The Phi Phi Islands

The Phi Phi Islands The Phi Phi Islands are situated in Thailand, between the large island of Phuket and the western coast of the mainland. It is consisted by group of islands such as Phi Phi Don, Phi Phi Lae, Bidanok, Bida Nai, Yoong, Pai, the largest of which is named Koh Phi Phi Don, the only one with permanent inhabitants on. As a scene of a British-American film ‘The Beach in 2000, this island came to a worldwide tourist attraction. Unfortunately it was trampled by the Indian Ocean Tsunami on December 2004, when almost every infrastructure on the island is destroyed. Till now, most of this has been restored and reopened to tourists all over the world. As established a national park of Thailand in 1983, the islands feature beaches and limpid sea water are under the protection of local government. Tourism on Phi Phi, like the rest part of Krabi province, has developed only very recent years. It was so natural that only the most adventurous visited this island staying in only the most basic accommodation in the early 1990s. Nowadays, however, this island is becoming one of the major destinations for travellers in Krabi. Compared to other islands nearby, Phi Phi islands are still highly less exploded, where no road on the largest island while the others are completely free of human inhabitants. Hence visitors would enjoy their casual vacation without hustle and bustle. Based on its idyllic tourism resource, hiking, snorkelling and diving are the activities most highly recommended by every tourism agency company. Meanwhile fishing, rock climbing and cliff jumping are enjoyed among their specific participants. Tourism System Identification Before starting to write a management plan, it is necessary to identify resources of main destination. Resources include natural resources, culture, capital and organizations. Natural resources are climate, water, geography and scenery. Culture is about historic sites, cuisine, religion, local celebrities. Capital includes infrastructure, transportation and financing. Organizations are including public and private sectors. Natural resources Ø Weather Phi Phi islands are located between the Pacific and the Indian. It is located about 50 km from Phuket. Because of its location, the weather is around 24 °C to 32 °C year round. From November to March is the best time to visit the island. However, local people enjoy from June to August. The reason is the weather is good and there are less people or tourists in famous sites. Ø Water and Geography In 1998, over 150,000 tourists visited Phi Phi islands and most of them are foreigners (Seenprachwong, 2001) because the Phi Phi has 3S. These are Sun, Sand and Sea. The sea is very beautiful and clean so that it is famous for scuba diving and swimming. The island is composed by limestone. Hence, it has a significant view of reefs. People even can see it clearly under the water. Moreover, in the south-east of Phi Phi Lay, there is a place called Viking Cave. The cave is full of wall paintings. Most paintings are elephants and boats. It is shown that people has lived in Phi Phi Island long time ago. Phi Phi Don is the biggest island. In the north of this island, there is called Laem Tong. It is a best place for scuba diving. The plentiful, various marine ecology is the most important reason. Beaches such as Ao Lodalum and Ao Ton Sai are also good places for tourists to have a relax moment in Phi Phi. Ø Scenery As this report mentioned before, Phi Phi is part of National Park in 1983. In 1990s there are more and more people came to Phi Phi Islands. There are two reasons. The first is that it is near to Phuket. When Phuket is crowded by tourists, some people will come to Phi Phi for enjoying a relaxing and quiet time. The second reason is that the island, Phi Phi Lay is the scene of the movie â€Å"The Beach†. This place is Maya Bay. Some of tourists will come here to have sightseeing and have an adventure to experience sceneries of the movie. Culture Phi Phi island is belonged to Krabi Province. The population of Krabi is about 458,000 in 2000. 60 percent of people are Buddhists. 40 percent are Muslims. It makes the place with plenty of events. For example, there is a celebration called â€Å"Songkran Festival† during the Thai New Year. People will celebrate by visiting temples, sprinkling water on Buddha images for showing respects to Buddha, and sprinkling water on each others hands for wishing good luck. However, it becomes a water fight in recent years. Everyone is crazy to pull water on each other, no matter friends, strangers, or tourists. There is no exception that people will not get wet on that day. The report has mentioned there is a Viking cave in Phi Phi Lay. The cave is full of ancient paintings. It is a place to discover ancient history. Because paintings include many kinds of boats, Chinese boats and European boats, this place might be a transfer harbour of trade or a shelter for mariners from storms. Most of hotels and restaurants are in Tonsai. The famous cuisine in Tosai is seafood. People sell fresh seafood which is caught in the morning to attract tourists. After sun sinks into the sea, many nightclubs, bars are lightening up. Some restaurants only open in the night. Capital Ø Infrastructure Since 1990, the tourism development makes this place more and more crowded. This development lets the environment in danger. When the movie â€Å"The Beach† filmed here, the company destroyed the environment by cutting down trees and planted coconut trees, building villas. This made a huge impact while tsunami hit Phi Phi islands in 2004. Most of buildings collapsed, around 70 percent. Thai government even prohibited people go to the island. After July, 2005, most buildings were rebuilt by government and about 300 shops and events started again. After this natural disaster, Thai government started to plant trees which were big enough to reduce damages by natural disasters. Also, they proposed an agenda to protect local environment by limiting the development of hotels and setting up the limitation of tourists. However, local people were against this proposal. There were near 1500 hotels and restaurants opened again in the end of 2005. Tonsai is the main place of tourists. There is a tourist information centre. There are few banks in Tonsai which is located in Phi Phi Don. However, there are no banks or ATMs on the east coast. People only can change or withdraw money here. Ø Transportations Phi Phi is near to Phuket and Krabi, only 50 km. There are two ways to go to Phi Phi. The