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I see my boyhood land in paradise island 14/12/09
The popular Gaelic song Chi mi' n Tir tells of the longing of a homesick Harris seaman as his ship sails past the land of his childhood
But not one of the generations of Hearaich mariners who sailed into Far East ports would mistake the palm trees, coconuts and mangroves for the land of Harris.
But now the rolling hills of Leverburgh are apparently being hi-
Tourists to Koh Chang, a large island off Thailand, are being enticed by idyllic images of stunning scenery.
But the glorious, sparkling, white sands at Kai Bae beach is really that of Berneray off North Uist. The azure coloured sea is the Sound of Harris and the hills are actually the mountains around Norton.
The Thai government is marketing Koh Chang as a premier tourist destination -
British writer Ian McNamara who runs a small guesthouse on Koh Chang island wrote about it on his tourist guide blog on www.iamkohchang.com.
Ian said the tourist centre at the area’s Marine National Park has “signboards displaying information about the different areas of the island, for example Kai Bae Beach.
“Pedantic nit-
“But it is still a nice photo. And so what if the beach in the photo is really located on the isle of Berneray in Scotland!
“I loved the photo of the pure white sand and those rolling hills in the distance.
“And that’s a bit odd, because last time I looked there weren’t any offshore mountain ranges visible from Kai Bae beach – only sea.
“Turns out there is an obvious explanation. Rather than send someone with a camera down to Kai Bae, the National Park decided to promote a beach on Koh Chang using a photo taken from the internet.
“In this case a picture of the Harris Hills as seen from a beach on the Isle of Berneray in Scotland.”
The splendid Hebridean photo was originally snapped by John Kirriemuir four years ago and the Thias have borrowed it from the www.isleofberneray.com website.
Mr Kirriemuir said he had forgotten he took the picture and was bemused at its reappearance on the other side of the world.
He added: “True, there are some similarities; great sand, unpolluted sea. But also some differences; if you swam off both beaches, you would very quickly realise what one of them is.
A VisitScotland spokeswoman said: "Here in the Outer Hebrides we are fortunate to have some of the most spectacular scenery in the world, right on our doorstep.
“The crystal clear waters and white sandy beaches around Harris are particularly beautiful and, going by this website, the envy of many around the world.”
She added: “They do say imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, so although the use of the photo of a beach on the Isle of Berneray to represent a Thai beach is somewhat misleading, I'm sure it is a compliment in disguise!"
The Thailand Tourist board was unsure why the photograph was used.