Coordinates: 7°44′00″N, 98°46′00″E Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...

Location of Phi Phi Islands

Maya Bay on Ko Phi Phi Leh

The famous beaches

Internal lake connecting through a cave to the open sea.

The rocky coast is eaten away by the tide, shaping the islands like mushrooms.

Muslim fishing village of Panyee, built on the shallow water off Khao Panyee (Panyee Island)

The Phi Phi Islands (Thai: หมู่เกาะพีพี) are located in Thailand, between the large island of Phuket and the western Andaman Sea coast of the mainland. Phi Phi Don, the larger and principal of the two Phi Phi islands, is located at 7°44′00″N, 98°46′00″E. Both Phi Phi Don, and Phi Phi Leh, the smaller, are administratively part of Krabi province, most of which is on the mainland, and is located at 8°02′30″N, 98°48′39″E. Image File history File links Location of Phi Phi Islands, Thailand File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Location of Phi Phi Islands, Thailand File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Kho Pipi Maya Beach. ... Kho Pipi Maya Beach. ... Mahya Bay Another view of Mahya Beach Ko Phi Phi Lee (or Ko Phi Phi Ley) is an island of the Phi Phi archipelago, in the Andaman Sea. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (3264x2448, 1312 KB) shot it myself in April 2004 I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (3264x2448, 1312 KB) shot it myself in April 2004 I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (3264x2448, 965 KB) shot it myself I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (3264x2448, 965 KB) shot it myself I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (3264x2448, 1164 KB) Typical Muslim floating village in Phi Phi Islands, Thailand. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (3264x2448, 1164 KB) Typical Muslim floating village in Phi Phi Islands, Thailand. ... Phuket (Thai ภูเก็ต) is one of the southern provinces (changwat) of Thailand. ... The Andaman Sea (Burmese: ; IPA: ) is a body of water to the southeast of the Bay of Bengal, south of Myanmar, west of Thailand and east of the Andaman Islands; it is part of the Indian Ocean. ... Krabi (Thai กระบี่) is one of the southern provinces (changwat) of Thailand, at the shore of the Andaman Sea. ...

Ko Phi Phi Don ("ko" (Thai: เกาะ) meaning "island" in the Thai language) is the largest island of the group, and is the only island with permanent inhabitants, although the beaches of the second largest island, Ko Phi Phi Lee (or "Ko Phi Phi Leh"), are visited by many people as well. There are no accommodation facilities on this island, but it is just a short boat ride from Ko Phi Phi Don. The rest of the islands in the group, including Bida Nok, Bida Noi, and Bamboo Island, are not much more than large limestone rocks jutting out of the sea. Beach on Koh Phi Phi Don Ko Phi Phi Don (ko meaning island in the Thai language) is the largest of the Phi Phi Islands, in Thailand. ... Thai (, transcription: phasa thai, transliteration: ; IPA: ), is the national and official language of Thailand and the mother tongue of the Thai people, Thailands dominant ethnic group. ... Mahya Bay Another view of Mahya Beach Ko Phi Phi Lee (or Ko Phi Phi Ley) is an island of the Phi Phi archipelago, in the Andaman Sea. ...

Phi Phi Don was initially populated by Muslim fishermen during the late 1940s, and later became a coconut plantation. The Thai population of Phi Phi Don remains more than 80% Muslim.

Ko Phi Phi Leh was the backdrop for the 2000 movie The Beach. Phi Phi Leh also houses the 'Viking Cave', from which there is a thriving bird's nest soup industry. There was criticism during filming of 'The Beach' that the permission granted to the film company to physically alter the environment inside Phi Phi Islands National Park was illegal. ^[1] 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Beach is a 2000 film by the Trainspotting team of writer John Hodge and director Danny Boyle based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Alex Garland. ... The key ingredient of bird-nest soup An island in southern Thailand where bird nests are collected A bowl of birds nest soup Birds nest soup (Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: yàn wō, literally swallows nest) is a delicacy[1] in Chinese cuisine. ...

Following the release of The Beach, tourism on Phi Phi Don increased dramatically, and with it the population of the island. Many buildings were constructed without planning permission.^{[citation needed]}

Villages

• Ao Maya
• Ban Laem Tong
• Laem Tong
• Ban Ton Sai
• Hat Yao

2004 tsunami

On 26 December 2004, much of the inhabited part of Phi Phi Don was devastated by the Indian Ocean Tsunami. The island's main village, Ton Sai (Banyan Tree, Thai: ต้นไทร), is mainly built on a sandy isthmus between the island's two long, tall limestone ridges. On both sides of Ton Sai are semicircular bays lined with beaches. The isthmus rises to less than two metres (six feet) above sea level. December 26 is the 360th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar, 361st in leap years. ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Animation of the tsunami caused by the earthquake (see also the full-length version) From NOAA/PMEL. The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake, was an undersea earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC (07:58:53 local time) on December... The Isthmus of Panama connects North and South America. ...