first vehicle is ferries. People can take ferry form Phuket or Krabi. It takes 90 minutes. Moreover, people can travel by ferries with their cars. However, it only has two ferries each day. The other option is by speedboats. Companies are private. There are some speedboats companies to choose. It is more flexible then taking ferries. People can even get to their chosen resorts to save more time. The inner roads of islands are small. The island is small, about 28000 km ². Hence, the most famous vehicle which people can use is bicycle. Organizations Ø Public The number of tourists is increasing year by year. It was 2.5 million in 1981, and 11 million in 1993 to the national parkas. Because of this, the government revises laws year by year to solve the environmental problems. Hence, the Thai government had a proclamation of the Enhancement and Conservation of the National Environmental Quality Act. Of B.E. 2535 (1992). This Act is about prescribing how to manage, plan and maintain the environmental quality. There are some features of this Act, such as the polluter pays principles, designation of environmental conservation and protection zone, pollution control zone and special working group. Besides, The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) had an event which could awake peoples awareness of environmental conservation. The authority used many ways to tell people how to protect environment, such as media, TATs publications and news. TAT also trained youth people to have knowledge of conservation. There were some campaigns which were held in tourist destinations calling people from every community to clean destinations, such as â€Å"Beautiful Phuket† project. Ø Tsunami Warning System Tsunami warning system is established in 1949. It is a system which can predict where tsunami happens and warn people to reduce damages. There are 26 countries and states joining the system. Thailand is one of members. However, before 2004, there is no detection system in west coasts of Thailand. That is one reason why Puket and Phi Phi Island had a huge damage. After this, the government set up the system in west coasts. In last year, there is about 14.09 million tourists from everywhere to Thailand. Ø Private After tsunami hit Phi Phi Island, a resident in Phi Phi gathered local Thais and foreign volunteers to help people to live. The group was called â€Å"Hi Phi Phi†. First, they cleaned up Phi Phi Islands. Then, they help local people to repaint houses, hotels and replant trees. They were essentials and hopes for restaurants, bars and guesthouses in Phi Phi Island to support their life. Now, their mission is complete. The group is trying to help local people for setting up charities. Charities can assist people to reconstruction and take care of orphans in a long-term. Phi Phi Island is the renowned and alluring tourism destination in Thailand and in particular famous for its diversity of diving reefs and habitats. The regular tour activities of phi phi island include scene watching, fishing, diving, rock- climbing, sea kayaking and spas. Management Plan Ao Nang Tourism Strategy Steering Committee (ATSSC) is the regional institution based on Phi Phi Island and specific in exploring new tourism attractions; promote the resorts and public the up-to -date tourism information. ATSSC is the leader in achieving a sustainable tourism destination by balancing the economic profits and environmental, local cultural value in a regional and global context. The main target of the committee in 2010 is to project the â€Å"Phi Phi Island Tourism Development Program 2010†. Objectives First, combining the amazing natural resources and unique local cultures to foster the tourism industry as a viable sector of local economy(Stynes,D OHalloran,C,1987); to position the Phi Phi Island as the preferred four-season tourism and sports activities destination and build a recognizable even yearning image of Phi Phi Island among the travellers around the world. Second, to encourage marketing initiatives that based on the existing tourism resources and comparative advantages to promote tourism development. On the premise of not ruining environment, the committee and local communities try to explore new activities to attract more staying visitors through promotion and provision of visitor infrastructures, tour services and characteristic events. Third, to ensure the program is the well-managed process (D. Stynes C. OHalloran, 1987), keeping the tourism development with the carrying capabilities of the host community, balancing the needs of the travellers and needs of the local residence. The locals which live in the prime tourism location have great impact on the tourism development. One of the key objectives of the program is to gain a greater level of acceptance and support of local people, teach the locals to understand the impacts of tourism on local economy as well as to facilitate efforts to upgrade the quality of service, amenities and attractions. Tourism is the pillar industry in Phi Phi Island, the committee aims to create more job opportunities and foster the investment through the program so as to enhance the viability and sustainability of local economy. Tourism development is a systematic project which requires corporation among economic development agencies, the government representatives and tourism agencies(D. Stynes C. OHalloran,1987). One aim of the program is to gain genuine willingness to promote greater cooperation as well as to share responsibilities among different social sectors to facilitate the feasibility of the objectives and achieve the best results. AlternativesGeneration To generate tourism development alternatives requires some integrated analysis of local resources and demands of visitors. The committee present three tourism development plans as below: Ø International Water Sports Centre: Phi Phi Island is the most attractive scuba diving destination in Thailand because its tranquility privacy and its bespoke diving pier.