A night on "The Beach"
After flying into Phuket we only spent one night, because its very touristy and we wanted to get to the prettier beaches. So the next day we took a ferry to the island of Ko Phi Phi. Sadly, it was one of hardest hit areas in Thailand after the 2004 tsunami. There were about 11,000 people on the island when the tsunami struck and 2,500 or so were killed (5,000 total in Thailand). It was easy to forget the islands history as I walked through the streets crowded with beach shops, but then I'd turn a corner and there were would be a huge empty lot with just a single palm tree left. Dan and I climbed to the top lookout point and admired the skinny stretch of beach below. Photos were hung at the lookout of Phi Phi before and right after the tsunami. The most noticeable difference was the now lack of green vegetation and palm trees. I spoke to an English woman who had returned to Phi Phi for the first time since the disaster in which her brother almost died. He was suppose to meet a friend there but got hung up in Bangkok and arrived a day late. His friend didn't make it. What struck me the most about the people though is their resiliency. They've rebuilt much of the island over the last five years and they have such a positive spirit.
Next to the main island of Ko Phi Phi Don is Ko Phi Phi Lee. This is wear Leonardo DiCaprio's movie "The Beach" was filmed. There is one Aussie who has permission by the National Park Service to take groups to the island to spend the night. Dan and I lucked out because there were less then 20 people in our group the evening we went. The tour started by snorkeling in the large bay then they took us to the shore. The Aussie kicked the remaining tourists off the beach and our group had the whole island to ourselves. It was one of the most beautiful places I've been. The cliffs and mountains surround you, and its almost entirely closed off from the outside except for a small gap in the mountains on the far side of the lagoon. That evening we had a barbecue, the requisite bucket, and chatted with other travelers while we sat around on the beach. Later we literally slept out on the beach in sleeping bags, but I awoke all through the night completely frozen from the wind. I finally realized I could stay on the beach and freeze or go up to campsite and shelter of the bushes and brave the large scampering black rats. I chose the rats and Dan was nice enough to come along. I saw them scurry by but luckily they stayed away from our sleeping bags.
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posted by Lauralai @ 2:01 PM
2 Comments:
Hey Laura. I was jealous of your adventures until you mentioned scurrying black rats... We miss you!! (I can't remember my google account name, so pardon the "Anonymous". It was easiest!)
Aunt Marylou
The destruction caused by the 2004 tsunami is almost beyond comprehension. It caused more than fifty percent more deaths than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima and three times as many as the one dropped on Nagasaki. Your comment on their resilience is heartening. Such a tragedy could easily have killed the spirit of the survivors as it did the bodies of the victims.
But even in such a catastrophe there can be shinning moments. I remember reading about the experience of a family of four : husband, wife, a six year old boy and an infant. Judging by the picture accompanying the article they lived in a very primitive area, thatched huts, pit toilets, their water fetched from the river and the like. It seems when the wave was heading towards their village the father heard the sound but didn’t know what it was so he ran to the top of a nearby hill to check it out. Seeing the tsunami off in the distance he yelled down to his wife to get the kids up the hill. She grabbed the infant and told the six year old to follow and started sprinting up the hill. But as the wave got closer it’s roar got louder and the villagers started screaming. This panicked the six year old who in his confusion turned around and started back down the hill thinking he’d be safe in hut. His mother didn’t realize this until she was almost to the top of the hill. When she did look back she was faced with a true Sophie’s Choice. Leave the infant where it was and run back down the hill to get the boy or continue up the hill assuring the survival of the infant but condemning the boy to death. She chose to make sure the infant survived and continued up the hill. Sounds like the end for the little boy but fate intervened in the form of the family dog, which from the picture looked like some type of Labrador. As incredible as it may seem he ran down the hill, jumped up and grabbed a mouthful of the boy’s shirt and began pulling him up the hill. Still panicked though the boy pulled away tearing his shirt. But the dog persevered by starting a herding type action. That is, when the boy went in the wrong direction the dog would angrily bark and nip at his heels. The combination of the corralling by the dog and the screams of his mother and father to get up the hill finally sank in and the boy and dog ran to the top of the hill arriving just as the wave swept into the village killing eighty percent of it’s inhabitants.
I just finished watching “The Beach” and am envious of your being in such a stunningly beautiful place. Take care.
Lots of Love,
Uncle Michael
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