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The Phi
Phi islands group consist of Phi Phi Don, Phi Phi Lae and Ko
Yung (Mosquito Island).
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Many years ago only a Muslim fishing community who lived in a little
village were around. Because of the real attractive environment the area
was developed into a international tourist destination.
The Tsunami washed away almost all structures on Phi Phi island Thailand
( 2 hotels remained) but now in 2007 all is restored, up and running.
Cynics say it was a good clean
up
since most of the structures have been real ugly, quickly and cheap put
together.
There is no need to explain a lot, the pictures of Phi Phi island speak for them self , have a swim, a bath in the sun, maybe a dive in the
emerald sea.
Do
some snorkeling in the warm tropical water around Phi Phi Islands
and say hello to fish they are always curious about this 2 leg
creatures who try to watch them, the underwater
world is of great beauty.
The
Phi Phi Islands Thailand
functioned as location for the movie “The Beach”, especially “Maya
Beach”
( picture below) and the Hollywood scouts were right to do so.
Phuket and Phi Phi Islands - An Amazing Scuba Diving
Location
Phuket and the Phi Phi islands are both in southern Thailand
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are very highly
rated. In fact, Phuket, the Phi Phi islands plus the Islands in
the Andaman Sea north of Phuket are among the world's top ten scuba
diving locations.
Phuket and the Phi Phi
islands offer exotic culture, adventure both above and below the
surface plus unforgettable food. The Phi Phi islands have all
the right ingredients for a perfect diving holiday. |
Main beaches on Phi Phi Islands before the
Tsunami |
At Phi Phi are breath
taking reefs and remarkable underwater rock formations in addition
to the different types of marine life that are found here that
provide some amazing opportunities for divers of all levels and
persuasions. |
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Life-aboard diving
diving tours are available, daytrips and plenty of dive
points. Phi Phi dive centers as well as dive courses are available for the
would be scuba diver.
Other Live aboard diving in Thailand
is available out of Phuket and Khao Lak to the Similan islands,
Surin Islands, Richelieu Rock, Hin Daeng, Hin Muang and into the
Myanmar Andaman Sea. This are good examples of where you can go to
for great scuba diving.
Phuket and Phi Phi Island, which are among the top 10 scuba
diving locations in the world offer splendid crystal clear
water, great rock formations and corals in every possible color this
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Phi Phi Scuba Diving
Soft Corals |
underwater ecosystem is
vibrant and contains a lot of marine life.
The water
at Phi Phi is also quite warm having average surface temperatures of 82 degrees Fahrenheit.
Also the weather at Phi Phi is excellent most of the
time. Hundreds of varieties of hard and
soft corals with bright exotic colored fish in |
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between look like vast fields of undersea wildflowers.
For those who would like to see big animals there are the Whale
Sharks as well as Manta Ray whose sighting is pretty common in
the Andaman Sea north of Phuket. There are also other picturesque island
destinations reachable from Phuket.
The consistent
water temperatures in the Andaman Sea make it possible to go diving throughout the
year, right off the coast of
Phuket.
Visit this beautiful scuba diving
location and look forward to having a great dive, great food and
a unforgettable Phuket vacation. You want to do a scuba
certification?
many affordable
Dive Shops
are around where beginners may learn the basics and
others may try out the master instructor certification.
Besides its outstanding water treasures, there is a whole lot
more available right here at this wonderful scuba diving location in
the form of beautiful beaches, gourmet restaurants, vivacious night
life as well as a number of other attractions all available where
and when one wants it. |
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Phi Phi Islands dive supply Ship
Phi Phi Scuba Diving
Phi Phi Scuba Diving Coral Bank |
Phi Phi Scuba Diving Hard Coral |
Phi Phi Scuba Diving Red Jelly Fish |
Phi Phi Scuba Diving Fish say hello to you |
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There are
also popular dive centers at Phi Phi and elsewhere, such
as Dive Asia, Colona Diving, Similan Diving Safaris, Moskito Diving,
Blue Planet Divers, and Sea Bees Diving plus a number of others for
those who desire to try out more of this scuba diving location at
Phuket. Have a look here to learn more
Scuba-Diving Location |
Phi Phi Islands Panorama
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A Phi Phi island vacation is
a exotic holiday nobody will ever forget. The 3 islands
of the Phi Phi archipelago are part of the
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Andaman Sea between Phuket –
Phang Nga –Krabi and further south to Trang.
