The tropical southern region of Thailand, bordered by Burma and the once coral-rich Andaman sea to the west, and the island studded Gulf of Thailand to the east, used to be a lush, paradise on Earth... before fast-food tourism took its deadly toll.
Not very long ago, the tropical islands of Phuket and Ko Phi Phi were like something from a dream: pristine beaches, abundant wildlife, and laid-back friendly locals... But like Eden, paradise ultimately fails to remain beautiful and continue to thrive under the voracious appetite and ever-increasing consumeristic demands of earth's lowest life form: budget travelers.
Long discovered by zillions of low-cost chavelers and their better-accented equivalent, middle class flashpackers, the southern Andaman-coast Thailand (in particular: Phuket) seems to have been completely and permanently ruined. This once-beautiful island is a truly miserable example of what happens to paradise when no thought whatsoever is given to developing an ecologically-based infrastructure for tourism that supports and cares for the delicate balance of nature... a (sort-of) living example of a paving over paradise.
Long discovered by zillions of low-cost chavelers and their better-accented equivalent, middle class flashpackers, the southern Andaman-coast Thailand (in particular: Phuket) seems to have been completely and permanently ruined. This once-beautiful island is a truly miserable example of what happens to paradise when no thought whatsoever is given to developing an ecologically-based infrastructure for tourism that supports and cares for the delicate balance of nature... a (sort-of) living example of a paving over paradise.
Cheap flights to the local airport and long lines of air-conditioned tourist buses deliver thousands of pleasure seekers to Phuket and the surrounding islands every day, bringing with them a seemingly endless appetite for destruction. Around the clock, these travelers crowd Patong Beach's strip of tacky trinket shops, massage parlors, and western fast food restaurants, which cater almost exclusively to the drunk and sunburned masses... Once replaced by a fresh batch of morons a few days later, the departing tourists have left behind what amounts to (literally) tons of garbage: empty beer bottles, stray flip-flops, plastic bags, and candy wrappers litter the sand and the sidewalks. The island's drainage and sewerage systems, landfills, and local water treatment facilities, are obviously unable to cope with the huge demands placed upon them by millions of visitors. This results in mountains of waste, polluted beaches, brown water from the hotel taps, and a horrible, noxious smell throughout the city... kind of like a giant, backed-up toilet with palm trees. You get the idea.
In an attempt to escape the sickening state of Phuket, we booked a day long boat trip to three tiny, out lying islands: Khai Nui, Khai Nok, and Khai Nai, three minuscule specks on the map of the Andaman sea... Once home to millions of tropical fish and a thriving coral reef, these islands are now practically dead, with the exception of the obnoxious touts pushing cheap T-shirts and over-priced bottles of Heineken (that we wished would die). What coral hadn't been destroyed by the last decade's tourist mobs was finished off by 2006's tsunami, leaving the vast coral beds completely trashed. Piles of broken, bleached coral have washed up on the beaches, mixed with a pot-pourri of non-biodegradable plastic garbage. These once immaculate tropical islands are now simply a disgusting example of the destructive nature of tourism, and a complete failure of the Thai government to restrict tourist numbers, educate visitors, and ultimately protect it's fragile national treasures. Shame on them.
I would like to be able to put a positive spin on the situation by saying something like "it's never too late to make a change," but sadly enough, there seems to be absolutely no hope for Phuket. This place of fragile, natural beauty has been strangled to death, gasping it's last breath long before I ever arrived.
Tomorrow, we thankfully leave Phuket in search of a tranquil place to hopefully redeem our island experience... I only hope, in Thailand at least, that this place still exists.
More soon. x Jason
In an attempt to escape the sickening state of Phuket, we booked a day long boat trip to three tiny, out lying islands: Khai Nui, Khai Nok, and Khai Nai, three minuscule specks on the map of the Andaman sea... Once home to millions of tropical fish and a thriving coral reef, these islands are now practically dead, with the exception of the obnoxious touts pushing cheap T-shirts and over-priced bottles of Heineken (that we wished would die). What coral hadn't been destroyed by the last decade's tourist mobs was finished off by 2006's tsunami, leaving the vast coral beds completely trashed. Piles of broken, bleached coral have washed up on the beaches, mixed with a pot-pourri of non-biodegradable plastic garbage. These once immaculate tropical islands are now simply a disgusting example of the destructive nature of tourism, and a complete failure of the Thai government to restrict tourist numbers, educate visitors, and ultimately protect it's fragile national treasures. Shame on them.
I would like to be able to put a positive spin on the situation by saying something like "it's never too late to make a change," but sadly enough, there seems to be absolutely no hope for Phuket. This place of fragile, natural beauty has been strangled to death, gasping it's last breath long before I ever arrived.
Tomorrow, we thankfully leave Phuket in search of a tranquil place to hopefully redeem our island experience... I only hope, in Thailand at least, that this place still exists.
More soon. x Jason
1 comment:
Yes - it is ruined. I have photos of it 30 years ago when there were no roads. Koh Sumuii has gone the same way, Bali has had it, Koh Chang went long ago. But there was something about Phuket that was magic - think I will have to live with the memories.
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