And What a Good Friday it is!

Friday, April 22: Day 10
So this morning we went down for breakfast and packed everything up then took a cab to the Phuket Town Pier to catch a ferry to Phi Phi Don (pronounced 'Pee Pee' which Audrey finds hysterical), where we will be staying for just one night. The hotel receptionist told us the ferry was at 10:00 and it took 30 minutes to drive to the pier. Well, it actually took at least 45 minutes to get there and the ferry didn't leave until 11:00. This was a bit irritating as we just sat waiting at the pier with 2 grumpy, hot girls when we could have been either hanging out at the hotel, walking around at Kata Beach or wandering around Phuket Town. Oh well. What lie waiting for us on the other end of the ferry ride was wonderful!
The ferry ride took about 1.5 hours and went past some lovely little islands. When we landed on Phi Phi, the area around the pier was filled with people selling trinkets, food, drinks, etc. It was mostly portable stalls, but there were some permanent structures too. We saw one lady with a monkey dressed in clothes performing and taking photos with people. I didn't see her charging for this, but I'm sure she was. We had watched a video about traveling in Phuket before we left home and they spoke about these monkeys. Apparently people steal them from the jungle, train them, then discard them when they get old and more hostile. It is a real problem b/c the monkeys can no longer fend for themselves in the wild and need to be rehabilitated on this special island just for them.
The hotel we are staying at is called Phi Phi The Beach Resort. It is located on Long Beach at the southern end of the island. We were picked up on the pier by a long tail boat taxi. The ride to the hotel took about 15 minutes through truly lovely water. Now the water at Kata Beach on Phuket was beautiful, but this water has that magical, clear aqua color that you associate with paradise. Truly lovely!
The hotel is a collection of small bungalows perched on the hillside with the hotel reception desk, bar, pool and restaurant down below next to the beach. We arrived in time to get our suits on and head down to the restaurant for a late lunch then to the beach. We had curries and noodles, all of which were very tasty. The water was calm and perfect and Audrey could safely walk out pretty far. Plus there are a ton of fish right near the shore, so the girls could experience swimming with the fish without officially snorkeling. They loved it! We intend to do more of this tomorrow too.
We sat and watched the sun set completely from the lounge chairs on the beach with some happy hour Chang beers (Buy 2 get 1 free!).
The people working and living here seem pretty happy and like they are loving life. We are questioning WHY we are only staying one night as this place is indeed a little slice of heaven!