There are dozens of
uninhabited islands and large rocks in the greater Phi Phi
area and the Krabi province. The main islands is Phi Phi
Don and the other is Phi Phi Leh, a real prime vacation spots.
All hotels in the small Phi
Phi archipelago are on Phi Phi Don. Part of Phi Phi
became a national park after the movie shooting of “the
Beach” with Leonardo Di Caprio There are great beaches, like
Maya Beach where most of the movie was made. A enchanting
marine life is the right place for scuba diving and
snorkeling
Phuket where the ferry to Phi
Phi starts is also one of the best
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Phi Phi Islands Bay with
Boats |
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vacation destination on the
planet. Many dream of a great Phi Phi vacation, and
with the scenery, beach and underwater marine life
it is not difficult to see why. Now it is also
possible to go to Phi Phi with the water plane.
Phi Phi vacation packages
range from cheap vacations to upscale beach resorts. Phi
Phi is one of the prides of southern Thailand. The Phi Phi
islands consist of bizarre limestone formations, just
popping out from the sea. |
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Phi Phi islands have a
flourishing tourism industry who took over completely
from the former small scale fishing business.. The
all new hotels and beach resorts, since the Tsunami
washed away almost every structure on the islands,
are sheer beach romances, luxuries and comforts,
exquisite beaches and great landscapes. The Phi Phi islands are one of the hottest
vacation and holiday destinations in the world. |
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Phi Phi Maya
Beach |
Phi Phi islands are great for
family vacation, honeymoon vacation and beach vacation.
Some lower priced hotels could even give you the feeling of
discount Phi Phi vacation.
Southern Thailand the land of
the sun is one of the favorite tourist destinations for
traveler from all over the globe.
Phi Phi is also very
popular by Japanese girls who try to visit all the spots
where Leonardo Di Caprio was filming.
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The most
famous is Maya Beach. The places at Phi Phi that
are highly popular with the tourists include Maya Beach,
Viking Cave with thousands of swift lets and all this small
romantic beaches and ravines popping out from the sea. |
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Phi Phi exquisite
beaches |
Huge 4 mast sail ship at
Phi Phi |
The Phi Phi islands are full
of exciting activities, you could learn scuba dive or
explore the crystal clear water by snorkeling on some of the
most beautiful beaches in the world. Beautiful tropical
beaches, pristine, clear blue and emerald colored water and
breathtaking sunsets let you forget all this nonsense out
there.
Phi Phi offers real great
outdoor nature activities, including kayaking, wind
surfing and sailing. Shopping is rather low scale, there are
no malls or similar, only some small supermarkets, for
shopping better use Phuket. Rent a long tail boat for a
marvelous sightseeing tour around the islands.
You also
could go fishing in the waters around Phi Phi plenty of charter boats are available. The
Phi Phi Islands are real jewel in the crown of Thailand's
tourist destinations.
Phi Phi Video |
Phi Phi Islands Deep Limestone Ravine |
Phi Phi Bay with Limestone Boulder and Flowers |
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Leonardo DiCaprio the star in the movie -The Beach-
probably thought he'd get a nice rest on location in an unspoiled Thai beach between Phuket and Krabi.
The Beach, based on a novel by the British writer Alex Garland, is about an idyllic island where things get wrong. Unfortunately, in this case, life appears to have imitated art. Things went quite a little bit wrong for the film, when local "environmentalists" noticed the crew
!! read the text on this subject further below !!
tearing up the protected national park on Phi Phi Leh Island with bulldozers -at that time Maya Beach where this happened was not within the NP regulation, remark by the webmaster-.
The idea was to make the scenery look more "tropical" with some palm trees and to widen the beach for a football scene. |
Phi Phi Island idyllic Limestone Waterfront southern Thailand
Chinese Tourist at Phi Phi
Phi Phi Beach between the 2 islands southern Thailand
Phi Phi Long Tail Boat southern Thailand
Phi Phi late afternoon southern Thailand |
Leonardo Phi Phi Pictures Movie Shooting
Leonardo di Capri at Phi Phi Krabi |
The work included planting 100 non-native coconut palms and removing some of the natural undergrowth vegetation, including giant milkweed, sea pandanus, spider lily and other beach grass whose roots, say Thai environmentalists, hold the sand formations on treasured Maya Beach in place.
