Anyway, after our week in Koh Lanta, we decided to splurge a little and travel for two days to the gorgeous island of Phi Phi. Back when David and I were just dating in 2004, we had planned on going with a big group of singles to Phi Phi, a small island with dramatically beautiful scenery made famous because it was where Leonardo DiCaprio's movie "The Beach" was filmed. Then, the tsunami tragedy happened a couple of weeks before our planned trip, and the island was devastated and many, many people died there. So, needless to say, we didn't go. In recent years, the island's resorts have been rebuilt, mostly higher end, and each year we would look into going and be scared off by the price tag (hard to find any accomodations, other than hostels built over noisy bars, for less than $100 a night). But this year, we decided we would pay the slightly-big-bucks for just 2 nights and see this gorgeous place!
This is our hotel, the Phi Phi Cabana, which had the perfect location for us--right on the main beach near the town, but situated off to the side by itself so we weren't blasted by party music from the bars all night long (another big complaint since the island was rebuilt). 
We had a great view of the pool area from our room and the balcony.
Sarah loved the big picture windows, and couldn't wait to dive into that pool!
We also had this great view of the bay.
We took a one-hour ferry ride from Koh Lanta to Phi Phi in the afternoon, had a quick dip in the pool, and then set out for a walk through the main town.
We really liked the village on Phi Phi. In addition to plenty of souvenir shops and tattoo parlors and such, it had lots of food stalls and tons of restaurant choices and coffee shops and bakeries . . . in other words, it was a little tropical food paradise!
We stopped at this little stall to get fried rice for dinner for Sarah, since David and I were going to go out on our own later. But then we saw these:
Some of the yummiest barbecue I have ever had! The chicken was amazing, but my favorite was the skewers with pineapple, onion, tomatoes and chicken together! David and I ate like 8 of these! I highly subscribe to Anthony Bourdain's theory that a lot of the most delicious food in the world comes from little stalls, i.e. "street food."
That night, David and I went out to a dinner at an Italian restaurant on the beach called Ciao Bella.
You sat at the tables with your feet in the sand!
The ambiance was definitely romantic! And while the food was good, to be honest it couldn't really compare to the 75-cent barbecue chicken skewers we had earlier in the day!
At night, they light all these little fires and you can lounge on the beach.
The next morning, we got up bright and early (thanks to our precious human alarm clock!), and set out to take a boat ride to a secluded beach in a different part of the island called "Monkey Beach."
Now, whether I am a horrible parent or a fantastic parent for willingly taking my toddler to a place with wild monkeys running around is up for debate, I grant you. But it had been highly recommended by a nice British couple we'd met the day before on the ferry, and I asked around and everyone I talked to said the monkeys were perfectly safe. The Brits also recommended we bring a bunch of bananas for the monkeys.
NOTE: Do not listen to Brits when they tell you to bring bananas for the monkeys!!
We got out of the boat, David holding Sarah and me holding the plastic bag of bananas. Immediately, this completely fearless alpha male runs up and acosts me, basically wrapping his whole body around the bag of bananas. I, of course, freak out and throw the bag with the attatched monkey several feet across the beach!
Then, thankfully, I calmed down and got my camera out and took a picture to document the monkey thoroughly enjoying his prize! We kept a pretty tight grip on Sarah, but after the banana incident, the monkeys pretty much kept to themselves, thankfully.
Still, Sarah LOVED the monkeys! She watched and watched and watched them.
And giggled incessantly. Monkey Island was a hit!
In addition to the monkeys, we had landed ourselves on an absolutely pristine, magnificent beach! This is literally the most beautiful beach I have ever seen. The sand was almost a snowy-white and as fine as can be. The water was so clear, you could wade in up to your neck, look down and see your toes like you were looking through glass.
I wish Sarah was smiling in this picture!
We stayed and played in the water and sand for a couple of hours.
At first, because we had gone so early, we were the only ones on the beach. Slowly, more boats and tourists began to arrive.
Still, our adventure was as close to perfect as can be!
Sarah loved playing with the soft sand!
We headed back to the main beach around lunch time, and David spotted this sign:
David loved the idea of a buffet where he didn't have to pay as much for my food as his (or a ladyboy's, for that matter), since I never eat enough for him to justify the price of an all-you-can-eat buffet. We ended up going back there that night, where I felt perfectly justified about the amount of food I ate for the price and David gorged himself on like five servings of various meats. :)
On the third day, it was back to the pier to board the ferry to the mainland. Though short, it was a truly memorable trip and a great little adventure for our family of three!
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