The quieter low season this year on Phi Phi has encouraged many businesses to get creative. On nearly every street you can see a business closed and busy renovating. Maybe it's because last year saw a lot of new building completed post tsunami and now the ones that were trading before want to have the same new finish.
Change is always scary, will it turn the paradise island into something commercial and ugly or will it be good?
Change - it's not always a bad thing - when the new materials are natural or when change provides new or improved facilities - change can be a necessary evil.
One change that has been lovely to watch is the gradual movement of locals from the post tsuanmi corrugated metal shacks, happily these are slowly being replaced, but still there are far too many locals living and doing business in something half the size of a european garage.
What hasn't changed is the pride of the locals in their paradise environment; considering the numbers of tourists arriving on Phi Phi everyday its amazingly clean. The beaches are still beautiful, the views breathetaking and the trend to be better continues in the right direction.