The filmmakers paid the Thailand Forestry Department $100,000 to shoot scenes on the protected island, which angered local protesters like Ing Kanjanavanit, who denounced what she called "over-the-table bribery." |
She added, "Our laws should not be for sale." Activists temporarily blockaded the beach and filed a court brief, but the filming went ahead anyway.
Bryony Schwam, director of the Montana-based Women's Voices for the Earth, (WVE) encountered the environmental protest on a recent vacation in Thailand, and was inundated with response after she posted details and photos on WVE's web site (http://www.wildrockies.org/wve/beach.htm). "People everywhere in Thailand were talking about it," Schwam says. "They were asking, `Suppose we came over to the U.S. and bulldozed Yellowstone Park to make a movie?' They tried to meet with the studio [20th Century Fox], but nothing happened." WVE then circulated a petition via e-mail calling for a filmgoer boycott.
Tim Keating, executive director of New York-based Rainforest Relief, describes the environmental insensitivity as "very typical of Hollywood. They talk about how green they are, then use endangered tropical luan wood to make sets, and threaten the Ballona wetlands near Los Angeles to build the Dreamworks offices."
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For his part, a shellshocked DiCaprio told the Los Angeles Times that the protests were "a big waste of time ... There are a million important environmental issues going on throughout the world right now."
Twentieth Century Fox spokeswoman Carol Sewell declined to comment, but sent an "environmental fact sheet" claiming that the beach would be fully restored to its original state, and citing approval for the remediation work from the Thai Forestry Department, the same government body that was paid $100,000.
The sheet added that crew members had picked up two tons of "inorganic rubbish" from the beach, mostly plastic carried in by tides. "That doesn't justify what they did," Schwam says.
By Jim Motavalli COPYRIGHT Earth Action Network, Inc and Gale Group To put the "protests" during the shooting of Di Caprio's -The Beach- into context.
Coincidently, I -editor of this website- was in Phuket at that time and watched several "protests" against the film shooting in Phuket Town just in front of the Robinson Department Store, that's Phuket Town Centre.
As a pure matter of facts, I saw with my own eyes !! there was no real protest at all but there were hundreds of school children who were manipulated by their teachers to "protest".
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Phi Phi islands the hide out Beach
Phi Phi Islands one of the many other Beaches
around southern Thailand
Main beaches on Phi Phi Islands before the
Tsunami
Phi Phi Viking Cave full of Birds Nest
Actually Maya beach looked much better after the shooting restoration than before. In particular the area was very clean, cleared off all the rubbish laying around accumulated from the time before the film shooting. After this episode Maya Beach was declared a national park, which means -don't touch- and everyone who touch the beach now must pay baht 200,-. Now the guys in Bangkok make money with it, so what ? |
The kids didn't even know what was going on but the teachers were in front and at the back of the moving mass and instructed them via megaphones what they should scream, some held posters.
I asked one of my friends who was with me to go and ask the kids what they are doing, they told her they got free time form the school when they go with the teachers to Phuket Town and do some "protesting".
They didn't even know why they protested, the text on the posters was in English, non of the kids spoke or understood English, but they did it on request of their teachers and to have some "sanook", so what ?
There were no OTHER protest groups around all this days, only the manipulated kids.
The next day the newspapers and other media made a big story out of it, I would call this pure manipulation since after the shooting all was restored to the original level as stipulated in the contract the movie studio made with the relevant Thai department.
Manipulating kids is one of the worst thing adults can do ! because to whom the kids would be able to trust after this ?
They simply will laugh when you tell them anything because they know they are cheated by their teachers and a teacher should be a person you can trust. |
Phi Phi Beach big sailing ship anchoring
Phi Phi Secluded Beach
Phi Phi Islands Maya Beach southern Thailand
Above is "The Beach" , - Maya Beach, |
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Here are some comments from the people who watched
our Phi Phi video at youtube:
the video is also
here with a better quality
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