Eat and meet

Ko Phi Phi

The first thing many people do when they get to Phi Phi is take a walk around Ton Sai village and see what there is to see. It's a good idea to familiarise yourself with the area on your first day, since none of the streets have names, and everyone navigates relative to landmarks and the more conspicuous establishments.

Phi Phi is known for its nightlife, attracting a mostly young crowd. The bars lining Ton Sai beach are the most notorious hot spots. The first one along is Carlitos, with its tables on the beach. This is where the recovery centre was set up right after the tsunami. They play the music loud here to make up for the lack of atmosphere.

Next one along is Apache Bar, a concrete, beer-soaked monstrosity with a huge wooden phallus guarding the door. (It's a fertility symbol, pre-dating Buddhism, that many establishments in Thailand display, generally on a smaller scale, to ensure 'productivity' in business). The Apache Bar is crass and butt ugly, but they put on weekly 'lady boy' shows, they have a dance floor and it's usually packed to the gills.

Further up is the slightly more mellow Hippies Bar and Restaurant. The restaurant portion is still a good family option before things get rolling at 21:00 or so. Nightly fire dancing shows are always on the menu -- locally it's called 'poi' and involves swinging bits of burning rope around in circles.

Even further up is a better option for an enjoyable night out, Carpe Diem. They play a good mix of music that won't numb the mind, and the atmosphere is just right -- Indian-style seating at low tables, some of which is found inside an old longtail,, and they lay mats with pillows on the beach in the evenings, surrounded by tea candles, to create an intimate ambience. And they also have fire shows.

In Ton Sai village proper, Sports Bar is an aptly named place with three big screen TVs ensuring that everyone in the joint gets a good view of the football match or the Formula One race with an audible English commentary.

A bit deeper into the village is Reggae Bar, which doesn't necessarily play reggae music, but they do have a muay Thai boxing ring with regular exhibition events and occasional real fights -- on any given night tourists are invited to get in the ring and fight for the grand prize of two free buckets for his or her table. (A bucket, for those not in the know, is a bottle of booze poured into, well, a bucket, with mixers and ice, to be communally slurped-up with straws.) For those who fancy their chances in the ring, bear in mind that getting into any boxing ring when drunk is very very very stupid. Also be aware that medical facilities on Ko Phi Phi are basic at the best of times.

Don't over look Tide and Time a mellow, friendly place along the road to Palm Bungalows where you can actually have a conversation with all those cool people you just met.

The undiscovered gem of the bar scene, in our book, is the bar with no name on the road to the viewpoint, below the Phi Phi Dreams guesthouse. It's run by a French expat who serves drinks at bargain prices and cooks up tasty Gallic fare whenever the mood strikes him. It's usually open, but sometimes he and his Thai wife close the place up. Ah, l'amour.

There are a lot of places to eat, many of them quite mediocre, and you can miss out on a lot of good meals going by trial and error. For breakfast, head to the PP Bakery just down from Barracuda Diving as you walk away from the pier, for very reasonable prices, Western-style pastries and really awful service -- the TV is always on and the staff never take their eyes off it.

For a hearty and delicious English breakfast, Little Britain, which has recently moved from Reggae Bar to Soi Viewpoint, is your best bet -- it's named after the infamous British comedy series, but the food is no joke -- they go all out to deliver an authentic taste of home to expats.

 

For dinner you may be tempted by the seafood places along Ton Sai beach, most of which are associated with particular resorts. The food is generally quite good, sometimes a little pricey, but worth a try.

In terms of Thai food, locals swear by Papaya, which is right near Reggae Bar -- great food and generous portions at a good price.

In the same general area you'll find Cosmic Pizza -- all pizzas are currently 130 baht, there's a lot of variety, they are quite big and quite good. Pastas here are only 120 baht.

Also, Hibachi is hard to miss and a great deal, with its all-you-can-eat 222 baht Japanese buffet, including meat kebabs, salads, and an endless supply of tuna sushi.

There is also a great little place called GP PP which serves a selection of Western food at reasonable prices. The ambience (relaxed) and fare (the chips are fantastic) really make this a standout option.

Up past the wetlands project, along the road towards the viewpoint, Garden Home serves up wholesome and delicious food that regular patrons rave about. The bagels with cream cheese get a big thumbs up.

In the same area, just by Tara Inn, you will find the Banana Sombrero which is a great choice for Mexican food.

If you're looking for an eating frenzy to recoup that energy you burned off diving, or to soak up last night's beers, head to Matt's Joint in the centre of town. It's an eat all you can BBQ place with chicken fillets, burgers, sausages, salmon steaks, kebabs, baked potatoes, pasta and salad. Stuff your face for 250 baht boys, 220 baht girls.

Down at the main pier, Amico Resto weighs in as a heavyweight of Italian cuisine. With flavours you'd expect to find in Rome they serve up excellent pasta with friendly service. There's also pizza on the menu.

Scandinavians or meatball lovers might like to head to HC Andersen where steaks, Swedish specials and draught beer keep the tables full.

Most eateries close up around 22:00 but then the street carts come out in force. If you find yourself peckish during the wee hours then head towards the 7-eleven in the middle of Ton Sai town and you'll see a myriad of offerings from pancakes to hotdogs to things you'll have never seen before.

Surprisingly, there is also some great, authentic Thai food on Phi Phi. Because the tourist industry attracts Thai workers from all over the country, food stalls and markets cater to a wide variety of regional tastes, cooked by locals who hail from that particular neck of the woods. It helps if you have some Thai language skills, but you may just find the exotic, Thai-food experience you've been looking for here.

Turn down the road alongside Barracuda Divers into the part of the village where you don't think you're supposed to be, and that's where you want to be. Some places have food in pots which can be easily identified and pointed at, but otherwise you'll be presented with a sanitized English-language menu designed for the occasional tourist wandering in, listing only noodles and fried rice dishes.

Off menu recommended dishes include nua yang, (sauteed, barbecue beef) or gaeng keh ( a meat stew with some very curious vegetables) and, for the very daring, laab nua deep (raw beef in a vinaigrette sauce.) If you've been pouring through a Thai culinary phrase book and dreaming of trying something, this is the place to ask for it.