Koh Phi Phi – North American Darrell

Asia – getting fat eating with two sticks!

03/22/2025

by Darrell Bangkok Bohol Cebu City Koh Phi Phi Philippines Phucket Singapore Siquijor/Dumaguete islands Thailand

I have loved Thai food since visiting Thailand back in 2022, but forgot how much until returning in 2025!

I have since visited many Asian countries and fell in love with their food. Vietnam Pho/Bahn mi/noodles, Cambodian Amok/Hhmer curry/noodles all held the title until I was reintroduced to Thai again.

The Thai pad and variations of soup won my heart and my belly over once again. Here are some choices from a food court in Bangkok. You could eat three times a day for 365 days and not try them all in this food court. It was almost impossible to choose:

Here were some of my favorites from around Samui:

Mango salad (top left)

Tom yum Coconut spicy soup (middle left)

Chicken Pad Thai (top right)

Tom yum chicken spicy (bottom left)

Iced cold Chang (bottom right – it was so hot, ice was needed to keep it cold)

Koh Phi Phi, Thailand! I jumped ship for free!!

12/30/2024

by Darrell Koh Phi Phi

I consider my six-week trip to Thailand in 2022 to be free!

It was my fifth anniversary working for PayPal, and I was eligible for my four-week sabbatical. I tacked on two weeks of vacation and also rented my AZ condo on Airbnb the entire time. How sweet of a deal was that setup!

January 2021, Thailand was reopening for tourists after COVID-19. There were so many strict rules, but as always 90% of the stuff we worry about never happens.

Bring a negative COVID test within 48 hours of departure. ✅

Buy travel insurance that covers COVID. ✅

Take a COVID test once arriving at the hotel in Bangkok. ✅

Locked down in a hotel until the test came back negative in 48 hours. ✅

I would be fed three amazing meals a day delivered to my door. ✅✅✅

Allowed to wander around the hotel grounds during lockdown. ✅

Pretty amazing time-out to take care of the 14-hour time difference and jet lag!

Once I received a clear email from the Thai government, I was off to tour Bangkok for two days before leaving. I would be back on my way home to finish touring the city.

I left for my island, hoping for adventures in the following days: Koh Samui, Ko, Phangan, Koh Tao, Phuket, and the topic of this post, my absolute favorite island in Thailand, Koh Phi Phi Island!

Unsure whether or not to jump! Damn rights, that was a long way up for a big boy!

Watch for the body, UGH, that’s a long way up for a big boy, LOL!

This was an amazing boat ride I took to tour the islands around Koh Phi Phi. We snorkeled and visited several bays in the area, including the famous Maya Bay where the movie “The Beach” was filmed. Although it was closed for swimming due to preservation, it was beautiful!

Here are some professional pictures from Google:

Since there was no swimming allowed, you could see all sorts of fishing including sharks from land. It made it that much better seeing it unspoiled by tourists IMO. I will be back to swim!

Here are some less glamorous shots I took, but they look just as amazing!