(McGeown K,2005) The uniqueness of diving in Phi Phi Island compare to other islands in Krabi province are the amazing limestone cliffs drastically straight jutting out of sea and down to the sea as well as its diversity of diving reefs and habitats. On the basis of advantaged natural resources, the committee schemes to build Phi Phi Island as the world renowned Water Sports Centre (WSC scheme) covers from diving, snorkelling to sea kayaking. Ø Wedding Paradise: Phi Phi Island is the delightful place that full of cultural flavor and receives much exposure from Hollywood movies. The Maya Bay is the original setting place of love movieâ€Å"The Beach† starred Leonardo Di Caprio and â€Å"The man with golden gun† with James Bond. The remarkable natural scenery not only attracts the big names, the alluring local culture also fascinates the new couples and honeymooners around the world. Infinite business opportunities hide in the pristine beach and crystal clear water, the ATSSC committee projects a theme tour that target on the young people, in particular the young couple to cater for the weddings and honeymoon services. This proposition will not only attract more staying visitors, but also drive development of related industries such as hotels, restaurants and bars and ferry industries. Ø Ultimate Wellness Sanctuary: The Phi Phis natural beauty is a large chunk of allure that attracts visitors from all ages. The path behind the Tonsai Village is the ideal position to view the classic landscape, and the long beach is super excellent for the view of sun rise and sun set. After one day trip, having an energy-enriching treatment is the fantastic enjoyable finish. Phi Phi Island is one of the origins of Thai Spa due to its rich natural materials include flower extracts, plants oils, sea weeds and fish-roe. The committee proposes to upgrade the spa treatment on Phi Phi Island to an upper class on the basis of pure natural resources and traditional massages. Transform the spa industry from the tourism supporting business to the core local industry. Alternatives Evaluation It is important to evaluate the tourism development alternatives from the feasibility analysis and impact analysis with the â€Å"Benefits and Cost† approach which link the tourism activities with the stability of local economy, the sensitivity of environment and social structure (Walsh, R.G, 1985). The tourism development program impact on Phi Phi Island as below: Impact on local government: local government takes the major responsibilities to provide the infrastructures and services that key to tourism development. Developing the new tourism project can push government to ensure the carrying capacities, infrastructures that to meet the anticipated demands. Phi Phi Island has rich storage of natural resources and its tourism has developed more than two decades, in particular the diving industry has grown maturely. The new tourism project will reduces the capital pressure of government and increase the government revenue through charges, sales and taxes. (Stynes, D.J, 2004) Impact on local business: The tourism development can directly serve the community benefit and drive related industries. The diving centre can attract more divers that stimulate the development of local transportation; the wedding services drive the growth of flower planting and the spa industry generate more job opportunities for skilled locals. However, the key point for tourism development is the more â€Å"self-sufficient† the community is, the better the tourism impact. (Stynes,D.J, 2004) For example, although Phi Phi Island has the fantastic diving sites, the necessary diving equipments are mostly imported from U.S, Europe and Australia. If these products are bought to mush from outside, the large amount of tourist spending will leak out of the local economy. Impact on environment and residence: The quality of environment and life may go up or down depends on the way of tourism development. (D. Stynes C. OHalloran,1987) Developing Tourism may generate more job opportunities and increase revenue as well providing more retailers, hotels and restaurants; however, from the other hand, it also mean the higher living cost, busier traffic and higher tax, and the possibilities of environmental damage. (D. Stynes C. OHalloran,1987) In addition, tourism is the season-sensitive industry, and tourism work are basically in service sector and most are seasonal, part-time and low wage. The local government and tourism committee should balance the benefit and cost of tourism development and make a sustainable and strategically tourism development plan. Tourism Development Decision Tourism development plan should consider the relative roles of social sectors and involve a series of decisions. The ATSSC project the tourism program from four aspects. Segmentation: Phi Phi Island is the alluring destination full of natural resorts and cultural mystery that attract the customers from all age groups all over the world. The target market of new tourism program is more precise based on the demographics and interests groups. Phi Phi Island is famous for its diving and sports, the committee aim to build the Phi Phi Island as the paradise of young people who love sports and beauty and are keen to spend indelible holiday in the pearl of Andaman Sea (Xinhua,2006). Place: The destinations of Phi Phi Island program include the Phi Phi Don, Phi Phi Lee and the group islands. The key to perfect the local tourism is to regulate and improve the transportations among the different diving sites and attractions by combining the ferries, fast boat with the traditional boats as the uniqueness of local tourism. Upgrade the local attractiveness: Ø Diving: The Phi Phi Island will offer the remarkable variety of diving possibilities to different degrees of divers from beginners to expertise. The local diving club will provide four-hour â€Å"Discover Scuba Diving† to the beginners that introduce the basic skills, the equipment instructions and accompany the divers all the time to experience the beauty of white coral bush. For the divers who want to be certificated divers, the club will advise them to join the â€Å"Dive the globe† program to take further experience in the most popular diving site the Ko Bida Nok to appreciate huge garden of star corals and incredible beauty of anemones as well to play with the clown fish. For the certificated divers and PADI divers, the club tailors the special activities and guides the divers in small groups in speedboat and long tail boat to experience the specialty dives. (Udomsak,S,2003) Ø Snorkeling and Sea Kayaking: There are abundant coral reefs systems around Maya Bay, Pi Leh Bay and Bamboo Island that fantastic for snorkeling. Kayaking some uninhabited beaches and Viking caves in other islands is also the glorious alternative to the adventure potentials and addition to the overall water activities. Ø Wedding and honeymoon service: No one can reject the wedding with serenaded by sea gull and waves on a tropical pristine beach, massaged by soft sands and warm water from Andaman Sea. The tourism