THAILAND --- LOCATION OF SURVIVOR 5!

Survivor 5 - Thailand will premiere on CBS September 19th

THAI GOVT APPROVED TO SHOOT SURVIVOR 5!

Thailand has given the green light for the next series of the smash-hit reality-TV programme "Survivor" to be shot on a remote island in the kingdom's south, authorities said on Friday. The Thailand Film Office (TFO) said it had approved filming on pristine Tarutao island, which lies near the Malaysian sea border, despite its status as a nature preserve. "It was a unanimous decision to allow Survivor to shoot on Tarutao because we are confident it poses no threat to the environment or the people," TFO director Sidhichai Jayant said after a meeting of the TFO, tourism officials and government authorities. Tarutao, located within a national marine park some 1,000 kilometres south of Bangkok, boasts caves, waterfalls and white-sand beaches, and protected wildlife including dolphins and dugongs. But until being selected by the Survivor team after a survey of several of the nation's famed tropical destinations, it was best known for being used as a jail for political prisoners during World War II. The 16 contestants, who must survive a series of gruelling challenges to win a million-dollar pot, are unlikely to run across any tourists as few boats travel to Tarutao and facilities are rudimentary. Sidhichai said the US show producers' "positive record" was taken into consideration when officials approved the 40-day shoot which is expected to begin in July. 04/12/02 (AFP)

TARUTAO : A LITTLE ISLE OF HORROR

Tarutao National Park is composed of 61 islands, 7 of them covering relatively large areas, namely Tarutao, Adang, Rawi, Lipe, Klang, Dong and Lek Islands. The rest are small islands scattered on the east coast of Tarutao and surrounding Adang and Rawi Islands. Therefore, the park can be divided geographically into two main parts: the Tarutao Archipelago, located 30 kilometres away from the coast and the Adang-Rawi Archipelago another 45 kilometres to the West. The southern boundary of the national park is the Thai-Malaysian border with the island of Langkawi only 5 kilometres away from the southern tip of Tarutao Island.

More interesting than a visit to the historical sites of Tarutao, might be an excursion to the Crocodile Cave. Located in the hinterland of Phante Malacca Bay, the cave can be reached by long-tail boat along one of the most important streams of the islands, Khlong Phante Malacca, that passes through dense mangrove forests and the limestone cliffs of the northern part of Tarutao. Tarutao was used as a prison during the Forties of the last century. While the prison site at Talo Wao on the eastern side served for normal prisoners, at Talo U-dang Bay normal prisoners and political prisoners from the first democratic movements in the country where detained. As the distance to the next islands and the crocodile infested mangrove forests at this time made escape unlikely, most buildings were made only from wood and have vanished over the decades. Besides earthen foundation walls and overgrown tracks, some iron tools are the only remains of this dark period of the island.

ABOUT THAILAND A unified Thai kingdom was established in the mid-14th century; it was known as Siam until 1939. Thailand is the only southeast Asian country never to have been taken over by a European power. A bloodless revolution in 1932 led to a constitutional monarchy. In alliance with Japan during World War II, Thailand became a US ally following the conflict.

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