Life's (very much not) a beach.

For the last 24 hours or so, my seven companions and I have been in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The testosterone is flowing fast and furious -- for example, we're sitting ringside at a Muay Thai boxing match tonight -- so I thought I'd take a little moment to nip away and do some research about our upcoming beach excursions. I didn't think it would be so depressing.

Victor has been really excited about the beach situation. I'm sure at least some of it has something to do with memories of Virginie Ledoyen traipsing around crystal blue waters in a skimpy bikini in the aforementioned film The Beach. I'm not at all knocking him for that. In an attempt to deliver, I decided to check out Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree site for some thoughts on what beaches might be nice.

What did I find on the message boards? Post after post after post lamenting the over-development of Thailand's once beautiful beaches. Too many people were talking about their hearts breaking upon returning within the last few years to beaches they had last visited in the 70s and 80s. The problems with the beaches have been noted by the Thai as well. Many locals pointed to coverage in Thai media about how the islands are being destroyed by over-development and tourism. "Paradise lost," they call it. A big problem seems to be the increased tourism to Thailand's "east coast" after the severe damage caused to the west by the tsunami. Ko Samui, an island Victor had set his sights on, sadly seems to have been the biggest victim of this surge.

As a bitterness fiesta was rising against farang tourists, the posts started pointing out recent discoveries of -- get ready to be shocked -- massive government corruption, specifically connected to bribes over a number of years allowing development on parts of islands that were already protected spaces or, perhaps worse, allowing construction in violation of nationwide safety standards for hillside bungalows that'll probably topple into sea any day now. I understand that this partly a response to exceedingly high rates of tourism, but it cannot be said that Thailand and its government aren't loving the high tourism that its beaches draw in. If they didn't, there would be means by which it could be limited, contained, or at least managed to an extent that some parts of these gorgeous beaches would be maintained. Instead, I imagine, the sudden shot out of the third world was seen as an end that justified any and all means.

So now I'm sad for Thailand. I'm sad for it's people. I'm sad for dear Vic. And I'm sad for me. I wish I would have been able to see something truly out of this world. I'll guess I'll have to settle for what one flyer for Ko Samui promised (sweet Jesus, I wish I were joking): "McDonald's and other Western restaurants in case you miss home!"