committee closely connected with the local premium hotels will offer one-step wedding services with world-class hospitable residences, fresh and colorful flowers and lovely weather. There are variety wedding package can be chose, from economic to luxury all guarantee to leave you the scared and memorable wedding. Ø Ultimate pampering spa: On Phi Phi Island, the visitors can experience the authentic Thai style spa in the atmosphere of tranquility. Phi Phi Island has its favourable natural advantage that has a rich storage of natural material, however, the massage parlours lack the unified standards and regulations to ensure the quality of service. The committee projects a training program for all the massage parlours on Phi Phi Island include the security check of environment, quality check of massage products, the certification of skill workers; the program does not mean to standardization of the spa service, on the contrary, the committee encourage the massage parlours to offer the unique services on the basis of security. Expected results The program will be launched on May, 2010. In the initial period, the committee and local government will focus on completing the local infrastructures and improving the carrying capacities to satisfy the increasing demand of anticipated visitors. With the international water sports centre completed, the committee anticipates Phi Phi Island will become the key all-round tourism destination in Andaman Sea. Tourism is a systematic industry, the committee hope to take advantage of new round tourism development program to drive speed growth of local service business, transportation industry, generate more working opportunities as well to build the goodwill image of Phi Phi Island around the world. Sustainable Development Considering the graceful scenery given by earth, it is absolutely a competitive advantage for their tourism industry. However, small island ecosystem is less complicated hence fragile, even slightly changes may cause the collapse the whole food chain on this island. Without mentioning the careless visitors from every corner of the world, the most careful travellers would leave their trail by hiking, diving, or even simply breathing. For example, a new exploring route through jungle might threaten the small animals feeding on bugs and worms, would directly cause the drastically rise of natural enemies to plants. Under the circumstances of spices singularity of small ecosystem, such change is fatal. Then how to protect the environment while making fully use of its natural resources is the question facing to authority. First of all, environmental protection awareness should be engraved on everyones mind. There should be consideration of environment protecting details through every step of development. From raw materials of building infrastructure to conspicuous signs at which remind travellers and even emission control of transportation, are basically demand. Second, accompany with the increasing tourism industry, a comparative rise of local inhabitant is a vital strike on ecosystem. Instead of restricting people moving onto the small island, it is wisely for authority to encourage local resident moving out, meanwhile providing more convenient transport. At last, there should be a visitor quantity control system. Providing different promotion and differentiating events, to avoid a capacity overload, which would lower the customer satisfactory and even lead to environment disrupti on. Apparently, there would be a conflict between sustainable development and profit maximization, however, it refers to improve reasonably and continuously. Conclusion Based on the identification of Phi Phi Island tourism system from variety resources including natural, culture, capital and organizations, this report set up series of objectives. In order to fulfil fostering the tourism industry with a combination of natural resources and local culture, encouraging promotion on existing tourist activities, and developing local economy through providing more job opportunities and attracting investment, several alternatives were generated. But these alternatives may influence the stability of local economy and environment. After evaluation of the impacts on different aspects from those choices, this plan made appropriate modifications to accomplish goal. In the end, a successful alternative requires thoroughly resources analysing and impacts predicting with a sustainable implementation, so that achieve the initial objectives.

The Return: Midnight Chapter 33

Elena was waiting for the fog to disperse. It had come in as always, bit by bit, and now she was wondering if it would ever leave, or if it were actual y another trial itself. Therefore, when she suddenly realized she could see Stefan's shirt in front of her, she felt her heart bound for joy. She hadn't messed anything up lately. â€Å"I can see it!†Stefan said, pul ing her up beside him. And then, â€Å"Voil†¦Ã¢â‚¬  – but in a whisper. â€Å"What, what?†cried Bonnie, bounding forward. And then she stopped too. Damon didn't bound. He strol ed. But Elena was turning toward Bonnie at the time, and she saw his face as he saw it. In front of them was a sort of smal castle, or large gateway with spires that pierced the low clouds that hung above it. There was some kind of writing over the huge cathedral-like black doors in front, but Elena had never seen anything like the squiggles of whatever foreign language it was. On either side of the building, there were black wal s that were nearly as tal as the spires. Elena looked left and right and realized that they disappeared only off at the vanishing point. And without magic, it would be impossible to fly over them. What the boy and girl in the story had discovered only by fol owing the wal s for days, they had simply walked straight into. â€Å"It's the Gatehouse of the Seven Treasures, isn't it, Bonnie? Isn't it? Look!†Elena shouted. Bonnie was already looking, both hands pressed against her heart, and for once without a word to say. As Elena watched, the diminutive girl fel to her knees in the light, powdery snow. But Stefan answered. He picked up Bonnie and Elena at the same time and whirled them both. â€Å"It is!†he said, just as Elena was saying â€Å"It is!† and Bonnie, the expert, gasping, â€Å"Oh, it real y, really is!†with tears freezing on her cheeks. Stefan put his lips to Elena's ear. â€Å"And you know what that means, don't you? If that is the Gatehouse of the Seven Treasures, you know where we are standing now?