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.
The big story from Thai islands in March was a ferocious giant squid attack on Ko Lipe. According to witnesses, the hissing group of architeuthis dux surfed in on huge waves and shot buckets of ink at unsuspecting beach goers.
April fools!
But seriously, when it comes to news stories about islands in Satun province, this Island Wrap has more than usual — including a call from a Thai government agency to develop Ko Adang, and a blockade of Pakbara Pier by disgruntled boat captains. Find those stories and many others, including a pair of terrific special reports on Maya Bay and Khao Sok, in this edition of the Wrap.
Here at TIQ, I released four more sections of the Thai Island Directory last month as the publication of this book-in-progress continues towards the goal of covering every island in the country, plus a slew of mainland coastal areas. If you ever want to explore deeper into the 141 islands of Satun province, check out Mu Ko Bulon & Mu Ko Khao Yai, Mu Ko Adang & Ko Khai, Ko Tarutao & Mu Ko Sarai, and the Satun coast, a section that also includes several obscure islands that are on my day-tripping radar. Anyone who has ever said that all Thai islands are heavily touristed and overdeveloped should give Satun’s collection a look.
The T.I.D. is now about 1/3 of the way finished, with both the Eastern Gulf and Southern Andaman chapters in the bag. In April we’ll jump to the Upper Gulf to cover the many islands of Chonburi province before getting into mainland shores in provinces like Prachuap Khiri Khan and Samut Songkhram. If you’re a Bangkok resident who loves the sea, this chapter is for you.
Cool website or page
Satun province’s list of geological sites is so impressive that, in 2018, UNESCO strung them into the Satun Global Geopark, which is the only UNESCO Geopark in Thailand and only the fifth in Asia-Pacific. The park’s website has info on all included sites, from the polished hornfell-stone beach of Ko Hin Ngam to the limestone-rimmed lagoon of Ko Khao Yai to a mainland cave where extinct giant elephant remains were unearthed in Thung Wa district. If you want to visit Satun for something more than Ko Lipe, give Satun-Geopark.com a look.
News wire picks
Sharks, tourists jostle for space around Thai destination island (Reuters)
Featuring some phenomenal photos, this special report explains how the black-tip reef sharks that returned to Maya Bay on Ko Phi Phi Leh during the pandemic are fairing now that day-tripping tourists have returned. Will new restrictions on swimming and boating be enough to keep the sharks around?
From poachers to protecters: In the ‘Guilin of Thailand,’ locals lead efforts to conserve ancient rainforest (CNA)
Natives of the scenic Khao Sok valley explain how they felt when their homes were flooded in the mid 1980s to form a reservoir that is now a key tourist attraction — and how they’ve shifted to livelihoods based on tourism while accepting conservation of the ancient rainforest as a necessity.
This is what years of tourist rides do to an elephant (CNN Travel)
”The picture provided by the Wildlife Friends Foundation in Thailand (WFFT) depicts Pai Lin, a 71-year-old female whose spine has become disfigured after 25 years of working in the tourism industry, where she was forced to carry up to six tourists at a time.”
Hatching leatherback turtles get helping hand on Thai beach (AFP via Thai PBS)
”Thailand banned poaching their eggs in 1982, and locals are now awarded 20,000 baht ($570) for reporting a leatherback nest — like the one closely watched by Prin under the moonlight.”
Blockade of pier to Ko Lipe costing ‘THB 10 million per day’ in lost tourism revenue (The Nation)
Thai PBS World also has a bit of info on this protest early last month — yes, The Nation article is incorrectly dated — involving roughly 100 trawlers that were anchored in the Pakbara estuary to block tourists from reaching and returning from Ko Lipe and other islands. The boat captains were protesting “the arrest of 24 fishermen for allegedly trespassing in Tarutao National Park.”
Adang Island in Satun to be developed as world-class tourism destination (PDR — Thai government site)
This is a brief press release stating that the Southern Border Provinces Administrative Center (SBPAC), a relatively obscure government agency, would like to turn Ko Adang, which is now (mostly) protected as part of Mu Ko Tarutao National Park, into “the Rivera of Southeast Asia.” Meanwhile, the chief of Ko Sarai subdistrict is being investigated “for allegedly allowing resort owners to encroach on land” owned by the national park on Ko Lipe, right next to Ko Adang.
The case for a train to Koh Samui (Future Southeast Asia)
”Getting the train to Koh Samui would become a tourist attraction in itself, and provide another alternative to domestic flights. If the train is connected to the current metre-gauge railway, you could get an overnight train from Bangkok and wake up on Samui, without the extra bus and ferry transfer combo.”
Four ports in Andaman plan to connect Phuket to Phang Nga and Krabi (The Phuket Express)
These provinces are already well connected by ferries, but it appears that four of the piers servicing the Ko Yao islands may get significant upgrades.
