The recovery of Ko Phi Phi

Ko Phi Phi is a small island midway between Phuket and Krabi. The tsunami ruined it. So far they've found 750 bodies and believe another 1,500 to 2,000 people are missing, although the authorities don't know for sure because there had been so much illegal construction on the island.

The recovery - spurred by backpackers who can squeeze in a few days, weeks or months out of their trip - has helped Phi Phi get back on its feet again, but its future is uncertain since the Thai government hasn't decided what to do yet. I'm divided in how I feel about the recovery effort.

I think the main volunteer group, Help International Phi Phi (HI Phi Phi), has done a good job cleaning up Phi Phi and getting people there. It's a grassroots effort, and because of HI Phi Phi, there are now more than 130 shops and the island is definitely ready for tourists again (although it isn't perfect. I got excited when I saw a sign for gelato - then I realized the store below had been wiped out).

But I didn't always like HI Phi Phi. We went on a tsunami tour that lasted an hour longer than expected because they ran through every single project they were working on. Sometimes it seemed to be more about HI Phi Phi than Ko Phi Phi. We later met another volunteer who had skipped the tour; when we told her it was okay, she said, "Really? They were pushing it hard. I got the feeling I had to go on the tour if I wanted to help out."

And I don't know what Phi Phi was like before, but it's turned into Party Central now (which, I admit, was part of the reason I came there, but I didn't come with any illusions of saving the world either). Ninety percent of the island is Muslim, so the volunteers take Fridays off out of respect for Islam, yet we all still get wasted and walk around in skimpy clothes.

Jackie and I volunteered with The Adventure Club, a dive outfit that worked primarily on beach cleanup and removing debris from the ocean. The day before we came, snorkelers pulled out a mini-grand piano. There are still bits of glass and sheet metal from the bungalows that once stood nearby, and Jackie even dug rice cooker out of the ocean.


This is a room from the employee complex of a large hotel that had once stood nearby. They still haven't cleaned it up.


Only the squat toilets withstood the tsunami.


There are supposed to be bungalows behind this sign.


A sign at one of HI Phi Phi's offices.


The HI Phi Phi volunteer board.


Volunteers with The Adventure Club do beach cleanup.





Two trash heaps the volunteers compiled. As of June 2005, they've carted more than 2,000 tons of trash and rubble off the island.


Chen, the guide for our tsunami tour, who was on Phi Phi the day pf the tsunami. He survived and, like everyone else on the island, made his way to higher ground.