The beach bar ~ Koh Phi Phi Don
March 22, 2002

Cheap booze a few steps from a beach full of topless beauties? This place is really beginning to get on my nerves!

Beach brats ~ Koh Lanta
March 19, 2001

Every afternoon shortly after school must have let out, crowds of little brown beach brats would arrive at our stretch of sand and draw up hopscotch squares, collect shells to give as gifts to tourists and generally make delightful nuisances of themselves.

Another Beach at the end of a dusty road ~ Koh Lanta
March 20, 2002

We have grown to love the spunky little bikes available all over SE Asia and were going to rent this bike for the entire day so that we could explore the whole island. The roads were so bumpy we were bottoming out continuously. So dusty our hair turned a dirty gray. We returned the bike after 45 minutes and rented snorkel gear instead. This is the beach after all - what do we want with a bike?

Blue Lagoon ~ panoramic, Koh Phi Phi Leh
March 21, 2002

The boat we were on usually takes 30 - 40 people out kayaking and snorkeling every day. By some fluke the nine of us had the five man crew to ourselves this day. It just doesn't get any better than this, does it?

Deserted Longtail ~ Koh Lanta
Marc 20, 2001

A deserted longtail and a deserted hat. Ko Lanta

In the turquiose no-where ~ Near Bamboo Island
March 22, 2002

Swimming off a boat somewhere near Bamboo island. Koh Phi Phi is in the background. If I were a better looking bloke, this might be worthy of Thailand's tourist brochures.

Hammock time! ~ Koh Lanta
March 19, 2002

Julie winding down after a long day not at work

. . . with the fish ~ Koh Phi Phi Leh
March 22, 2002

Snorkeling. Though the pictueresque bays of Thailand have thier share of anchor damage, snorkeling is still some of the bedt in the world. At least that's what we thought even after being being stung by jellyfish, being scared by a huge eel and avoiding the barbs of a Lionfish.

Ko Lanta ~ That would be on Koh Lanta
March 20, 2002

The waiter at our bungalow told us that Koh Lanta is a very quiet island. After the beaches in Vietnam and Cambodia, Ko Lanta seemed busy and we had to disagree, despite this picture. Later, after visiting Koh Phi Phi, we would have to rescind. Though there are no beaches in Thailand that are quiet compared to Vietnam and Cambodia, Koh Lanta is definitely the place to come and get away from crowds on beaches in Thailand. That is if you like that sort of thing.

Longtails ~ Koh Phi Phi Don
March 21, 2002

The taxis of the Thai coast, Longtails can be hired for any short trip around the beaches and islands of Thailand. They are probably the only way to find your own private and deserted stretch of sand ~ still available if you're willing to search.

The beach from The Beach ~ Panoramic
March 22, 2002

This is THE beach. As in where the movie "The Beach" was filmed over two months in 1999. For a change I wasn't disappointed by something I had seen in a movie or read about in a book. Maya beach has everything that makes the perfect beach. A protected cove, a powder white beach, good swimming, good snorkeling, no buildings.... the list goes on. It was even bigger and more beautiful than I had hoped. Hell, there weren't even that many of us tourists coming to see where Leonardo got it on with that English bird.

Vikings and bird's nests ~ Koh Phi Phi Leh
March 22, 2002

I barely noticed the renowned paintings on the walls of this large cave that opens right onto the ocean. Koh Phi Phi Leh is almost entirely sheer cliffs and it's caves make perfect nest sites for the breed of Swift responsible for the nests of 'Bird's Nest Soup' fame. The men who risk their lives to clamber up the bamboo 'ladders' you can see everywhere in this picture, get about 50 USD for one of the tiny nests. The retail value in China, where the nests are coveted for their medicina value, is far higher. Over 250 million Baht (6 million USD) worth of nests have been harvested from this cave alone over the years. Oh yeah, the cave gets it's name from an old wall-painting of a Viking type ship.