Thailand beats Q1 tourism target with 6.15 mln arrivals (Reuters)
And in related stories, Pattaya is reportedly “fretting” the 130,000 tourists who visited Ko Larn as Chinese tour groups returned in the first half of March, while in Phuket, nearly 7,600 Russians were seeking to extend their stays in Thailand as Russians continue to flock to the island in large numbers.
Thailand announces 800+ new islands (Couchfish)
The headline could be another April fools gag, but the piece argues that Thailand will need to find a lot more islands if the Tourism Ministry gets anywhere near its previously stated goal of 80 million inbound tourists annually by 2027.
‘The White Lotus’ Season 3 will be set in Thailand (Variety)
Rumors are swirling that a Thai island will host the next season of this brilliant HBO series after director Mike White hinted that “Season 3 may take place in Asia and focus on ‘death and Eastern religion and spirituality.’” He was recently spotted in Phuket, but I’d advise him to consider Ko Phangan.
Wildlife sightings
A pair of Bryde’s whales turned up in the Similan islands of the Andaman Sea, where, unlike in parts of the Thai Gulf, they are not commonly seen.
Not too far from the Similans in Mu Ko Surin, another group of tourists spotted a pod of what appeared to be spinner dolphins.
59 more endangered leatherback sea turtle hatchlings emerged from a nest in Phang Nga on March 27th, bringing the province’s known leatherback hatchling total to 207 from three nests in March. Several new nests were also discovered, including 88 eggs laid by a large green sea turtle on Phuket.
In land-based wildlife news, an elephant in Chachoengsao “wandered across the road, stopped a passing truck, and gently tipped it over”; a rare (and big!) golden king cobra was wrangled from a house in Chonburi; and footage of four elusive Indochinese tigers emerged in Thailand’s Western Forest Complex.
In other news
French tourist goes missing on Adang Island in Satun (TPN — as of publication time, the tourist has yet to be found, as far as I know.)
Search for missing trawler crew continues in the Gulf off Chumphon (Thai PBS)
Seven people rescued after their vessel capsizes in Andaman Sea (Thai PBS on the rescue that took place near Ko Ma in Krabi province.)
Tourist survives bungee jump fall in Thailand after cord snaps (CNN Travel on a close call at Changthai Thappraya Safari and Adventure Park near Pattaya.)
Body found floating off Phuket believed to be missing Romanian diver (The Phuket News)
Thai tourist with American wife attacked by stray dogs on beach in Krabi (The Phuket Express on another bite from a stray in Ao Nang.)
Navy rushes to prevent oil spill in gulf (Bangkok Post on an incident that also killed a worker on an offshore Chevron storage vessel.)
Navy moves to close luxury resort ‘built on state property’ (Bangkok Post on the alleged encroachment on the Sattahip coast.)
Protected marine life found at Phuket restaurants (The Phuket News)
Trat police launch durian-guarding service after 1-million-baht fruit heist (The Nation)
US soldiers receive Muay Thai lessons from Thai champion (Thai PBS on the schooling during the Cobra Gold joint military exercises in Sattahip.)
Thailand’s Koh Mak wins sustainability award at world’s biggest tourism fair (The Nation)
The world’s greatest places of 2023 (Time with a list of “50 extraordinary destinations” that includes Phuket as well as Thailand’s Isaan region.
I leave you with…
An extensive interview with Nathan Parker, who managed Why Nam Bungalows on Ko Phangan for many years, that was conducted as part of research for Brian Gruber’s book, Full Moon over Koh Phangan: What Adventurers, Dancers, and Freaks Seek and Find on Thailand's Magic Island. I’ve not yet read the book, but the interview reveals loads of insights about what the island was like for travelers in the late 1980s, when the now-infamous Full Moon Party first caught on.
Thank you for reading Thai Island Quest, an independent, reader-supported e-newsletter sharing the beauty, challenges and distinctive identities of Thailand’s islands and shorelines. Yes, all of them.
Thank you as always for your excellent reportage and keeping all of us up to date!
so much news... of course, corrupt officials profiting off of what they should be stopping and/or protecting is an everyday occurance in the Land of Smiles...
when i lived on Lanta, increasingly packs of stray dogs were becoming a real problem especially during low season!
when i first arrived in '09, i was curious about the Full Moon Party, ALL my Thai friends said "Dok Mai, don't go- this is not for you- you are more mature and you respect Thai culture!"
as much as i love the really stinky 'king of fruits' that 'smells like hell, tastes like heaven', i had no involvement in any durian thefts...
two other things i will always decline any involvement in are skydiving or bungee jumping, i don't wish to undertake a pastime wherein one little mistake is invariably fatal