Bjorn,

My apologies, Bjorn.  I do have Koh Phi Phi Le on my map as well, maybe
1/2 km south of Koh Phi Phi Don (no scale).  It doesn't identify a Maya
Bay there either, but I see it on the map at the phiphi.com website.

I wasn't diving at Phi Phi - we were doing a yacht race from Phuket,
and spent a night in Tongsai Bay.  Sleepless, with all the noise from
Tongsai. My understanding was that the movie set used the bay just
north of Tongsai Bay.  That information appears to be mistaken - I
regret the error.

Robert Delfs

On Mon, 15 Oct 2001 19:29:34 +0800, Bjorn Vang Jensen wrote:

>You have mis-identified it, Robert. There are two islands in the Phi Phi
>group. Here is a link to a map that correctly identifies Maya Bay, which is
>not on Phi Phi Don but on Phi Phi Lei! My guess is that you were either
>guided
>by a boat operator too lazy to take you to the real thing, or by some of the
>previously mentioned drunken backpackers :-)
>
>http://phi-phi.com/maps/index.htm
>
>> I've just looked at a map to confirm whether the bay that I thought was
>> Maya Bay was in fact Maya Bay - the large bay directly on the other
>> side of the narrow stretch of land from Tongsai Bay.
>
>Wrong island!
>
>> My map doesn't give a name for the bay to the north, but my
>> recollection is that this is Maya Bay.
>
>Nope!
>
>> When I was there in 1991, two
>> bars had opened outdoor tables on the northern side, overlooking this
>> bay.  I don't know whether there are still there now - as I said, one
>> visit to Phi Phi was quite enough for me
>
>Coz you (apparently) never saw the other Phi Phi island. I agree, I wouldn't
>piss on Phi
>Phi Don if it was on fire. Phi Phi Lei is a whole other story. To begin
>with, Maya Bay is only accessible from the water, unless you are a very,
>very skilled mountain climber. That's why I did a double take when you
>started talking about hotels, restaurants and brothels!
>
>> At any rate, the main point I trying to make was that descriptions or
>> accounts which imply that this island was a pristine paradise before
>> 20th Century Fox came are, in my view, more than misleading.  Whatever
>> its nominal status as a "national park", Koh Phi Phi Don, sadly, was
>> already a dump.
>
>Well, we now know that, while the point may be worth making about Phi Phi
>Don, it is definitely not relevant in this case. I assure you that Phi Phi
>Lei is a haven of natural beauty (although sadly, thanks to Leonardo and
>friends, no longer pristine, see
>http://www.uq.edu.au/~pggredde/beach/index.html).
>
>Phi Phi Don has never been a national park.
>
>Bjorn


Robert Delfs
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