Showing posts with label storm. Show all posts
Katie & Harriet
15:16
For the last week or so the rain on Phi Phi has been more persistent than normal for the time of year. At several points the streets in the town were more like rivers. But even on that scale last night took the biscuit! The Tonsai bay side took a real battering - the walkways in front of Don Chuket have crumbled under the force of the high tide. The longtail boat used for seating in front of Carpe Diem broke away and is now half wrecked on the beach. Many of the other beach bars have been half buried under sand from the beach. There are a couple of broken longtails which didn't survive the waves and there are reports that the big Taksin cargo boat on the west side of Tonsai broke away from its mooring. The island is not this weather proof, so this morning there have been businesses flooded and an electricity fire caused by water getting into the box.
Most tourists seem oblivious including the one that asked me to recommend a beach to him while i was in the middle of clearing flood water, but then there are those like Katie and Harriet who restore my faith in human nature. Two girls from London, they came and asked the owner of Carlitos bar for black bags so that they could help clear the beach in front of the bar from all the debris and plastic that the storm had thrown up. Such acts are rare and the smiles on their faces while they were doing it were were as welcome as the sunshine is today.
What can i say - cheers to Katie and Harriet and hoping that more people like this visit Phi Phi Island.- who see it - see us - and know that the world only remains beautiful (even on paradise islands) if we all care and do our bit.
Most tourists seem oblivious including the one that asked me to recommend a beach to him while i was in the middle of clearing flood water, but then there are those like Katie and Harriet who restore my faith in human nature. Two girls from London, they came and asked the owner of Carlitos bar for black bags so that they could help clear the beach in front of the bar from all the debris and plastic that the storm had thrown up. Such acts are rare and the smiles on their faces while they were doing it were were as welcome as the sunshine is today.
What can i say - cheers to Katie and Harriet and hoping that more people like this visit Phi Phi Island.- who see it - see us - and know that the world only remains beautiful (even on paradise islands) if we all care and do our bit.
the 20 year storm
12:21I woke before the alarm around 7.30am to the sound of heavy rain on the tin roof and water plopping into the bucket catching the leaks.
We get tropical rain here on Phi Phi Island, which tends to be heavy, but in short bursts but this was something different, like an English storm with the chill in the air and the big wind. Locals who have lived here longer than 16 years say they have never experienced anything like it.
I took a walk round the island, as there was no electricity - so nothing else to do. The east side of tonsai bay, where i am, seems to have been the worst hit of the main town area. huge trees have shed giant branches and the locals are busy with machetes hacking them into smaller pieces to cart away.
one thing you'd never see in England is people out int he rain sweeping up the debris, we'd wait till it stopped but at 7.30am everyone was out with their bamboo brooms sweeping up leaves,twigs and water int eh wind.and rain while being fascinated by the wild wet leaves which have splattered themselves over every building.
nothing here seems to be storm waterproof - including the concrete buildings, so even though the damage around the rest of the town is minimal there's still frantic mopping going on.
Bizarre though, that the only place i found a wave on the island was on the less affected Loh Dalum Bay side - big storms on an island, without waves, is something a Cornish girl finds hard to understand.
Midday, it's overcast and breezy but it's like it never happened.
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