† Elena tried to ignore the warm, tingling sensation that shot up from the soles of her feet at the feeling of Stefan's breath on her ear. She tried to focus on his question. â€Å"Look up,†Stefan suggested. Elena did – and gasped. Above them, instead of a fog bank or incessant crimson light from a sun that never stopped setting, were three moons. One was enormous, covering perhaps a sixth of the sky, shining in swirls of white and blue, hazy at the edges. Just in front of it was a beautiful silvery moon at least three quarters as big as it was. Last, there was a tiny moon in high orbit, white as a diamond, that seemed to be deliberately keeping its distance from the other two. Al of them were half ful and shone down with gentle, soothing light on the unbroken snow around Elena. â€Å"We're in the Nether World,†Elena said, shaken. â€Å"Oh†¦it's just like in the story,†Bonnie gasped. â€Å"Exactly like. Even the writing! Even the amount of snow!† â€Å"Exactly like the story?†Stefan asked. â€Å"Even to the phase of the moons? How ful they are?† â€Å"Just exactly the same.† Stefan nodded. â€Å"I thought they would be. That story was a precognition, given to you with the purpose of helping us find the largest star bal ever made.† â€Å"Well, let's go inside!†cried Bonnie. â€Å"We're wasting time!† â€Å"Okay – but everyone on your guard. We don't want anything to go wrong now,†Stefan said. They went into the Gatehouse of the Seven Treasures in this order: Bonnie, who found that the great black doors swung open at a touch, but that she could see nothing, coming in from bright sunlight; Stefan and Elena, hand in hand; and Damon, who waited outside for a long time in the hopes, Elena thought, of being deemed â€Å"a different party.† Meanwhile the others were having the most pleasant shock since they'd taken the Master Keys from the kitsune. â€Å"Sage – Sage!†Bonnie shril ed as soon as her eyes adjusted. â€Å"Oh, look, Elena, it's Sage! Sage, how are you? What're you doing here? Oh, it's just so good to see you!† Elena blinked twice, and the dim interior of the octagonal room came into focus. She went around the only piece of furniture in the room, the large desk in the middle. â€Å"Sage, do you know how long it seems? Did you know that Bonnie almost got sold for a slave at a public auction? Did you know about her dream?† Sage looked as he always had to Elena's eyes. The bronzed, terminal y fit body, like a model of a Titan, the bare chest and bare feet, the black Levi's, the long spiraling tangles of bronze hair, and the strange bronze eyes that could cut steel, or be as gentle as a pet lamb. â€Å"Mes deux petits chatons,† Sage was saying. â€Å"My two little kittens, you have astounded me. I have been fol owing your adventures. The Gatekeeper is not provided with much entertainment and is not al owed to leave this fortress, but you were most brave and amusing. Je vous felicite.†He kissed first Elena's hand and then Bonnie's, then embraced Stefan with the Latin two-cheeked kiss. Then he resumed his seat. Bonnie was climbing Sage as if she were a real kitten. â€Å"Did you take Misao's star bal ful of Power?†she demanded, kneeling on his thigh. â€Å"Did you take half of it, I mean? To get back here?† â€Å"Mais oui, I did. But I also left Madame Flowers a little – â€Å" â€Å"Do you know that Damon used the other half to open the Gate again? And that I fel in too, even though he didn't want me? And that because of that I almost got sold as a slave? And that Stefan and Elena had to come after me, to make sure I was okay? And that on the way here Elena almost fel off the bridge, and we're not sure if the thurgs are going to make it? And do you know that in Fel ‘s Church the Last Midnight is coming, and we don't know – â€Å" Stefan and Elena exchanged a long, meaningful glance and then Stefan said, â€Å"Bonnie, we have to ask Sage the most important question.†He looked at Sage. â€Å"Is it possible for us to save Fel ‘s Church? Do we have enough time?† â€Å"Eh bien. As far as I can tel from the chronological vortex, you have enough time and a little to spare. Enough for a glass of Black Magic to see you off. But after that, no dawdling!† Elena felt like a crumpled piece of paper that had been straightened and smoothed. She took a long breath. They could do it. That allowed her to remember civilized behavior. â€Å"Sage, how did you get stuck way out here? Or were you waiting for us?† â€Å"Helas, no – I am assigned here as punishment. I got an Imperial Summons that I could not ignore, mes amis.†He sighed and added, â€Å"I am just Out of Favor again. So now I am the ambassador to the Nether World, as you see.†He waved a languid hand around the room. â€Å"Bienvenue.† Elena had a sense of time ticking away, of precious minutes being lost. But maybe Sage himself would do something for Fel ‘s Church. â€Å"You real y have to stay in here?† â€Å"But assuredly, until mon pre – my father† – Sage said the word savagely and resentful y – â€Å"relents and I am al owed to return to the Infernal Court, or, much better, to go my ways without ever returning. At least until someone takes the pity on me and kil s me.†He looked inquiringly around the group, then sighed, and said, â€Å"Saber and Talon, they are well?† â€Å"They were when we left,†Elena said, itching to get on with their real business here. â€Å"Bien,† Sage said, looking at her kindly, â€Å"but we should have your entire group in here for the viewing, no?† Elena glanced at the doors and then again at Stefan, but Sage was already cal ing – both with voice and telepathy – â€Å"Damon, mon poussinet, do you not want to come in with your comrades?† There was a long pause, and then the doors opened and a very sul en Damon stepped in. He wouldn't reply to Sage's friendly, â€Å"Bienvenue,† instead saying, â€Å"I didn't come here to socialize. I want to see the treasures in time to save Fel ‘s Church. I haven't forgotten about the damned hick town, even if everyone else has.† â€Å"Alors maintenant,† Sage said, looking wounded. â€Å"You have al passed the tests in your way and may look upon the treasures. You may even use magic again, although I am not sure that it wil help you. It al depends upon which treasure you seek. Felicitations! â€Å" Everyone but Damon made some gesture of embarrassment. â€Å"Now,†Sage continued, â€Å"I must show each gate to you before you can pick. I wil try to be quick, but be cautious, s'il vous pla?t. Once you choose a treasure, that is the only door that wil open again for any of you.