There was so much hype about Phi Phi. It really felt like home to me and after spending three full days there I could tell it wouldn’t take long to feel like a “local.” We made our way from Phuket to Phi Phi via ferry. Ferry tickets can be purchased online (suggest doing so) or at the ferry terminal. The pier station had a smoothie stand with tasty smoothies costing less than $3USD! Everything is better in Thailand. Try and change my mind!
I LOVED our lodging on Phi Phi! We stayed at the Phi Phi Cliff Beach Resort and we booked the luxury twin room with sea view. The view was impeccable including the Andaman Sea, our overlook pool and most of the island. The staff suggested we put away our valuables and keep the doors locked at all times because the monkeys will try and break in. They weren’t kidding! We had a couple visitors as soon as soon as we turned the lights on.
Views from Phi Phi Cliff Beach Resort- Luxury Twin with Sea View
We explored town, had a cheap lunch and did some window shopping. Next thing you know we were standing in front of Phi Phi Sea Frogs Diving Center and I became fixated on obtaining my dive certification. Although this sounded like a great idea, it was going against everything I wanted to do on Phi Phi- RELAX! I got some info and said I’d think about it. It cost nearly $450 to become PADI open water certified and they said I’d have to start watching videos that night in order to finish by Friday afternoon. Luckily Hannah was cool about it and encouraged me to follow through. We continued exploring the town and found a kitty and a monkey getting some scratches. As Hannah said, “that’s one lucky rascal!”
Jealous much? 
Lucky Rascal
I’m assuming the town is always uniquely decorated with vibrant colors but it seemed very extra with Christmas around the corner. Hannah got some great shots along the way! So much color, I love it!
Of course my crazy ass decided to get diving certified. Why? I don’t know. I don’t even live in an area where I could dive on a regular basis but I figured it would be good to have for future trips. I loved the diving experience in Cozumel and wished I could have gone deeper and on cooler excursions. I was in class the entire night watching three, 1-hour long videos with my dive buddy, Guilherme. Afterwards, I grabbed some pad woon sen from a tiny food stand called FADA Thai food. It was so cheap and delicious.
Day two started bright and early with more videos, quizzes, class time and a demonstration of the equipment. Two more guys ended up joining our group. At this point all I could think about was Hannah getting to sleep in, drink Pina coladas on the beach and relax. For lunch I grabbed a pineapple/coconut smoothie at FADA Thai food. They became “my spot” for the next few days. After lunch, it was time for our confined water session to learn scuba skills. Hannah came out and took some pics. Could I have chosen a more beautiful, badass place to do this? The answer is no.
Guilherme and I floating for 10 minutes 
Oh, Hey Hannah! 
The session started with us swimming 200 meters without stopping, floating for ten minutes and then learning several skills under water. This took all afternoon. I managed to get my final injury of the trip by scratching my knee on an ocean-floor rock.
Hannah and I had a couple hours to spare so we tried making our way to Monkey Beach via long boat. Unfortunately, the current was too strong and the driver said we had to turn around. Really sucks because that was one of our “must do’s” on the list. We never did make it there. Now I am extra fortunate to have seen the “lucky rascal” getting belly scratches.
Alright, alright, alright! Our first and second open water dives! We all met at Sea Frog, carried our gear to the boat, loaded up and left the pier before 8am. With a history of getting sea sick, I took some dramamine. As we got closer and closer to the dive site I started to really not feel well. I was nauseous, clammy and really nervous! I was confused because I had gone diving before and never felt this way. But this was my first time starting via boat and I just finished learning about all of the bad things that could happen to you from diving (the bends.) SO… needless to say when it was time to suit up, I started to panic. I couldn’t breathe, I was nauseous and I felt super dramatic. They kept saying “Get in the water. You’ll feel better once you’re off the boat.” So I stood up, walked to the edge and then ran to the side because I started to throw up, haha! This was so embarrassing because the dudes in my group just sat there and watched me puke all over the place. My gear was restraining me from getting over the edge of the boat so I just kept throwing up in my hands and throwing it overboard like little buckets LOLOLOL! Seriously priceless!
Unfortunately, my crew took the first dive without me. Wah wah wahhh. I felt a lot better after throwing up so I did join them for the second dive with no problem and had a blast! All of my fears went away. We completed most of the scuba skills in open water and headed back to the island. Guilherme and I finished the videos, quizzes and final exam that night! We just needed to complete the rest of our open water dives and we’d be certified.
The final day was also Hannah’s and my last day on Phi Phi. Super bummed I missed out on everything but oh well. Hannah did enough hiking, drinking, laying out and relaxing for the both of us. Here are a few photos she took from the Viewpoints hike. She recommends you take an emesis bag as it was quite difficult with the humidity LOL.
While she was hiking, I was completing the final dives. Becoming PADI open-water certified requires completion of four open-water dives. Since I was only able to finish one the day before, I had to do three dives instead of two. I took two dramamine and ate a light breakfast before we left the dock. Everything went great! We had a blast! Can you believe Nemo and his little family are real?! I saw them all! In fact, we saw various fish and also a sea turtle eating some eggs.
Dive Buddy System 
Nemo! 
My favorite part of the dive was the enormous school of yellow fish. Natalia, my dive instructor, told me to swim into their path. She said it is impossible to touch one because they will always move away from you, no matter how close you get! So I did what she said and she was right! I never got to touch one but it was a very cool experience swimming within their path.
We were able to get these awesome photos because Guilherme paid for the Sea Frog photographer to come along with us. Thanks, G! We finished just in time for Hannah and I to make the 3pm ferry to Railay Beach- our last stop of the trip before heading back to Texas!
