A look back on January 2023 in Thailand's islands and coastal areas

Island Wrap #60

Welcome to the Island Wrap, a free monthly round-up of Thai island and coastal news. If you haven’t yet, feel free to subscribe to Thai Island Quest for free, or upgrade to gain access to the entire Thai Island Directory as it’s being published, and many other island-rich articles, for $5 USD per month.

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Thailand kicked off 2023 with international travelers returning in numbers not seen since high season 2019-20. In this edition of the Island Wrap, you’ll find news on the ongoing tourism recovery as well as a heated land-rights battle on Ko Lipe, growing talk of bridges to be built for Ko Samui and Ko Chang, a sea turtle that has taken an orphaned dugong calf under its flipper — and more.

The gradual release of the Thai Island Directory continued here at Thai Island Quest last month with an updated Table of Contents and the completion of the entire Eastern Gulf chapter, including sections on Mu Ko Chang, the Trat coast, the Chanthaburi coast & islands, Mu Ko Samet & Ko Mun, and the Rayong coast. In addition, I published a free in-depth article about Ko Phi Phi Leh with a focus on its legendary beach, Ao Maya. For a first-time visitor, it was not half bad!

Next up in the Thai Island Directory will be a five-part chapter on the Southern Andaman, which happens to be my favorite of all the Thai coastal zones for island hopping and quiet starry nights by the beach. If you’re currently a free subscriber and you’d like to receive it along with the other forthcoming five chapters of the T.I.D. as they are released, welcome aboard for $5 USD a month.

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Cool website or page

The Facebook page Moken News is a rare English-language source of info about what the indigenous Moken and Moklen sea people of Ko Surin, Ko Sinhai, Ko Phra Thong and Ko Ra are up to. Peep the page for insights about recent overlapping efforts to collect and recycle sea rubbish on these islands, providing extra income for the islanders while keeping the beaches clean.

News wire picks

A search for land justice on Ko Lipe (Bangkok Post)
A demonstration in Bangkok spotlighted the Ko Lipe natives claims of being pushed around by a large firm that put its land claims to the test by, get this, blockading one of the only entrances to the island’s tiny school. The firm reportedly removed the barrier after well-deserved public criticism, but Ko Lipe’s Urak Lawoi people are still in a tenuous position despite having lived there for over a century.

Exat ramps up Ko Samui bridge plan (Bangkok Post)
It appears increasingly likely that a bridge between Khanom and Ko Samui will eventually be built. Meanwhile in Trat province, proposals for a bridge to Ko Chang also appear to be gaining momentum, with two possible routes mapped out.

Bangkok’s new passenger train terminal starts operations (CNA)
And not without hiccups. Quite a few actually, such as diesel smoke from old trains filling enclosed areas, and a misspelling that rendered the word “central” without a R on hundreds of railcar signs. Also left to be sorted out is the last-minute, 33-million THB name change. (Don’t call it Bang Sue, apparently.)

Thailand beats 2022 tourism target with 11.15 mln foreign arrivals (Reuters)
”The figures, which beat the government's target, reflect a solid turnaround as Thailand tries to revive its vital tourism industry, which bore the brunt of its strict entry and quarantine policies during the pandemic.”

Chinese travel is set to return. The question is, when? (The New York Times)
“‘It is very exciting to visit warm beautiful places again,’ said Hua Liu, 34, a graphic designer from Shanghai, who was among the first visitors to Thailand… Her plan: ‘Stay at nice hotels, book spa treatments, eat at fine restaurants and buy nice gifts for myself and my family.’

Direct flights from China resume in Phuket (The Phuket News)
In response, an elephant camp on Phuket brought in six new jumbos that, like most working elephants in Thailand, sat out the pandemic.

Arborists called in to rescue ‘comic islet’ tree (Bangkok Post)
”The ‘comic islet’ (Ko Khai Hua Roh) — the Thai moniker refers to drawings in a popular comic book about a stranded couple — has become a big tourist draw in the eastern province of Trat.

Marine life sightings

• A “huge green sea turtle” has taken an orphaned dugong calf under its flipper in one of the more heart-warming marine-life stories I’ve read in a while.

• 2023 got off to a great start in sea turtle nesting, with The Phuket Express reporting two new leatherback sea turtle hatchings and at least four new nests last month on the Phang Nga provincial coast north of Phuket.

• A 2.5-m-long, 280-kg endangered dugong — yeah, a big one — washed up dead with no visible wounds near Krabi town.

• A large whale shark was spotted near Ko Hong in Than Bok Khoranni National Park with fishing debris stuck around its tail.

In other news

Malaysian tourist, 5-year-old daughter, drown in seas of Krabi (Thai PBS World)

DSI fight for remaining prime Phuket beachfront land continues (The Phuket News)

Seven boats catch fire on Thailand’s Ko Mak (Thai PBS World)

Coral damaged by boats and tourist divers at Phi Phi National Park (The Phuket Express, which in a follow-up reports that the culprits have been identified.)

Thai National Park officials warn tourists after foreigner free climbs cliff in Krabi (The Phuket Express)

Russian tourists abandoned on island off Pattaya rescued (Thai PBS World)

Floating restaurant flooded, sinks off Pattaya (Bangkok Post)

Sarasin Bridge (Phuket) legend revived in new film (The Phuket News)

Muay Thai or Kun Khmer? Thailand, Cambodia at odds over name of SEA games event (AFP via CNA)

I leave you with…

A beautifully shot video report from CNA displaying the local cooking prowess of four residents of Ko Klang, an island where many of the traditional ways of life have been preserved despite the location neighboring Krabi town. 🌴

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