† Elena found herself clutching at Stefan's hand – which was already reaching for hers – as one by one the doors shone with a faint, silvery light. â€Å"Behind you,†said Sage, â€Å"is the very gate you entered to get into this room, yes? But next to it, ah†¦Ã¢â‚¬ A door brightened to show an impossible cavern. Impossible because of the gems lying on the ground or sticking out of the cave wal s. Rubies, diamonds, emeralds, amethysts†¦each one as big as Elena's fist, lying thick in great piles for the taking. â€Å"It's beautiful, but†¦no, of course!†she said firmly, and reached out to put a hand on Bonnie's shoulder. The next door lit up, brightened, then brightened more so that it seemed to disappear. â€Å"And here,†Sage sighed, â€Å"is the famous kitsune paradise.† Elena could feel her eyes widen. It was a sunny day in the most beautiful park she had ever seen. In the background a little waterfal spil ed into a creek, which ran down a green hil , while directly in front of her was a stone bench, just the size for two, underneath a tree that looked like a cherry in ful bloom. Blossoms were flying in a breeze that rustled other cherry and peach trees nearby – causing a rain of dawn-colored petals. Although Elena had only seen the place for a moment, it already seemed familiar to her. She could just walk into it†¦ â€Å"No, Stefan!†She had to touch his arm. He had been walking right into the garden. â€Å"What?†he said, shaking his head like someone in a dream. â€Å"I don't know what happened. It just seemed as if I were going to an old, old home†¦Ã¢â‚¬ His voice broke off. â€Å"Sage, go on, please!† The next door was already lighting, showing a scene with rack after rack of Clarion Loess Black Magic wine. In the distance, Elena could make out a vineyard with lush grapes hanging heavily, fruit that would never see the light of the sun until it was made into a famous liquid. Everyone was already sipping at their glasses of Black Magic, so it was easy to say â€Å"no†even to the luscious grapes. As the next door brightened Elena heard herself gasp. It was bril iant midday. Growing in a field as far as she could see were tal bushes thick with long-stemmed roses – the blossoms of which were a velvety-looking black. Startled, she saw that everyone was looking at Damon, who had taken a step toward the roses as if involuntarily. Stefan put an arm out, barring his way. â€Å"I didn't look very closely,†Damon said, â€Å"but I think these are the same as the one I†¦destroyed.† Elena turned to Sage. â€Å"They're the same, aren't they?† â€Å"But yes,†Sage said, looking unhappy. â€Å"These are al Midnight roses, noir pur – the sort in the white kitsune's bouquet. But these are al blanks. The kitsune are the only ones who can put spel s on them – like the removal of the curse of a vampire.† There was a general sigh of disappointment among his listeners, but Damon just looked more sul en. Elena was about to speak up, to say that Stefan shouldn't be put through this, when she tuned in to Sage's words and the next gate, and felt a surge of simple, selfish longing herself. â€Å"I suppose you would cal it ‘ La Fontaine of Eternal Youth and Life,'†Sage said. Elena could see an ornate fountain playing, the effervescent spray at the top making a rainbow. Smal butterflies of al colors flew around it, alighting on the leaves of the bower that cradled it in greenery. Meredith, with her cool head and straightforward logic wasn't there, so Elena dug her nails into her palms and cried â€Å"No! Next one!†as quickly and forceful y as she could. Sage was speaking again. She made herself listen. â€Å"The Royal Radhika Flower, which legends say was stolen from the Celestial Court many mil ennia ago. It changes shape.† A simple enough thing to say†¦but actual y to see it†¦ Elena watched in astonishment as a dozen or so thick, twining stems, topped by gorgeous white cal a lily blossoms, trembled slightly. The next instant she was looking at a cluster of violets with velvet leaves and a drop of dew shining on a petal. A moment later, the stems were topped with radiant mauve snapdragons – with the dewdrop Stillin place. Before she could remember not to reach out and touch them, the snapdragons had become deep, ful y open red roses. When the roses became some exotic golden flower that Elena had never seen, she had to turn her back. She found herself bumping into a hard, masculine, bare chest while forcing herself to think realistical y. Midnight was coming – and not in the form of a rose. Fel ‘s Church needed al the help it could get and here she was staring at flowers. Abruptly, Sage swung her off her feet and said, â€Å"What a temptation, especial y for a lover of la beaute like you, belle madame. What a foolish rule to keep you from taking just a bud! But there is something even higher and more pure than beauty, Elena. You, you are named for it. In old Greek, Elena means ‘light'! The darkness is coming fast – the Last, Everlasting Midnight! Beauty wil not hold it back; it is a bagatel e, a trinket, useless in times of disaster. But light, Elena, light wil conquer the darkness! I believe this as I believe in your courage, your honesty, and your gentle, loving heart.† With that, he kissed her on the forehead and set her down. Elena was dazed. Of al the things she knew, she knew best that she could not defeat the darkness that was coming – not alone. â€Å"But you're not alone,†Stefan whispered, and she realized that he was right beside her, and that she must be wide open, projecting her thoughts as clearly as if she were speaking. â€Å"We're al here with you,†Bonnie said in a voice twice her size. â€Å"We're not afraid of the dark.† There was a pause while everyone tried not to look at Damon. At last he said, â€Å"Somehow I got talked into this insanity – I'm Stillwondering how it happened. But I've come this far and I'm not going to turn around now.† Sage turned toward the final door and it brightened. Not by much, however. It looked like the shady underside of a very large tree. What was odd, though, was that there was nothing at allgrowing under it. No ferns or bushes or seedlings, not even the normal y ever-present creepers and weeds. There were a few dead leaves on the ground, but otherwise it was just dirt. Sage said, â€Å"A planet with only one corporeal form of life upon it. The Great Tree that covers an entire world. The crown covers al but the natural freshwater lakes it needs to survive.† Elena looked into the heart of the twilit world. â€Å"We've come so far, and maybe together – maybe we can find the star bal that wil save our town.† â€Å"This is the door you pick?†asked Sage. Elena looked at the rest of the group. They al seemed to be waiting for her confirmation. â€Å"Yes – and right now. We have to hurry.