 

The courageous Thai collectors, who guard the cave during the whole year, so that nobody other snatches away them this gainful source of income, climbs over a bamboo-framework barefoot in order to harvest the nests in cheating height with a trident-y fork.
 
Honkong is the biggest buyer with altogether 100 tons. An immaculately white nest can bring in up to 900 USD.