Krabi

Phi Phi Islands

Famed as among the most beautiful tropical islands of the world, Phi Phi Islands have become one of the most popular tourist attractions of Thailand. It was here that the well-known movie "The Beach" featured by Leonardo DiCaprio was shot. The islands, together with the nearby Noppharat Thara Beach, were recently established as a national park with a total area of 390 sq.km.

As most visitors to Phi Phi Islands come from Phuket some 40 km. away, many of them think that the islands are part of Phuket. In fact, both Noppharat Thara Beach and Phi Phi belong to Krabi province, though the distance from Krabi to Phi Phi is about the same as that between Phuket and Phi Phi.

Also, it is usually misunderstood that the island group of Phi Phi Islands is composed of only 2 islets, Phi Phi Don and Phi Phi Le. But actually, the area of Phi Phi Islands covers 6 islets altogether, namely Phi Phi Don, Phi Phi Le, Mai Phai (Bamboo), Yung, Bida Nok and Bida Nai. The islands and the coastal hills are mostly composed of limestone and are an extension of the limestone mountain range in Phang-nga province. Some of the characteristics of such mountains and islands are their steep cliffs, large caves and dwarf trees growing out of the crevices in the rocks, like those in Phang-nga Bay.



Phi Phi Don

Among the islets of Phi Phi Islands, Phi Phi Don, the larger one which lies in the north, is well known for its fine beaches and coral formations around the island and is provided with an assortment of accommodation facilities along the two beautiful curved bays, Ton Sai Bay and Lodalam Bay, in the south and others at the northern end of the island. Several shops at Ton Sai can arrange diving and snorkelling trips around the island or the nearby islands -- Phi Phi Le Island, Yung Island and Mai Phai (Bamboo) Island.

Phi Phi Le

About 2 km. to the south is Phi Phi Le Island. Contrary to Phi Phi Don, this islet is uninhabited, not only because this is banned, but also because there is no beach around it. The island descends abruptly into the sea on all sides. Au Maya and Au Lo Sama among the scenic coves of the island are favourite places for snorkellers. The sea around the island is deep, especially the southern part, which is over 30 metres deep and is full of coral formations and so is a popular diving spot.

I like Phi Phi Don & Phi Phi Le because it is beautiful and impressive.

Mother's day

History

Contrary to popular belief, Mother's Day was not conceived and fine-tuned in the boardroom of Hallmark. The earliest tributes to mothers date back to the annual spring festival the Greeks dedicated to Rhea, the mother of many deities, and to the offerings ancient Romans made to their Great Mother of Gods, Cybele. Christians celebrated this festival on the fourth Sunday in Lent in honor of Mary, mother of Christ. In England this holiday was expanded to include all mothers and was called Mothering Sunday.

In the United States, Mother's Day started nearly 150 years ago, when Anna Jarvis, an Appalachian homemaker, organized a day to raise awareness of poor health conditions in her community, a cause she believed would be best advocated by mothers. She called it "Mother's Work Day."

Fifteen years later, Julia Ward Howe, a Boston poet, pacifist, suffragist, and author of the lyrics to the "Battle Hymn of the Republic," organized a day encouraging mothers to rally for peace, since she believed they bore the loss of human life more harshly than anyone else.

In 1905 when Anna Jarvis died, her daughter, also named Anna, began a campaign to memorialize the life work of her mother. Legend has it that young Anna remembered a Sunday school lesson that her mother gave in which she said, "I hope and pray that someone, sometime, will found a memorial mother's day. There are many days for men, but none for mothers."

Anna began to lobby prominent businessmen like John Wannamaker, and politicians including Presidents Taft and Roosevelt to support her campaign to create a special day to honor mothers. At one of the first services organized to celebrate Anna's mother in 1908, at her church in West Virginia, Anna handed out her mother's favorite flower, the white carnation. Five years later, the House of Representatives adopted a resolution calling for officials of the federal government to wear white carnations on Mother's Day. In 1914 Anna's hard work paid off when Woodrow Wilson signed a bill recognizing Mother's Day as a national holiday.

At first, people observed Mother's Day by attending church, writing letters to their mothers, and eventually, by sending cards, presents, and flowers. With the increasing gift-giving activity associated with Mother's Day, Anna Jarvis became enraged. She believed that the day's sentiment was being sacrificed at the expense of greed and profit. In 1923 she filed a lawsuit to stop a Mother's Day festival, and was even arrested for disturbing the peace at a convention selling carnations for a war mother's group. Before her death in 1948, Jarvis is said to have confessed that she regretted ever starting the mother's day tradition.

Despite Jarvis's misgivings, Mother's Day has flourished in the United States. In fact, the second Sunday of May has become the most popular day of the year to dine out, and telephone lines record their highest traffic, as sons and daughters everywhere take advantage of this day to honor and to express appreciation of their mothers