Two dream islands, as different as could be

We took the bus to Ko Phayam. It was the most luxurious bus ride I have ever experienced. The seats had a massage function and could be reclined into a bed-like position. We were provided with snacks and blankets. The tour started in the evening in Bangkok and lasted until the next morning. In Ranong, we finally took the ferry at 9 am to Ko Phayam, a small island recommended by Arne.

It quickly became clear that there were hardly any other tourists on the island besides us. This was because it was the end of the low season and the island attracted few tourists. So we didn't meet many people. The beaches were completely empty and most restaurants and bars were closed, locked or abandoned.
In the first few days, it was really hard for me to enjoy the emptiness of the island. I had always dreamed of having Thai beaches all to myself. But somehow I couldn't enjoy it. I felt a heavy sense of loneliness, of being "stranded on an island", of "help, what am I doing here" and of being unmotivated.

Nevertheless, we did nice things, tried to leave our unsatisfied thoughts behind and filled our time on the island with beautiful activities. I rode a scooter for the first time and it worked great. We kept it until our departure and it was a lot of fun to ride.
In the mornings, we always had breakfast at the same cafe because it was by far the best one we had after our farewell breakfast with our friends in Bremen.
During the day, we took long walks on the beach, explored all the paths, went swimming, snorkeling, had delicious dinners, and made ourselves comfortable in the bungalow with beer and my music box.
The island became more beautiful and interesting for us day by day, so we ended up postponing our departure for a few days.
Ko Phayam is a beautiful island whose beauty I only learned to appreciate after a while.

Finally, we took the speedboat back to the mainland, to Ranong. From there, we took a bus to the southern Phuket. Unfortunately, when we arrived there, the last ferry to Ko Phi Phi had already left, so we had to stay there for a night.

So we did some shopping in the city, ate the most disgusting tofu in the world at a vegetarian food stand on the street, and went to bed early.
The next day, we were picked up by a taxi at the hostel and took a large ferry to the 'The Beach' island, Ko Phi Phi.

When we arrived, we couldn't believe our eyes. The color of the water and the beach just couldn't be real. Even the water in the harbor was turquoise blue and clear, so you could see the bottom.
We walked with our backpacks to the other side of the island, where we checked into our hostel, the cheap and famous party hostel on the island.
In hindsight, I really don't know what we were thinking when we chose this accommodation. :D
The hostel was right on the beach. Unfortunately, it was the party beach that turned into a Thai Ballermann every evening. We had booked two nights. So for two days, we partied at the Ballermann in the evenings. We didn't have much choice because the terrible house mixes of various chart songs were so loud in the dorm that the walls vibrated.
One day, we rented a kayak and explored the bays and beaches with it. I had somehow forgotten how exhausting kayaking is.
On another day, we visited a viewpoint and walked through the small shopping alley.
Then, on yet another day, we went on a snorkeling tour with a Russian couple. That was incredibly awesome. For four hours, our boatman took us to various snorkeling spots where we jumped into the water and explored the underwater world as long as we wanted.
At one of those places, there were lots of monkeys running around on the beach, which our guide lured into the water with cookies. They swam very close to us and then, cheeky as they were, jumped onto our boat. I was a little scared :D
The snorkeling tour was one of my personal highlights. It was incredibly beautiful to explore the fish, each of which differed in size and color from the others, and such amazing and different-looking plankton and shells in all sorts of colors and variations.


After the two nights, we left the hostel and met Ofir, a kind-hearted Israeli, in the new hostel. We spent a great day at the beach with him and Steve, a Canadian who joined us. Ofir brought his guitar, which he had bought in India, and we swam, drank beer, and had great conversations.
The following days were similar. Steve was no longer with us, but Ofir, Merle, and I formed a trio and did everything together.
We slept in late in the mornings because we stayed up late in the evenings, then we had a delicious breakfast, found a nice beach and enjoyed paradise until we went out for dinner in the evening and then watched the movie program of the Bandana Bar with a beer. The rooftop bar showed a movie on big screens every day at 7 pm. After that, the party started, and we usually went to another bar where we listened to the more or less good but mood-lifting live band.
We really enjoyed our time in Ko Phi Phi and it was hard for us to leave.
But saying goodbye to Ofir, who was going back to Israel, was especially difficult. We had really grown fond of him.