†She made a motion as if to put her cup down and it disappeared. She smiled thanks at Sage. â€Å"Strictly speaking, I shouldn't give you any help,†he said. â€Å"But if you have a compass†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Elena had one. It was always dangling from her backpack because she was always trying to read it. Sage took the compass in his hand and lightly traced a line on it. He gave the compass back to Elena and she found that the needle no longer pointed to the north, but at an angle northeast. â€Å"Fol ow the arrow,†he said. â€Å"It wil take you to the trunk of the Great Tree. If I had to guess at where to find the largest star bal , I would go this way. But be wary! Others have tried this path. Their bodies have nourished the Great Tree – as fertilizer.† Elena scarcely heard the words. She had been terrified at the thought of searching an entire planet for a star bal . Of course, it might be a very smal world, like†¦like†¦ Like the little diamond moon you saw over the Nether World? The voice in Elena's mind was both familiar and not. She glanced at Sage, who smiled. Then she looked around the room. Everyone seemed to be waiting for her to take the first step. She took it.

Mask Work in Drama Essay

Our mask work in drama was an experience that I very much enjoyed very much. It also made me a better drama student because I increased my body movement far more as my face could not be seen. It has also shown me that with a mask on you can go for it with your body movement but you should go for it just as much with out a mask on. Fragments This part of the portfolio is where I say what Fragments of Mask work I learnt and enjoyed. Key word Fragments: Fragments of movement we mainly made up our self’s but always had to keep them ritualistic and precise. The movement we were taught in certain lessons were from a ritual and had to be Ritualistic and precise so every move was important. Examples of fragments I learnt in the lessons regarding Mask work: I remember the first lesson that we did mask work I was so unsure weather I would like it or not. What we did was sat in a circle Miss Grenene did movements that we had to copy in a ritualistic style. Then she made up copy the ritual routine with sounds so eventually we were all doing the same movements and sounds making us a chorus. Then she made us carry on the ritual adding sounds and movements on to it as we go. Miss was also playing the drum, which made it sound like an ancient ritual war drum. I felt unsure while doing this but however my emotions became more confident as the class ritual got better and better. The feelings I had were that I had to keep together with the group like a chorus should. Real life sounds and memories of sounds and movements were used in that ritual to carry on to making our own ritual. Like clapping whistling stomping all kinds of sounds and movements. All these ideas ran through my h ead and I was thinking this is good so why not add this, this and this to the piece. This was the starting point for our work as next we had to do a ritual in masks, which really does complete the ritual. I had to team up with Ross, Jack, Lisa and Joe to perform a Ritual of travelling from a neutral calm place to a hot place, to a cold place and then a funny place. I discovered on this first performance with a mask that because my face was covered up I had to express my character with my body and even more so as I didn’t have speech. We all had to huddle together as well to look like a chorus. Sadly I felt nervous on that performance as everyone was moving at different times and I could not keep up so it went badly. For the movements I thought I should look freezing and act it and look hot and act it for the others I did the same basis for the ritual. I understand that a ritual is to be a serious occasion and you should act serious and focused while acting out a ritual like for example in a funeral or wedding. Which brings me onto my next piece which was when me Jack, Lauren, Keeli, and Michelle were acting out a wedding. The manor of this performance had to be serious and precise which it was. We did slow clear-cut movements that flowed and were symbolic to a wedding. This was a good piece when we performed it however the white cloth got caught in Keelis hair and we all ended up laughing. When we performing it I saw weddings on t-v and in real life and saw how formal they were, so I decided to draw my performance from that. I played the vicar and with the mask on I felt that Ginny was gone and the Vicar of the wedding was there. I felt calm and good about this performance as it was done well but we all laughed which emphasized even more the need t be serious in a ritual. Not one of my fragments up until now has made me happy with Mask Work. Not because I don’t like because I always couldn’t do my role correctly in movement or voice. Now I was put in a group for my moch exam and I was brilliant and confident from the word go I had no problem expressing my self and loved it. I feel that i f I did it once I can do it again maybe it was the pressure of the exam that made me do well, however I am far more confident with mask work after that. Response: My emotional response to mask work is to approach it in a willing way. I felt like I had failed whenever I didn’t give a good performance, which was most of the time, which hindered y confidence. I felt down like I did not know what I was doing wrong for a long time this made me frustrated with the work. This made me more determined though because I love drama so much I was not going to be perturbed by improvements that could and were in the end made. Also while we were trying new things I felt happy or sad or angry and this was related to the movements. I found that moving a lot made me happy and I could do that a lot if I was down. My Intellectual response to the work was to always be prepared and try everything and improve. I always wanted to intellectually give a good input to work and get a good out put from it. Ideas were always flowing into my head to put into a drama piece, but sadly I didn’t know when to stop. The movements that we explored were always ritualis tic and expressive according to the character or ritual we were playing in. In our moch exam I was so pleased with the response I gave to the work, which were magical ideas, and ritualistic movements, which got a good response, back this made me pleased. I always felt ready to try but had varied emotions through