I will be in Phuket in 2 weeks, wondering if the water is safe of infectious diseases that I can snorkel at Phi Phi, and sea kayak without worry? Any input would be much appreciated.

Whatever is happening htere, it will certainly change almost daily so any comments from here will not be worth much. Your best bet is to find out each morning when you are there.

one comment passed to me today by a person who was in phuket during the problems is this....where is all the dangerous stuff, i.e. glass, twisted metal, etc. that washed out to sea...there has to be some under the water...swimmers, boaters, divers, etc need to exercise extreme care for the foreseeable future...
seems logical to me..

Phi Phi is still a mess as damage was substantial, I would also guess that there is probably a lot of debris around. You could contact some of the dive operators on Phuket to get latest situation as many are up and running, you can find links on
www.phuketgazette.net

You could also as an alternative try Koh Tao in the Gulf of Thailand which is a major diving island which was not affected at all.

Don´t you watch TV? Just today they were showing Phi Phi how it was yesterday. All the remains are still lying around, piles of crushed buildings. And people are in masks, searching bodies that are still under all that junk. The commentator said that the smell of rotting bodies is almost unbearable. Over 500 people still missing, either washed to the sea or lying under the rubble. I don´t think you would want to snorkel there.

Besides, where would you live? There is not a single cottage standing, just the hotel, and even that is not in functioning order.

I'm guessing that otjustin was planning a day trip to the waters of Phi Phi from Phuket or Krabi. If that is the case, I've heard that some of the dive operators from Phi Phi are back up and running. That being said, I'm not in a hurry to go snorkel or dive there just yet. Imagine how horrible it would be to run into dangerous debris or even worse, a body (eek!). I would love to visit Phi Phi myself, but think I'll give it at least a year.

I agree with above posters that it might be best to find an alternative location for your snorkelling trip other than Phi Phi Island at the present time. I'm not sure about infectious diseases in the water but the hotels/resorts on Phi Phi Don were on septic fields and no doubt these would have been affected by the tsunami (i.e. flushed out to surrounding waters). Debris in the water would be another major concern for snorkellers. Most of the buildings on Phi Phi were of wood frame construction (not concrete and steel), and these largely disintegrated when hit by the tsunami which ravaged the island from both Tonsai Bay and Lodalum Bay on either side of the isthmus. Glass, wire and splintered boards are just some of the things which might have made their way into the sea surrounding the island. Most of the snorkelling areas around Phi Phi Island are found fairly close to the shore. As tsunamis are literally a moving wall of water from the surface to the ocean floor, it is also likely that the coral reefs around the Phi Phi Islands would have sustained a fair amount of damage from the giant waves. As an avid snorkeller myself, I would definitely find another location at the present time for this, perhaps at Koh Tao in the Gulf of Thailand as James A. suggests?

Also, does anyone know how the Similan Islands and the surrounding reefs there fared after the tsunami?