I took the 40-minute longtail ride (150 baht each way) from Bangrong Pier over to Koh Yao Noi today. Koh Yao Noi is just off the coast of Phuket, but it’s actually part of Phang Nga province. I had never been to Koh Yao Noi, but I was keen to see all the agrotourism projects up there.

I like what they are trying to do at Koh Yao Noi, which revolves around giving tourists a different kind of travel experience. Visitors to Koh Yao Noi stay with a family and basically get an in-depth look into the way of life on the island.

At the moment, they’re pushing to get the rice paddies back in use, partly for the sake of keeping tradition alive, but more so to spark interest in the island and generate money for the locals – and why not? I’m all for this kind of project. It’s educational, interesting and hands-on. I have read that rice paddies have an effect on global warming due to the amount of methane they produce, so that is a point of contention for what is touted as an eco-friendly project.

About 1,600 rai of Koh Yao Noi is made up of rice paddies, or what used to be rice paddies. A bunch of the local kids who live and go to school on the island were playing mud football in one of the paddies.

Aside from being a lot of fun for the kids, the stomping of feet in the mudbath is good for the soil, where rice will eventually be planted.

After playing football, the kids dunked themselves in a nearby pool of water to clean off.

Something a bit different for a Sunday morning.

Check out Phang Nga Hotels for somewhere to stay in the area.

There was a tsunami drill held in each of the six Andaman provinces today. There are 79 warning towers across the Andaman region, with 19 of those located in Phuket. The sirens sounded and the drill was conducted in a similar manner to the previous tsunami drills.

I sometimes wonder how effective these drills are. They are well orchestrated and publicized and in the end they become little more than some sort of show for the cameras, with students running through the streets, smiles beaming, having a great time. However, such drills do raise awareness.

The tourists, however, sometimes just shrug and get back to their sunbathing. In Patong today, it seemed that most tourists were keen to ignore the drill. I have heard a few people saying that it isn’t a matter of if, but when, there will be another tsunami. Will Phuket and the other Andaman regions be ready for such a scenario? It’s possible, but we really can’t be sure how effective the tsunami-warning system is.

If you’ve seen some of the pictures from after the tsunami – of the dead bodies and dismembered limbs strewn all around – then you’ll appreciate the importance of these tsunami drills. The world was shocked by the tsunami in 2004, but some tourists couldn’t be bothered to take 10 minutes from their busy schedules to join in today.

Gripes aside, I think Phuket and the Andaman provinces are making progress in reaching the stage where people are prepared for another tsunami, but there is still work to be done.

There was a tsunami drill about one year ago, similar to the one today. Some of the sirens were too quiet while others were inaudible. There was another good show for the media, but away from the cameras, there were problems.

It has yet to come out what problems there were with today’s drill, but no doubt more will be known tomorrow. The sirens in Patong have never been the problem; it’s elsewhere there were concerns.

Did anyone hear the sirens this morning?

One of the most common questions I’m asked about Phuket is how the Phuket weather is. People seem genuinely concerned that the weather in Phuket could potentially ruin a trip to the island. Rest assured that the Phuket weather is far more forgiving than in Bangkok.

Whereas in Bangkok you expect the whole city to come to a standstill during the heavy rain, in Phuket, the rain comes in short sharp bursts that you barely notice. The whole monsoon-season aspect of Phuket weather is totally blown out of proportion.

Yes, it does rain a lot during some months, but it’s not as if it doesn’t ease up at regular intervals. At it’s worst, Phuket weather will be incredibly wet in sporadic bursts of an hour or so, but as soon as it stops raining, everything dries up pretty fast.

The best time to visit Phuket is definitely during low season. It’ll rain from time to time, but you’ll still be able to enjoy your trip. Phuket weather is hot all the year round, too, so the rain is usually refreshing.

I like the weather in Phuket far more than in Bangkok, mostly because when it rains the streets don’t tend to flood so much.

Thailand’s premier island destination took a slating from National Geographic recently. National Geographic called on 522 so-called experts to assess the world’s top island destinations in terms of the affect that tourism is having on the islands. As you can imagine, Phuket did not come off too favorably.

Each destination was given a score out of 100. Phuket’s score was a lowly 46, which means the island is “in serious trouble”.

The National Geographic experts commented as follows:

“Chaotic development. The Thai people do not realize what a beautiful island we have. They continue to over-exploit all the island’s resources. Old buildings from the pioneer settlement era still can be found downtown. However, many are not taken care of. No building code harmonizing construction with the natural settings, especially on Pathong beach (ugly high-rise building). We missed the window of opportunity after the 2004 tsunami to clean out illegal coastal development. Very sad.”

“Phuket’s original charm as an astonishingly beautiful, unspoiled, and culturally rich destination has been completely lost.”

“Given the tsunami, it’s wonderful to see what has been achieved to rebuild people’s lives in two and a half years. What I experienced is a credit to small and micro businesses that kept faith in the tourism future of the island. Like all destinations, there are various ecological, social, and economic challenges.”

“A planning disaster! Reputation for bars and illicit activities overwhelm the natural charm of the Thai people. Prostitution and urban sprawl rampant.”

“Too much tourism development without a plan. Pathong is a classical sex-tourism destination, probably worse than Bangkok. Some nice resorts and beaches. The water ‘looks’ fine, but is polluted.”

It sounds to me as if the National Geographic team only visited Patong. What I dislike about this report is the implication by one of the panelists that it is entirely the fault of Thai people that Phuket is the way it is. Furthermore, people often seem to forget that there is more to Phuket than Patong.

However, on an island as large as Phuket, finding desirable areas shouldn’t be a case of visiting secret spots. The entire Andaman region is in danger of falling behind the rest of the world as eco-tourism looks to be the thing of the future. This includes Krabi and Phang Nga.

I’ve been asked to put word out for people who can write about Phuket for a website. A variety of topics need covering, including everything from beaches and islands to go-go bars and nightclubs. The articles are all fairly straightforward and don’t require huge amounts of research, but you’re going to need a basic knowledge of Phuket to be able to do this. Money and other incentives are offered in return. If you can do this, contact me.