Sunday September 3rd, 2017
Hiked 6.5 miles
11:00 am
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| The beach is beautiful, but the sand as dirty as ash tray sand. |
This morning I showered and checked out pretty quickly this morning. My first stop was 7/11 where I grabbed a cold coffee. I was hot after spending all night refrigerated. I walked over to the pier and watched the boats. I saw a local getting his long-tail boat ready for a long day. He jumped up on the stern by stepping onto the anchor ropes first. In his hand he carried a gallon oil container with a very dark oil in it. He walked to the shaft of his propeller and poured the oil down the shaft where it ran right out the other end and onto the beach water. I am not sure how bad that is for the environment, but it made me feel better about my old 2 cycle outboard motor.
Long tail boats anchored and drifting.
I walked up to the other end of the beach and watched the waves. I really wanted to get in the water. It was warm and inviting. I noticed the waves on the clean beach sand looked slightly milky in the sun so I wanted to get a better view. I noticed very small cigar shaped rolls of paper all along the surf-line. The milkiness I was watching was dissolved toilet paper. Apparently the tourist are not reading the signs.
The tide goes way out during the day.
I walked clear to the other end of the beach and noticed a lot of mud had been bulldozed out from the high tide line. I wondered why there was such a clay like mud at a sandy beach. This disgusted me so I researched it on the internet. Apparently there are enough sewage treatment facilities on the island to treat 300 tons a day. The island can generate as much as 1800 a day. Furthermore officials are worried that existing facilities may only be turned on shortly before inspection because they are expensive to operate.
Coffee a Day is where I am writing this from. It is a small glass cubed shaped coffee shop with cool air conditioning and very comfortable tables for setting up my keyboard. I am enjoying a hot latte. It does not have a design in the foam, but it is delicious. I am not seeing any smiles since I got to Phi phi. Not on the locals anyway. I see them on every tourist and white local working at one of the many PADI certification shops all around.
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| The Tsunami monument being torn down to make a hotel. |
If I get my PADI it will be in a place I am not hearing tales about seeing where some of these pipes pour out. Hearing that some of the drainage pours right into popular diving spots. If I get sick it is not because I am swimming in sewage. I knew a guy that got hepatitis from surfing in LA, USA. There was no way I was going to risk it like that.
I've been on both sides of the island now. I have only seen a handful of swimmers. There have also only been a handful of ambulances. I am starting to crave a nice warm chlorinated pool.
10:00 pm
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| Gorgeous sunset. |
I couldn't have stayed out one minute more tonight if you ask me to. I am so happy to be back in my rack along the wall at this hostel. The beds are like a giant connect four board. I am on the bottom. I am ok with any of them, I am tired.
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| Trash on the beach. |
After my coffee earlier I sat on a bench for a few hours. I watched the shop owners sit on their phones so I decided to do the same. I learned that the daily income is $9 a day. I can not find a t-shirt for less than $12 a day. If they can just sell one t-shirt they did an average days work. There were small shops with 3 or more people working. I sat at that bench in front of a pharmacy, tattoo shop, and souvenir shop and saw no customers for 3 1/2 hours. There were plenty of people walking by that would love extra tattoos. Not a tattoo artist had a customer. For a short time I saw them practice on each other. Awesome tattoos. They were just to proud to sell it, too proud to smile. They had their internet prospects on their phones, and the money was walking by outside their shops.
My third cashew chicken tonight was tasteless and bland. Although my stomach has yet to even had the slightest discomfort. I haven't been swimming tho. I see way too much trash on the beach. What good does all this trash do if it is going to wash up in sacred places? We find ways to make a million cups, but in some parts of the world they are just going in the sea.
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| View from the bunk at night at the hostel. |
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| My trek back and forth across the island. |
