koh phi-phi v1.0

que moby's track porcelain. 40km offshore from krabi, 2 limestone islands shoot out from the sea in noppharat thara national park. despite both islands being protected, only the smaller island, koh phi-phi leh, remains untouched. koh phi-phi don, the larger and more accessible of the two, was the number one tourist destination in the andaman sea before the 2004 tsunami. the loss of life and property was staggering. footage and pictures seem unreal, especially with the way the now placid blue water gently swells against the limestone cliffs. the rebuilding on the island continues, unchecked, and the rumor is that park officials do not dare set foot on the island for fear of being attacked by village chiefs and bungalow developers profiting from tourism.

even with the construction the island has some semblance of the untouched paradise lyds and i seem to search for. for how long this remains is anyone's guess, as it is quickly becoming everyone's favourite destination again. i think it hit lyds hard that even here, after a tsunami swept the island clean, there is no untouched paradise. i think that is what we both have been searching for, and it simply does not exist anymore. we are too late, wearing velcro in a world of laces. there are, at least, no roads on the island. restaurants show the movie the beach every night, and profiteering thais hook up play station 2s so games can play from underneath palms.

the sunset i saw off ao lo dalem was surreal, made more spectacular from the tide moving out. the remaining pockets of water in the sand left by the retracting sea reflected the colour. the colours were so vivid and clear that my eyes flit about with too much to focus on. it was sensory overload; an injection of what i have been searching for. we have spent the last two days on the same beach, reading and snoozing amongst the cliffs and sea - mainlining our fill of beach life.

like richard i have been thinking a lot about daffy. he's close now. and sal, and bugs. year zero. time to start improving my night vision. we visit the beach tomorrow.