Steve Posted April 5, 2002 Report Share Posted April 5, 2002 You guys have some great survivor challenges & comments. One more: * Who will be the first to find a bar or go go without a BG named Lek. (bar must have at least 5 BGs) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashman Posted April 5, 2002 Report Share Posted April 5, 2002 I was in south Thailand recently talking to a diver who told me that a car ferry mysteriously sank some time ago. It's common knowledge among divers that this was an insurance job, the crew were picked up by a small boat that happened to be not far behind. The wreck has been a popular site for divers, they love wrecks. Apparently it's become very dangerous so be warned if you're thinking of doing a diving course near the Pee Pee islands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 5, 2002 Report Share Posted April 5, 2002 ...the only difference I noticed... My understanding of one of the larger environmental impacts of The Beach is this. The directors wanted a nice long, wide, pristine beach, so they uprooted every plant, bush and tree over a wide expanse to achieve this. As a result, a large amount of sand then was blown and eroded into the sea over a short period of time. This buried the coral and led a chain reaction of the demise of the undersea life in that area. Tourism too has very negative impacts on the islands. Look how far people are going now to try to find decent coral. There isn't any worth mentioning this side of Similan as far as I can tell. I've been to tarutao island where they plan to film survivor this time and everything is wrong with it from a tourist point of view, unless you are a backpacker AND don't know about better places. It wouldn't be bad if people went there; there just doesn't seem to be much there to destroy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashman Posted April 5, 2002 Report Share Posted April 5, 2002 A lot of coral gets destroyed by dynamite fishing also, probably more than with tourism. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldian Posted April 5, 2002 Report Share Posted April 5, 2002 actually, i thought it would be to see who could do the most nonstop sessions in Eden and still be left standing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racha Posted April 5, 2002 Report Share Posted April 5, 2002 Hua Nguu Great post and i totally agree with you, you have your facts right.............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racha Posted April 5, 2002 Report Share Posted April 5, 2002 Ashman, Are you talking about the King Cruiser wreck, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racha Posted April 5, 2002 Report Share Posted April 5, 2002 Escape Rabbit, I heard this rumor about the sand being blown away as well but do not believe it all. Do you know that the sand level on these type of beaches is always going back and forwards in the water with the tides and changing of the seasons, the levels are constantly changing and that sand came from the sea in the first place so I find that rumor a big myth. From what I saw the film crew actually made the area much more cleaner than it ever was before they arrived and the environmentalist people behind all the shouting did not actually know what the fuck they were on about but thought they had a good cause, The funny side about all this is Phi Phi is a national park....... In the last few years finally some things are actually being done by the government to clean up and protect the islands,sea, corals and fish stocks but it still has a long long way to go before it is anywhere near perfect. There are good places off Phuket that have coral as beautiful and even better than in the Similans, most dive shops will not take inexperienced people there though, so the sites are not so well known, I have been to the many islands around Taurato on a private boat quiet a few times and it is an amazing place for the underwater life that exists there around those islands, the beaches at Taurato have sand so white and the water is so clear it is a true underwater wonderland down there,I have never slept ashore on the islands only on a boat, I have been ashore to many of the islands to walk in the fantastic tropical jungles growing and do not know what you mean by saying there is nothing to destroy there...I agree that it is a backpackers type of place as the accommodation is only simple huts... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 5, 2002 Report Share Posted April 5, 2002 Can't really comment on whether the thai claims are accurate; just going by what's been reported. Your counter arguments are logical and very possible, but on the other hand coral reefs are a very fragile thing that doesn't take much to tip the balance as can be witnessed throughout thailand's islands. I've been to 3 islands of the tarutao chain (don't know if that's the proper term) a year ago by private boat. The forest features where I stayed including a state park and resort seemed a lot like throughout the south of Thailand. I did do a bit of hiking as tarutao has a great view point a kilo or two up a path. The resorts suck; especially the state park seems to have crusty linen that does not get washed between visitors. Lights and water are rationed. The fine white sand is an outstanding feature, but there are other white sand beaches in thailand too that are more easily accessed. Great sand is a nice bonus, but I go to the islands to enjoy the undersea life. Coral was spotty and mainly brownish with some fish here and there; not a lot. It did not hold a candle to other places in thailand or kawaii or fiji. I've seen literal jungles of bright colored coral teaming with huge schools of fish and so much more so tarutao was nothing to me. The guys I went with agreed it wasn't worth squat around tarutao. We could have missed the good places due to inexperienced folks that showed us around. At the first island, the resort people were like what? coral? there's none here, you've got to move on to the next island to find any. But it all seemed to make sense as I noticed most people were in this area for a getaway beach experience; a mixture of thai's and back packers. Nobody seemed interested in getting in the waters besides to swim. I'm willing to believe there are some great spots around there, but for someone who doesn't know a lot about the area, they could be hard to come across. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashman Posted April 6, 2002 Report Share Posted April 6, 2002 Racha I'm not sure what the name of the wreck is but I heard from an experienced diver that it's got very dangerous and some dive schools are still taking people down there. Scary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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