The following reports were sent out on the internet every day during our visit to Phuket and Phi Phi islands. We also took along with us digital cameras. We would like to thank the owners of Sriwittayapaknam School who again paid for the this trip.
FRIDAY 4TH FEBRUARY, PHUKET TOWN: We flew down to Phuket this morning in order to check on the present conditions for Maya Beach on Phi Phi Le island. At presen
t we are in Phuket Town waiting for our boat. The trip to the islands will take about 90 minutes. We have walked around the town already stopping at several tourist agents to see if they have started promoting Phi Phi and Phuket as the place where 20th Century Fox made The Beach. Naturally, they have heard about the movie, but as yet they are not using the name of the movie or Leonardo DiCaprio to promote trips to the islands or the locations the film-makers used around Phuket. In the local cinema they had posters up for The Beach and a display which proudly said that the movie was "Made in Thailand".
The Beach came out in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong this week and will then be released in the USA and UK one week later. The people we talked to expect the movie to be good for business. At present, all of them are heavily promoting the "James Bond" tours. This takes people to a group of islands in Phang Nga, just north of Phuket. About 25 years ago, film-makers came to Thailand to make "The Man with a Golden Gun". Ever since then the islands changed their name to "James Bond island" and thousands of tourists have visited a small stretch of Beach to have their picture taken in front of a giant rock formation made famous in the movie. When we visited this place last year we counted 52 souvenir stalls. Now we are wondering what will happen to Phi Phi Le and Maya Bay. This is the main reason we are going to the islands now. We want to document what exactly is on the islands at present.
There has been some newspaper reports already that local tour operators have started to nickname the bay "Leonardo's Beach". Every day, about 150 boats travel between Phuket and Phi Phi Don. Many of these boats are too large to enter the bay, but they do pause at the entrance and they apparently mention that this is where The Beach starring Leonardo DiCaprio was made. From the entrance you cannot really see much.
Most people go to Phi Phi Don on a day trip and return mid-afternoon. These peop
le don't get a chance to see the famous beach. However, we will stay one night on Phi Phi Don island. From there we will rent a long-tail boat to take us to Phi Phi Le. At present there are no hotels on this island and when we visited last year there was one small snack shop.
Phuket Town was one of the locations used for The Beach. The On-On hotel on Phang-Nga Road (see picture) doubled as the backpackers guesthouse where Richard, Leonardo's character, stays on Khao San Road. Nothing much to see there at the moment. Nor any indication that "Leonardo stayed here". I am sure that will change in the future if they have any good business sense.
We will be posting our next report on Saturday evening once we have returned from the islands.
FRIDAY 4TH FEBRUARY, Phi Phi Don: Well, here we are. Believe it or not, Phi Phi Don has an internet Cafe! Actually, not one but dozens. The maze of lanes leading from the beach have everything from souvenir stalls and massage parlous to telephone booths and banks. Quite frankly, I was completely amazed. I just pictured Phi Phi Don as some slice of paradise with turquoise blue sea and white sand topped with swaying palm trees. Anyway, that is the impression the postcards give you.
Two sides to Phi Phi Don: the alleways which are more like Khao San Road in Bangkok minus the palm trees and the beachfront where backpackers bargain the price for a boat trip. (Pictures: thaistudents.com) Actually, to be honest with you, I did come here last year, so it wasn't a complete surprise. However, this is the first time I have spent a night here. And what a difference. The sun goes down and the night life starts.
Sometime last year The Nation ran an article about Backpackers in Thailand. One of the pictures they had was of a lane of shops selling t-shirts, tours and hair braiding. The caption said "Khao San Road in Bangkok". The mecca of all backpackers and the starting point for Richard in the movie The Beach. However, I thought at the time that it was strange that this city scene had some palm trees in the background. It is only now that i realise that this wasn't Bangkok but rather Phi Phi Don.
There are so many side lanes of shops here that it is easy to get lost. That is surprising as the distance between north beach and south beach is only a mere 300 metres. Everything you could ever want is here. Even the internet cafes that we crave. It is like a slice of Bangkok on the beach. Just a 30 minute boat ride from here is "Leonardo's Beach". The soon to be famous Maya Beach which is heavily featured in The Beach movie.
Stop and reflect for a minute. Could the "paradise" the characters in the movie discovered ever exist in reality? Take the example of Phi Phi Don 20 years ago. Was it paradise on earth? Sure! Relatively unknown, only a select few few stayed in the bungalows scattered along the beach. But, word spread. (Did someone draw a map?) The newcommers brought their own ideas of paradise. They brought a little of home. Cable t.v., air-conditioning and mini-marts. Is this still paradise? Maybe for some it is. It all depends on your definition. Phi Phi Don is not all like this. Walk across the island or ride one of the long-tailed boat taxis and you will soon discover a quieter stretch of beach. But for how much longer? I can already see a new row of shops along the beach front that wasn't here last year.
There always seems to be new buildings going up all the time on Phi Phi Don. The picture on the right shows a new row of shops along the beach front which weren't there a year ago. (Pictures: thaistudents.com) The Beach movie comes out in America and UK next weekend. As yet, there is very little publicity or promotion of Phi Phi Le as the place where they made The Beach. However, that is surely to change. On Phi Phi Don we saw at least one travel agent that was specifically advertising tours of the location of The Beach. How soon will the others follow?
I will cut this short as this is not only expensive to type per minute but there is a line of backpackers behind me waiting to check their e-mail.
Tomorrow morning we will be renting a long-tailed boat to head out to the real beach. We will then be making our report on Saturday.
Click here for the next report from Phi Phi Le.
[ February 2000 Reports | Footsteps on the Beach ]
