Ahhh... The beach...

Views like this really fuel my appetite for exploration.
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Phuket is an island that is essentially the epi-center of Thailand beach tourism.  Unbelievable blue water, gorgeous beaches, lots of islands...  It's pretty great!  The only down side is all the tourists!!!  (But I suppose that is us too...)  We had a chance to go to some smaller islands nearby as well as exploring the main island.  The tsunami didn't hit Phuket as directly as Khao Lak but there was some damage here as well.  Most buildings close to the beach were at least damaged if not destroyed.  Not many signs are visible now though.  Well, actually there are a bunch of "Tsunami Evacuation Route" signs now visible!  The rebuilding of the island has covered up most signs of destruction though.