Shortly after 10 am on the morning of 26 December, the water from both bays receded. When the tsunami hit, at 10.37 am, it did so from both bays, and met in the middle of the isthmus. The wave that came into Ton Sai Bay was 3 metres (10 feet) high. The wave that came into Loh Dalum Bay was 6.5 metres (18 feet) high. The force of the larger wave from Loh Dalum Bay pushed debris south-westwards into Ton Sai Bay.

The tsunami also breached low-lying areas in the limestone karsts, passing from Laa Naa Bay to Bakhao Bay, and at Laem Thong (Sea Gypsy Village), where 11 people died. Apart from these breaches, the eastern side of the island experienced only flooding and strong currents. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Moken. ...

At the time of the tsunami, the island had an estimated 10,000 occupants, including tourists.

Post-tsunami reconstruction

After the tsunami, approximately 70% of the buildings on the island had been destroyed. By the end of July 2005, an estimated 850 bodies had been recovered, and an estimated 1,200 people were still missing. The total number of fatalities is unlikely to be known however local tour guides cite the figure of 4,000. Of Phi Phi Don residents, 104 surviving children had lost one or both parents.

In the immediate aftermath of the disaster, the island was evacuated. The Thai government declared the island temporarily closed while a new zoning policy was drawn up. Many transient Thai workers returned to their home towns, and former permanent residents were housed in a refugee camp at Nong Kok in Krabi province.

However, in late January 2005, a former Dutch resident of Phi Phi, Emile Kok, set up a voluntary organization, Help International Phi Phi. Hi Phi Phi recruited 68 Thai staff from the refugee camp, as well as transient backpacker volunteers (of whom more than 3,500 offered their assistance), and returned to the island to undertake clearing and rebuilding work. On February 18, 2005, a second organization, Phi Phi Dive Camp ^[2], was set up to remove the debris from the bays and coral reef, most of which was in Ton Sai Bay.

By the end of July 2005, 23,000 tonnes of debris had been removed from the island, of which 7,000 tonnes had been cleared by hand. "We try and do as much as possible by hand," said Kok, "that way we can search for passports and indentification." The majority of buildings that were deemed fit for repair by government surveyors had been repaired, and three hundred businesses had been restored. Hi Phi Phi was nominated for a Time Magazine Heroes of Asia award ^[3].

On October 31, 2005, Deputy Prime Minister Pinit Jarusombat proposed an upgrade to the hotels and restaurants on Phi Phi Don, and a limitation to the number of tourists visiting. "It'll help us preserve its environment," said Pinit. ^[4] However, after consultation with residents and land-owners, many of whom opposed the plan, the Bangkok Post reported on February 17, 2006, that the proposals would not affect Phi Phi. The Bangkok Post is a broadsheet English-language daily newspaper published in Bangkok, Thailand. ... February 17 is the 48th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ...

As of 6 December 2005, nearly 1,500 hotel rooms were open, and a tsunami early warning alarm system had been installed by the Thai government, with the help of volunteers. December 6 is the 340th day of the year (341st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Phi Phi Islands Imagery

Google Earth

The islands of Phi Phi are intermittently visible on the satellite imagery software Google Earth, and the online maps of GoogleMaps. Although the resolution is not at a particularly high level, the beaches of Ton Sai Bay and Loh Dalum Bay are clearly visible at the "1 mile" and "2000 foot" scales. At all lower resolution (larger area) zoom levels, the islands are not visible. Via Google Earth, the elevation of the terrain can also be seen when the tilt function is used and Bida Nok, Bida Noi, and Bamboo Island are visible.

Google Maps

Google Earth is a virtual globe program that was originally called Earth Viewer and was created by Keyhole, Inc. ...

Yahoo Maps

Yahoo Maps

See also

• List of islands of Thailand

This is a list of islands of Thailand. ...

References

1. ^ UQ.edu.au - pggredde
2. ^ PhiPhiDiveCamp.com
3. ^ Time.com
4. ^ TheStandard.com - Hong Kong

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Ko Phi Phi

• Ko Phi Phi travel guide from Wikitravel