Thailand’s Ang Thong National Marine Park, the ‘new’ Maya Bay

With Thailand’s Maya Bay in Koh Phi Phi Ley remains closed indefinitely to allow the tourist-magnet some much-needed time to recover, it’s time to look for another natural wonder.

One of Thailand’s astonishing natural wonders, not as well known as Maya Bay, is the Ang Thong National Marine Park, located about 40 kilometers north west of the coast of Koh Samui. Some would argue it’s even more spectacular and worthy of at least a full day visit. 

There are many tours available to the National Park.

The Ang Thong National Marine Park is made up of 42 islands spread over 102 square kilometers. Travelers will find beautiful beaches, limestone cliffs, caves, rock formations and countless photo opportunities. Enjoy some views from the air…

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It will take you about an hour to travel there from either the Surat Thani mainland or from Koh Samui by speedboat. There are slower ferry-style boat trips as well but you’ll lose a lot of time travelling there (usually for day trips) and the speedboats can get into much shallower waters.

Tours usually also squeeze in a visit to Koh Phaluai, the park’s biggest island, where there’s a popular  stilted restaurant in the island’s fishing village, serving a delicious seafood lunch.

Another popular island worth visiting is Koh Wua Talap, famed for wildlife spotting and what might just be the most beautiful viewpoint in the entire park.

FUN FACT: Though the 2000 movie “The Beach,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio, was filmed in Koh Phi Phi’s Maya Bay in the Andaman Sea, the book by Alex Garland upon which the film was based was actually set in Ang Thong in the Gulf of Thailand.

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Source - The Thaiger 

Thailand - Maya Bay closed for at least another two years

Maya Bay on Koh Phi Phi Ley, closed last June to allow coral restoration and beach recovery, will now remain closed to visitors for at least another two years.

Dr Thon Thamrongnawasawat, assistant dean of the Faculty of Fisheries at Kasetsart University and a renowned marine specialist says, “The meeting yesterday concluded that Maya Bay is to be closed for two more years as the natural environment needs more time to recover.”

Maya Bay’s extended closure will keep the wraps on one of southern Thailand’s most popular tourist attractions. The closure is a blow to Koh Phi Phi tourism but despite protests from tour operators the National Park chiefs have been resolute to plan a more controlled tourist interface in the future. There are already plans in place to limit tour boats visiting the beach whenever it reopens.

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At its peak there were 5,000+ tourists visiting the secluded bay, made famous in the 2000 Hollywood film ‘The Beach’, every day.

Read more about recent extensions to the closure HERE.

#Thailand - Maya Bay to be closed for up to five years

Maya Bay’s beach, closed last year to allow coral restoration and beach recovery, could remain closed to visitors for many years. Maya Bay is located in the Phi Phi islands between Krabi and Phuket.

The famous Koh Phi Phi Ley beach needs time for its ecology to fully recover years of tourist abuse, this according to the Phi Phi national park chief Vorapot Lomlim as reported in Khaosod English.

“Maya Bay must continue to be closed until nature has fully recovered. We expect it will take four to five years.”

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“Since Maya was closed off nearly a year ago, sea creatures like reef sharks and ghost crabs have returned to the island.”

He also reported that 23,000 corals have been planted by marine officials since the closure last year.

Maya Bay was closed to tourist on June 1 last year. The Bay first became famous as part of the setting for the 2000 film ‘The Beach’ starring Leonardo Di Caprio. That fame would lead to a surge in tourists and a rapacious local tourist industry that ramped up the numbers of tours to cater for the international popularity.

At its peak Maya Bay, the south’s most popular attraction, was receiving up to 5-6,000 tourists a day. Unwittingly, the tourists were trampling the beach and surrounding areas whilst the boats delivering them to the famous beach were throwing anchors over the side, destroying the natural coral.

Initially the national park chiefs closed off Maya Bay access for a period of three months  but it soon became apparent that the fragile bay was going to need a lot longer to recover. Officials reported that up to 50 percent of the Bay’s coral was dead.

SOURCE: The Thaiger /  Khaosod English

#Thailand - Maya Bay from 'The Beach' to be shuttered for 4 months

The once-idyllic Thai bay that became a must-see on the tourist trail after the 2000 movie "The Beach" will be closed to visitors for four months, an official said Thursday, as Thailand looks to stem the impact from crowds.

The announcement bolsters an order last month blocking boats from mooring on Maya Bay in a bid to prevent further damage to its coral reefs. 

    Up to 4,000 tourists and hundreds of boats have been flocking daily to the white-sand beach on Ko Phi Phi Ley, an island whose towering limestone cliffs and azure waters were made famous by the film starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

    But the bay will now be off limits to travellers for four months from June and September, which falls during Thailand's monsoon season, said National Park Office Director Songtham Suksawang. 

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 "We reached a resolution to close Maya for four months to allow the ecological system to rehabilitate," he told AFP. 

    The beach's land entrance will be shuttered while boats will be barred from dropping off passengers, he added.

    During the shutdown four universities will conduct a study on how to develop more sustainable forms of tourism, he said.

    The closure is the latest effort to mitigate the environmental damage wrought by Thailand's mammoth tourism industry, a crucial pillar of the economy that brought a record 35 million travelers to the kingdom last year. 

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 Environmental experts and officials have warned that mass tourism is causing irreversible damage to beautiful beaches, with litter and unchecked development disrupting local ecosystems.

      Smoking has already been banned on 20 of the country's most famous beaches this high season, with a fine or even jail for those who flout the new rule.

    Leonardo DiCaprio played the lead in "The Beach", a Danny Boyle-directed adaptation of Alex Garland's classic backpacker novel of the same name.
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Source - TheNation