Like many other Hollywood stars, Maya Bay, made famous in 2000 by Leonardo DiCaprio’s The Beach, became a victim of her own success. Over the past five years, this beautiful blonde beach, framed by a curtain of rolling limestone mountains and surrounded by dazzling jade-green water, has attracted nearly 10 million people.
However, as of last week, it has been closed indefinitely to permit corals and marine life to get well from the devastating effects of overtourism.
Initially, the plan was to shut Maya Bay from June to October 2018 to permit it to heal. But you haven’t got to be a marine biologist to know that it will never be enough for a full recovery. Living in Phuket, I actually have seen how seasonal crowds can overwhelm delicate surroundings. On my last visit to Maya Bay, I headed to the famous cove shortly after sunrise in hopes of overtaking the 5,000 vacationers who visit the beach daily. However, at 8 a.m., only a square meter of sand was visible, and dozens of long-tail boats were parked at a depth of three meters along the shore. The noise of the engine was deafening and the surface of the luminous green water sparkled with sunscreen and gasoline. It wasn’t a nice experience.
“With so many speedboats and powerboats arriving every day, and ferries running to take photos, we have seen the shallow corals die off,” said Klaus Thumm, a long-time resident and owner of H2O Sportz Phuket. “Additionally, guests urinate into the sea – thousands of them – and most boats use marine toilets, which they also dump into the water.”
Thumm added: “Hard corals grow very slowly, at only 1-3 cm per year. “Full recovery may take years.”
Fortunately, Thailand – and its neighbors – they’ve dozens of lovely beaches which are value looking for out.
Telegraph.co UK has put together a listing of a few of our favorites. Whichever hot spot you find yourself in, be responsible and take away all your personal rubbish, don’t run off with shells or sand and use an ocean-safe sunscreen like All Good Sunscreen Butter (£7.50) – nobody wants a repeat of Maya Bay.
1.Thoi Islands, Vietnam
The diamond-shaped island of Phu Quoc in Vietnam’s distant southwestern tip has remained off the tourist radar for years. Today, on many sparkling shores, you possibly can hear music from construction sites and increasing traffic on the beach. But just off the southern coast, a chunk of Eden remained. Pack a picnic and rent a ship from Phu Quoc Port to take you to the mesmerizing An Thoi Islands, a speckle of 15 islands, secluded coves and colourful coral reefs almost completely devoid of individuals.
2. Khlong Rahan, Thailand
The island of Koh Kood on Thailand’s eastern coast is gorgeous, so it is a miracle that it has remained relatively untouched by tourism. The island is surrounded by a dozen beaches, each a vision of crystal water, icy white sand and tranquil tide pools, but when you should ensure that the one marks on the beach are yours, search for Khlong Rahan’s brush within the soft white sands. The only company you are more likely to have are the hermit crabs scurrying backwards and forwards.
3. Sok San, Cambodia
You can all the time discover a quiet spot on Sok San, also often known as Southwest Beach, which stretches for seven sandy kilometers on the island of Koh Rong, bobbing within the Gulf of Thailand below Cambodia’s Sihanoukville province. From the shore, jump straight into an aquatic wonderland full of seahorses, diamondback fish, goatfish and grumpy groupers. In the evening, the bioluminescent plankton will shimmer and dance in a festival of glowing light. The tiny star-like creatures change into brighter the darker it’s, so avoid the week around the complete moon.
4. Binh Lap, Vietnam
A naval base transformed into an island idyll, Cam Rahn Bay, on Vietnam’s eastern flank, is picture-perfect – jungle-painted islands, blue waters like a liquid screen, snow-covered beaches and barely an individual visible.
The entire bay is dotted with stunning island beaches akin to Binh Tien, Binh Hung and Na Cu, but essentially the most enchanting of all of them is secluded Binh Lap, a beach dotted with large shiny boulders – more Seychelles than Southeast Asia.
5. Pink beach on Big Santa Cruz Island, Philippines
The Philippine archipelago consists of seven,640 islands. Green mangrove parrots mixed with blue water and salmon sand create a incredible backdrop at Pink Beach in Great Santa Cruz. The pink tint is the results of billions of pieces of red organ coral being eroded into tiny fragments, the scarlet bits of which will be seen when the sand flows between your fingers. Visitor numbers are limited (entrance will be arranged through the local tourist board) and facilities are few (organize a picnic), making this a perfect location.
6. Tanjung Rhu, Langkawi, Malaysia
Tanjung Rhu is by far essentially the most beautiful beach in Langkawi: three kilometers of wide ivory sand surrounded by a glassy aquamarine seascape punctuated by dramatic limestone karsts. There are several upscale resorts around this public beach, including the Four Seasons Langkawi, but day trip tourists are few and much between, giving the complete stretch the texture of a non-public escape. If you are searching for something to do, stretches of shady mangrove forest line its edges and invite some incredible kayaking.
7. Tubkaak, Thailand
It’s only 20 kilometers along the coast from Krabi, however it seems like a very different world from the thousands and thousands of tourists who flock there yearly. White sand swirls along the shore, creating Insta-perfect pools and shoals. Long-tailed boats wrapped in rainbow ribbons bob on the luminous green Andaman Sea. Tag one in every of them and take a ride to nearby Hong Island, where you will find one other gorgeous M-shaped beach and a mysterious lagoon hidden deep within the forested interior of the rainforest.
8. Don Daeng Island, Laos
Beaches don’t come any more mysterious than those of Don Daenga within the wilds of inland Laos, which only reveal themselves in the course of the dry season from November to April, when the Mekong River recedes. The entire scene, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site as a cultural landscape, looks like a Nineteenth-century watercolor; wide sandy banks, rickety bamboo bridges, baby-faced novices floating past in picket boats, rice fields swaying within the hills above. Swimming is splendidly cool and refreshing, but stay near shore to avoid deceptively strong currents.
9. Pulau Third, Malaysian Borneo
A pleasant 20-minute wind-blown boat ride from the mainland, Sabah is a cluster of small islands that rose to the surface as mud volcanoes within the late Nineteenth century. Two centuries later, they became famous because the setting for the primary series of the British and American versions of the tv show Survivor. And while it isn’t entirely a secret, the island’s earthy beauty stays intact. There’s loads of vibrant marine life here – fan corals, parrotfish and green sea turtles – to maintain snorkelers joyful, and inland there are warm pools of sticky mud, perfect for a DIY spa.
Source : Telegraph.co within the UK
