Well Phuket didn’t impress me much, but then again it is so big, and I was staying in Phuket Town, which isn’t really that close to the beach, and while it’s a beautiful town, with it’s really old buildings, there isn’t much going on in it.
So I took a full day tour that takes you on a boat and takes you around a few islands, some of the highlights is the canoe into the caves, and then there is James Bond Island, I mean it was pretty beautiful, but after seeing Halong Bay (Vietnam) these limestone islets are not as impressive, and most of these places are so full of tourists and holiday makers it really takes away from the beauty that is before you. I think that’s why I preferred the limestone’s of Halong Bay (Vietnam) since it was less populated by mass crowds of tourists, it was more pleasurable to take in it’s beauty, and just enjoy being in such an incredible place. Not only are the islands full but the ocean is full of Big Boats, Small Boats, Speed Boats and Long Tail Boats. While I had a great time on the tour, It felt a bit too, touristic for me. |
Then the was Koh Phi Phi, now unlike the other islands I have been to, there were no cars or motor bikes or traffic, but there was tons of people, the beach is full and often dirty because it’s so full, but if you willing to walk, then a nice little hike can lead you to Long Beach, which is way more beautiful, and much less busy, not to mention that the walk/hike to get there is really amazing from walking along the coast, to walking through a bit of jungle to climbing up and down stairs formed by tree roots. Oh and the night life in Phi Phi is amazing, your entertainment is fire dances, and your dance floor, well you can choose, and actual dance floor, or the beach, or the sand bank that is in the middle of the ocean, where you can hear almost 4 different types of music from all the bars along the beach.
I also took a tour around some of the islands around Phi Phi, and one of them was Maya Bay, also known as “The Beach” no really, THE BEACH, as in the movie with Leonardo Dicaprio. So see the picture below, now when you look at it, in your mind remove the million people on the beach and the thousand speed boats lined up on the beach, and there you have it “The Beach”.
Thailand and especially the islands have become such a tourist hub, there are tens and thousands of tourists that are in out of the Thai islands everyday, and with them they bring their garbage, plastic bottels, cigarette buds, sweet and crisp wrappers and most of them couldn't be bothered less to leave the filth behind, I mean what is it to them, they came, saw, took their pictures to brag about it on Facebook and tomorrow they’ll be gone, so what does it matter, if they throw one little cigarette bud in the ocean, or leave a beer bottle behind on the beach right? They came and got what they wanted they won’t be back again to see how their trash has destroyed the beauty of an island, after all they got the picture so it doesn't matter.
I think I hate that the most about the Thailand Islands, it’s bombarded with tourists, and not so much travelers but holiday makers, people who have money to splurge, and waste and not think twice about how it affects the world, they just what to say I have been there and that’s it. I understand now why in the movie “the beach”they chose to keep it a secret, and I kind of wish, the director who made the move kept the location a secret as well, Maya Bay most certainly is a beautiful beach, but sadly it is destroyed by the tons of people that come in everyday, and who knows what it would look like in 2 more years. I found pretty much the same thing with James Bond Island, so full, so unkept, I wish more people would understand the importance of “taking nothing but memories and leaving nothing but footprints.”