The most beautiful beach!

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Budget travel does not exist on the famous island Phi Phi Don-- but we found it, sorta. Our bungalow may be dirty and back in the woods where we can barely see the water, but just 50 paces away is one of the most beautiful beaches. Since the low season is approaching here on the Andaman Sea, there were also relatively few people on our beach with the exception of the mid-day infusion of Thais. They come to Long Beach to snorkel eveyday from Phuket. Many Thai people are on holiday for the Thai New Year and Songkram Festival. It is the welcoming of the wet season and prayers for good amounts of rain for the harvest. There is a huge water fight to celebrate. We joined in with our watergun and bottles of water!

We filled our days with beach lounging, swimming, snorkeling, and reading. On Wednesday I got the itch for some real activity and went diving. I think they are my best dives yet! I am now at 11 dives- double digits! On my first dive we saw an Eel and a Blue Spotted Sting Ray as the highlights. The sting ray glided accross the bottom, woosh woosh, and was gone! The Eel was pointed out to me hiding in a little cave. The teeth on that thing were pointy and looked sharp, kindof an ugly creature! The next dive was a wall dive along the back wall of Koh Phi Phi Lay, the uninhabitied island of Phi Phi, also famous for where the movie "The Beach" was filmed. Now it is overcrowded inthe daytime, but we did enjoy snorkeling there one morning. On the dive however, I saw a turtle! She was eating from off the wall and we were able to stay and watch her for a few minutes- so graceful, even when she eats! On the second dive we also did a swim-through: my first! It tested my ability to stay neutrally buoyant which was challenging but I did it! I am really loving diving. There were some Americans on my dive who were working towards their divemaster. It is a 5 week programme and you can do it with any dive company in the world! Something to consider next time I go travelling...

At night, we often went into the main town called Ton Sai. Here, the evidence of the Tsunami is evident. There are a few buildings in total ruins and many others have just recently been rebuilt. Much of the beach in this area is still covered with rubble and construction materials. Some of the shops have not bothered to reconstruct, like the 7-11 is almost unrecognizable. In many of the restaurants there are pictures of what it looked like before and after the tsunami. Total Devestation. At one place the water was up to 10 metres high inthe restaurant! It is hard to judge how the people feel now. Many dont want to talk too much about it so it can be a difficult issue to approach. The place is definetly on the mend but has a long way to go. Still, it is hands down the most beautiful beach I have ever seen and it is worth visiting. Many of the prices there have gone up to help compensate for what they have lost. Its a cause worth giving to.

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