Leonardo DiCaprio on the island of Phi Phi Leh, where The Beach was filmed. Photograph: Album/Alamy

 

Maya Bay was once a sorry victim of overtourism. Now the beach’s wild residents – and a restricted number of human visitors – are returning

 

by Phoebe Smith

 

“I just feel like everyone tries to do something different but you all wind up doing the same damn thing.” When these words were uttered by Richard in Alex Garland’s novel The Beach – and in the film adaptation by a young Leonardo DiCaprio 22 years ago – no one realised just how prophetic they were.

 

The novel’s protagonist was talking about the trap backpackers like him fall into when travelling around Thailand: all visiting the same sites, from Bangkok’s Khao San Road and the 46-metre reclining gold buddha at Wat Pho temple to full-moon parties on Ko Samui. He decides to do “something different”, and so begins a journey to find a secret island idyll. Little did the filmmakers realise they were about to add that location to the tourist bucket list and see its popularity explode.

 

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The film location for the fictional limestone-fringed paradise Richard discovers was an island called Phi Phi Leh. Until Hollywood came, few people knew about it, and even fewer visited. But after the film’s success, it became the island every daytripper wanted to visit, and they flocked in their millions – up to 6,000 tourists a day – from resorts such as Phuket, Krabi and Ko Phi Phi.

 

Full story: https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2022/may/16/thailand-cove-made-famous-in-the-beach-reopens-to-visitors-after-four-year-closure

 

-- © Copyright The Guardian 2022-05-17

 

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I sat in a bar on Phi Phi watching this movie when it came out.

Somewhat iconic moment.

Any lessons learnt, or will the money grab resume when tourists are back in numbers?

"The novel’s protagonist was talking about the trap backpackers like him fall into when travelling around Thailand: all visiting the same sites, from Bangkok’s Khao San Road and the 46-metre reclining gold buddha at Wat Pho temple to full-moon parties on Ko Samui."

 

Something different????......Well the "Full Moon Parties" are on Koh Phangan.....

 

Get your facts right before posting please!

Edited May 17, 20224 yr by Troy Tempest