[A.Hun]

But all the islands have wonderful snorkeling (SCUBA if your ears can handle it), and clear warm water...But I want to do Hua Hin, Ko Tao, Ko Phangan and several other places. I have land on a lake there for retirement.

Need a reallly close friend? I am rescue diver certified, and I will dive the south Pacific one day.

Has Phuket recovered from the tsunami yet?

[LibertyLee]

Yes, Phuket is fully recovered. Kho Lat, a little further north has some building to do. Phuket is very flat only about a mile in where it then rises into some hills and some beautiful mountains. Most of the infrastructure was built up-land, so when the hotels and tourist places were ruined it wasn't total devastation the way it was in Sri Lanka or Banda Aceh where it was flat for miles in and the water had no place to go. On Phuket the water rose three times, did its thing and went out. Not pretty, but reasonably easy to bring back online.