Tag:phi phi island
I guess you could get to the Phi Phi Islands by sea plane but boat is the norm. And that’s the normal way to leave too. I took this image as the ferry carried me back to Phuket. The sea was relatively calm but the occasionally the boat would crash through the swell as captured here as I watched the island disappear in the wake of the boat.
On the way back to Koh Phi Phi Don from Koh Phi Phi Ley, having cruised by one of the caves from which the locals harvest swifts’ nests for birds nest soup, we got some up-close views of the base of the limestone cliffs. The cave action is clearly undercutting the rock over the course of the years.
This overhang in the limestone rack face was a significant swift nesting site. Out of harvesting season, there was no one working on this day. Bird’s nest harvesting is a regulated industry and there were signs above the jetty here warning trespassers off. All the bamboo poles you can see here are used by the harvesters to reach the rock ceiling where the swifts build their nests.
I’m going to go out on a limb with the name of this photo. I’m about 80% sure it’s somewhere on Koh Phi Phi Ley and not Koh Phi Phi Don. I didn’t note the distinction on the notes on my slide label on this one. I’m also going to guess that I took this from a boat, by virtue of the deeper blue at the bottom of the frame. The shallow water is that lovely aqua color while the deeper water is a colder blue.
I can’t actually place where I took this photo but I’m thinking it’s more likely Koh Phi Phi Ley than Koh Phi Phi Don, largely because the photos around it in my collection show all the hallmarks of having been taken from a moving small boat – horizons far from level! I think this image shows the vertical scale of the limestone outcrops that form these islands.