out mostly of focus and confusion to the drama piece. Development: Fragments were connected and developed as we learned more and put our increasing mask work techniques together into a ritual piece. Like our sounds like drumming or humming were connected to movements. For example a scream sound+ hands trying to pull your hair out could = an insane person in ritual. Another example could be a person with clawed hands above their head + a long grunt could = a person in a ritual who is angry. Mask + Movement = A soundless piece of drama where only the body can interpret the ritual using serious prà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½cis and ritualistic movement. Also you must always have your head forward and facing the audience. Then you should have your shoulders back and have clear ritualistic movements and if there is sound use it so it’s clear and relevant also loud or quite depending on the mood. Mask +Movement+ Sound= A Ritual with expressive movement and sounds were effective adding atmosphere depending on the ritual piece. Mask+ Movement+ Sound+ Music= For example a piece of mask work like Oedipus which was the play we did and turned into a ritual. Fro sound we used words from the play like death, marriage, hanging, the grouching of the eyes. Then we linked these to ritualistic movements like people dieing and the grouching of the eyes. We used the music when there was a lot of tension at a high peak of the ritual. The chorus did movements all together this looked very effective and I liked the way they all moved at different level but still looked like a chorus in a ritual. Evaluation: The moch exam we did was based on a play called Oedipus and which we had to extract 10 words and turn it into a ritual with movement and music. Our 10 words were: Death, Marriage, Hanging, Grouching, Suffering, Hurl me, Madness, stabbing daggers, pain, and loved ones. The chorus which was Niki, Chris, Kirsty, Joe and Michelle used slow movements and long drowning words which made the ritual sound like a world of despair. I was the narrator and I said about the Marriage, death and hanging and the gouging of the eyes in the beginning. This was very effective and then at the end I came on screaming madness. Then the madness the chorus came out and stabbed me to death then I said the madness is done like I was closing the ritual. I must say I loved the way every ones movements were so precise and ritualistic. This so effective and the sounds we used symbolized the movements we did which made it look really good. I liked it because it flowed well and the sounds were loud and expressive. If I had to change something about the ritual it would be the fact that we could have moved more in time and also that the music could have been used more to show tension. Also the clothes were good too Red symbolising blood and black is the madness of killing. The other groups were so good as well I learnt that from them practise makes perfect. They were so realistic in voice and movement. Especially Sheryl and Daniel in voice. The choruses in all the groups could have moved better though. From this the thing I have learned that everyone must work on is their movements. The audiences were so good they gave us a lot of claps and support to spur us on.

The Religion of Islam Essay - 1446 Words

The country of Saudi Arabia has only one religion which caused Islam it is the largest religion in the Middle East. The follower?s of Islam are Muslims. Muslims believe in only one God just like the Jews and Christians, the major difference is the belief in the nature of God. The word for God in Arabic is Allah and that is what Muslims call God. By looking at the history, the beliefs, and the Islamic terrorists, Islam has been view as a bad religion. The Islamic religion is generally a very peaceful religion, and that a very few of the Muslims are radicals, which gives the religion a bad stereotype. The year when Islam was established is unknown, but what is known is that the last prophet was Muhammad.†¦show more content†¦The Empires didn?t have a strong military against the Muslims armies before they gave into the new faith of Islam. The empires were not good to their people, but the Muslims treated them well. That is what encouraged the people to follow Muslim. The new empire of Muslims was founded in the city of Syrian. In 750 AD Baghdad was the new location of the empire (234). In Baghdad the Arab civilizations flourished. They discovered mathematics, astronomy, and geography. Because of this many of the Arabian traveled around the world and brought the faith of Islam all over the place (235). Today there are Muslims all over the world and many people are converting to Islam every day. The religion of Islam is based on peace. Muslims believe that Allah is the one and only god. He is the creator of the entire universe, and everlasting (Islam online). According to the website Islam online, Muslims also believe that Allah sent the final message to Muhammad to guide his people. Like the Christians, Muslims believe in the prophets Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and Jesus. The last prophet they believed to be was Muhammad who received the final message from God. Muslims believe in The Day of Judgment, also called the Day of Resurrection. On this day God will judge all people based on their deeds and beliefs. People would go to paradise or hell. In paradise, only the righteous people will be allowed there where they will live in happiness for eternally.Show MoreRelatedThe Religion Of Islam And Islam1544 Words   |  7 Pagesand Islam are not exclusive and need not to be in competition. Instead, they overlap, and share common principles of justi ce and progress, tolerance and the dignity of all human beings† (Barack Obama). For many decades, in most cultures, religious practice has been a controversial issue, because each religion competes demonstrating that their practices are the true path to God. Religious tolerance is very important because followers should be free to choose their own religion. 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A deep study of Islamic teachings and thought reveals that Islam is a religion of peace, security and protection; the true believers in the sight of God and His Messenger are those who embody those qualities. The dominant religion of Islam has been the center of much attention and controversy in today’s civilization. The Western perspective subjugates Islam and the Muslim cou nterparts as violent, aggressive, deviant and terroristic;