Just returned from Phuket and Koh Phi Phi and was devasted when visitng Koh Phi Phi that the BanYan Tree is now a gloriefied snack bar storeroom and that the memorial garden is no longer but a building site. where is the dignity in that. Its only been two years and when i went to pay my respects was horrified to think that my friends who died there are no longer respected. I was one of the lucky ones at the time and live on to cherish their memory. Is Tonsai regressing back to how it was.............

Just returned from Phuket and Koh Phi Phi and was devasted when visitng Koh Phi Phi that the BanYan Tree is now a gloriefied snack bar storeroom and that the memorial garden is no longer but a building site. where is the dignity in that. Its only been two years and when i went to pay my respects was horrified to think that my friends who died there are no longer respected. I was one of the lucky ones at the time and live on to cherish their memory. Is Tonsai regressing back to how it was.............

I visited Phi Phi last February and it seemed that the "recovery" was an exact model of pre-tsunami times. Have since heard it is well on its way back to the decrepit state it was heading for back in 2004. Sad but true....

Well unfortunately its all about dosh, so not really surprised.

The memorial garden which used to be located behind Phi Phi Banyan Villa has been closed. The management of the villa hotel, explained to us that after the tsunami, the private land owner was unsure whether the government would allow her to construct any new buildings on her empty land. The Tsunami volunteers group Hi Phi Phi (Help International) wanted a place where they could dedicate to the Tsunami victims. Since the land owner had not had any plans of building anything during that time she was very happy to allow the Hi Phi Phi volunteers to make the memorial garden on her land as a temporary site. Recently some careless people left garbage beside the memorial garden and grass started growing tall and some plants were dying and it was not as nice as at the beginning. After that, she got permission from the provincial governor to construct a building on her land and that was the end of the memorial garden. Not because she did not respect the Tsunami victims, according to Management of the nearby hotel. An official and permanent memorial site has however been recently constructed underwater in the form of sculptures in Tonsai Bay.

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Mini-video with old footage of garden on http://www.thaisnews.com/news_detail.php?newsid=203337

from Andaman News TV11 (VHF dial) + Radio Thailand FM90.5 Phuket City, both broadcast to Phang Nga, Krabi & Phuket provinces, 8.30am & later on Phuket Cable TV channel 1, Tuesday 23 January 2007 & www.Thaisnews.com { Our news text and mini-videos can be freely copied , but please give credit to Andaman News TV11 Phuket}