The Phi Phi Islands: Don’t Make My Big Mistakes

Yes, Thailand is beautiful. And captivating. There are so many different faces to Thailand, and I can’t wait to go back and meet more of them. Thailand is a great destination for backpackers because the goods, services, and food are often seen as affordable. There is also so much beauty to observe and dive into – literally. Around 32.59 million people flock to the Phi Phi Islands each year for snorkeling, diving, or just to explore the waters. I recently was one of those people, and am asking you not to make the same mistakes that I did.

As I set off on a boat trip to explore the stunning Phi Phi Islands of Thailand, I decided that I would do my best to soak everything in and “live in the moment.” That’s what we’ve been told to do, eh? While I am all for being present, I am not for closing my eyes to issues that need to be addressed, all in the name of making my day more fun.

And so, my rant begins. As it begins, I would like to note that the issues expressed are not the fault of the people putting on the tour, but the fault of tourists and the structure of our current society alike. The boat tour that you can take discovering the Phi Phi islands hits up multiple magical spots, and that, my friends, is where our problem begins.

1. Leave No Trash

When we first got on the boat, we were handed a styrofoam (which, according to Sciencing.com, can take more than a million years to break down) container with a plastic spoon inside, a plastic water bottle, and a juice box with a plastic straw. Lots of plastic.

I understand that we are currently in a transitional period where awareness is being spread about the harm that plastic does to our planet and oceans, I thought that I was at least correct in assuming that we know better than to leave that trash all over the beautiful beaches. I was wrong in my assumptions. These beaches are not only at times occupied by humans, but are also provide important homes to diverse nonhuman animals.  

The Plastic Problem Runs Deep

Occasionally, we would see a plastic bottle floating through the clear green and dark blue waters, which I first chalked up to “sometimes things fall out of the boat on accident.” But when we pulled up on the IG-shot worthy beaches, I decided to explore just a little behind the tree line. It was shocking to me how much trash was disregarded just behind the rows of green plants and shrubs.

This photo was taken on a popular tourist island, where my awareness of the issue of trash was immediate. Within walking just 10 feet past the tree line I found a mountain of plastic and other trash items. 

The same trend continued on to each unique place that we visited. Even the day after our tour, when we were walking the beaches, the trash and plastic problem became apparent on the main island as well. In just under an hour, we had removed three large bags of trash that had washed up on shore and created a small floating island a few feet out from the shore. So what can we begin to do to face this problem? Here’s what we have come up with, but we welcome you to submit your own ideas and tips.

What You Can Do To Reduce Harm When It Comes To Plastic:

BYOT: Bring your own reusable containers, straws, bags, and utensils as often as possible.

Reduce and reuse: Try to reduce your use of single-use plastics and unnecessary trash. Reuse items as much as possible. Listen to this podcast episode that explains the Six Rs. (And you just thought there were three!)

Clean up: Take an hour or less out of your week (or even day!) to do a beach clean-up. Even if you’re the only one doing it, you may be preventing sea life from dying and inspire others to join.

Learn more: Do your research. We are all in a constant state of learning as new information surfaces at each moment. Learn about the leading cause of plastic in the oceans.

2. No Monkeying Around

As we pulled up to Monkey Beach, I felt a little strange that the monkeys were completely unphased that there were 40+ people around them with cameras in their faces. As soon all 6+ speedboats unloaded their excited passengers, one monkey came up and snatched a packaged food item out of a human hand. It’s important to note that as soon as they take something it is almost impossible to recover, and that’s just the beginning of the problem.

The Problem With Monkey Island

It was easy to see that the monkeys have become accustomed to stealing food from humans, encouraging them to be aggressive and clingy. They may become injured in the process as humans try to “protect” themselves, and once the packaged good is taken, the wrapper that contained it is dumped somewhere on the island and left as trash.

As I was trying to document all of the chaos happening from a distance, a monkey ran up to me and reached for my camera. Startled and scared, I ended up throwing my GoPro camera at them without even thinking.  Hopefully you can see how this is a problem – I show up on an island that I know is inhabited by wild animals, I get freaked out when they approach me even though I knew that they would, and I throw an object at them that could possibly leave them injured. It’s clear who is the problem here!

Respect The Monkeys, Skip Monkey Beach

Let’s face it: most people come to Monkey Beach to take a cute selfie with a monkey. I get it – I’m all about that IG life, but not at the expense of others. There’s nothing cute about polluting the home of wild animals and creating monkey/human conflict. Monkeys quickly escalated in behavior to protect their babies, steal food, and show the humans that their presence wasn’t wanted by hissing, showing their teeth, biting, and charging people. Even after the monkeys displayed aggression, humans continued to taunt them by teasing them with food and poking them in the face.

When it was time to leave many people kicked water at the monkeys to keep them away while we got back on the boats. The whole thing was just weird – imagine living your life when a boatload of other animals show up just to taunt you, poke you, try to pick up your babies, wave a camera in your face, and trash your home. Not cool bro, not cool. We can do better!

3. Screen The Cream

I’m not trying to take all of the fun out of your trip, just throwing in a reminder to remember to be mindful. The more that I learn about the consequences of my actions, the more complicated my life seemingly gets. (And that’s OK!) But, if we educate ourselves about these important topics, it’s easier to create healthy habits that don’t cost extra energy and save the planet in the long run.

Prior to having a conversation with my good friend and travel partner Anne, I never thought about how sunscreen may affect the coral reefs. Before departing on our boat trip, she mentioned to me that when she snorkeled over the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, and was sadly taken back by how dead it was. Our conversation quickly extended into what part that we as humans have to play in that. And on that note, we launch into a conversation about sunscreen!

The Deadly Impact Of Sunscreen On Ocean Life

According to Green Child, “when a reef is exposed to the tiniest amount of oxybenzone, the corals that come in contact with it begin to deteriorate as the nutrients within get stripped away. Due to an infection caused by this chemical, the coral becomes bleached. All of these maladies eventually lead to its death. Oxybenzone is also known to trap young coral in their skeletons, resulting in fatal consequences as well.” 

They also add that “coral located near popular beaches with a high tourist count lose their ability to reproduce and sustain the reef. Other sunscreen chemicals such as octinoxate, 4MBC, octocrylene, and butylparaben have been shown to harm coral as well.

So, What Can I Do To Have An Ethical Experience?

So before taking a swim, be sure to put your hard-earned dollars into a product that is not tearing down the very reefs that we love to explore. Here’s a list of vegan-friendly, reef-safe sunscreens to choose from. On top of that, reduce your consumption to reduce your waste. Reuse and recycle products when you can. Oh, and let wild nonhuman animals be wild in their homes… let’s stop disturbing them for cute Instagram photos.

Trash, monkeys, sunscreen… yup, rant over.

Happy Travels!

Heading to the Phi Phi Islands? Check out this complete guide to eco-conscious daylife activities. 

Not sure where to stay while in Thailand? Check out Hostel World!