Island Wrap #64, recapping May 2023 in coastal Thailand
A month's worth of curated news from Thai islands and coastal areas.
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 & CoastalDirectory as it’s published, and many other island-rich articles, for $5 USD per month.
Thailand’s general election dominated the news cycle in May, and this edition of the Wrap briefly summarizes where things stand and who could soon lead the country after it voted overwhelmingly for change. You’ll also find stories on improving coral and marine life protection, combating plastic sea waste, a new marine species discovered at Ko Adang — and much more.
Thailand is also stepping into another rainy season; if you like to swim, be sure to watch for red warning flags on the beaches and try to keep some vinegar handy to thwart any jellyfish stings. Phuket, for one, is already enduring the effects as rough seas recently claimed four drowning victims, with another rescued. A small boat ban is in effect there through June 4th.
Here at TIQ I updated the working title of my book-in-progress to ‘Thai Island & Coastal Directory’ and turned a corner in the upper Gulf by releasing sections on the Chonburi coast — including Sattahip and more northerly areas like Pattaya and Si Racha — and then bashing out the Samut coastal shores in two parts before finishing May with a section devoted entirely to Phetchaburi.
For June I’m looking to wrap up the Upper Gulf with two-part coverage of Prachuap Khiri Khan’s lengthy provincial shores along with its islands, such as Ko Thalu in Ao Siam NP and Ko Chan in Hat Wanakon NP. Then it will be on to the island-rich Central Andaman, the busiest of the seven Thai coastal zones. It’s set to be a whopper, covering Phang Nga Bay’s 150+ islands along with Mu Ko Phuket, Mu Ko Phi Phi, Mu Ko Poda, Mu Ko Si Boya, Mu Ko Lanta, and the Krabi coast.
As has been the case recently, paying subscribers can expect the minimum of four monthly T.I.C.D. sections to start arriving roughly midway through the month. Your support bags you what I believe will be the most complete guide to Thai islands and coastal areas ever written in English, but it also helps to keep me fed while keeping the dream of 100% independent travel writing alive.
Cool site or page
In recent T.I.C.D. sections I mention the exciting Bryde’s whale watching trips that launch out of Samut Sakhon and Phetchaburi from September through December. If you want to get an idea of what these trips are like while picking up knowledge on the fascinating whales found in Thai waters, give the Facebook pages Thai Whales and Wild Encounter Thailand a look. The latter is also a conservation-minded tour outfit operating out of Samut Sakhon, not far from Bangkok.
Election update
The progressive Move Forward party upended Thai politics when it, alongside pro-democracy partner Pheu Thai, crushed the ruling military-aligned parties in the May 14th election (full results). Look at the party list toll, an indication of which party a voter prefers to lead nationally, and you’ll see that Move Forward and Pheu Thai combined to take 68 out of 100 of those MP seats on the back of 25,401,373 votes against only 7,367,584 for the four main conservative parties.
Especially striking to me were Move Forward’s convincing wins in Bangkok and provinces like Phuket and Rayong, indicating that an urban middle class which voted reliably for the conservative Democrat party only 12 years ago has become a progressive-leaning powerhouse that is shifting Thailand into a new political chapter. (I guess that’s what nine years of forced military rule will do?)
All eyes are now on Pita Limjaroenrat, the Harvard- and MIT-educated 42-year-old whose promise for change thrust Move Forward to a victory that surprised all observers. Move Forward won 32 out of 33 MP seats in Bangkok, swept Phuket and all three of the Eastern Gulf provinces, and bested Pheu Thai on its own turf in Chiang Mai. “Pita fever” is here — even the TAT has latched on to it.
But he may not become Prime Minister due to rules dictated after the last military coup that require the vote for PM to include 250 military-aligned, unelected senators along with 500 democratically elected MPs. Move Forward quickly joined Pheu Thai and several smaller parties to form a coalition that, as things stand today, appears to fall short of the 376 Parliamentary votes needed to make Pita the PM. The coalition is sticking together for now, having laid out shared policy goals in a memorandum of understanding. But cracks have shown.
If Move Forward is unable to form a government, rumor has it that Pheu Thai might ultimately exclude it and join a ruling coalition with conservative parties, although some analysts think this is unlikely. It’s also possible that Pita will be disqualified over a frivolous technicality, an outcome that history has shown to be fairly common when Thailand’s conservative establishment dislikes a PM candidate. If Pita survives the courts, his leadership bid will hang on a mid-July vote in Parliament. If he doesn’t, a controversial re-do of the election could transpire.
Thailand loves a good drama — and it has one now. Regardless of how it plays out, the powerful establishment appears to have been spooked enough to extend some olive branches to its now-strengthened opposition. Among them are recent decisions to cut Thailand’s number of generals in half by 2027, and to release a 15-year-old girl who had been detained for 50 days on a charge of lèse-majesté.
News wire picks
Why did Thailand’s Move Forward win big in Phuket? (The Diplomat)
Analyst Tita Sanglee explains how the “Orange Wave” managed to flip an island province that has typically elected conservative MPs in the past. In related news, Phuket’s three new MP-elects have already thrown down the gauntlet by promising to tackle corruption and malfeasance among two groups that hold am awful lot of power on the island: the police and the tuk tuk / taxi drivers.
Phuket cannabis businesses call for support (The Phuket News)
In an election twist, the Move Forward / Pheu Thai coalition included re-listing cannabis as a narcotic among its otherwise progressive policy aims, spooking the booming industry that formed after Thailand effectively legalized cannabis in June 2021. “‘I thought they’re meant to move forward,’ grumbled Suphamet Hetrakul of Teera Ventures, a cannabis farm owner,” to Bangkok Post.
How south-east Asia is fighting back to save corals - photo essay (The Guardian)
With stunning photos from parts of Thailand and Indonesia, this piece explains how rising sea temperatures, acidification and over-fishing are leading to extensive reef decline — and how marine science is resisting. In related news, The Nation spotlights the reef-protection efforts underway at the islands of Hat Wanakon NP, one of many examples of coral rehabilitation underway in Thailand.
Reducing plastic pollution in our oceans is simpler than you think (The New York Times)
An important opinion piece by Boyan Slat of The Ocean Cleanup, whose Interceptor rubbish-capturing boats have already removed a significant chunk of sea waste from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and many other locations worldwide. While Thailand is not mentioned by name, Slat does discuss Interceptor deployments to Malaysia and the program has also been active in Thailand.
Is Bangkok really under threat from sea level rise? (Thai Enquirer)
”The current plan is to cut emissions by 2050 but fails to address the engineering issues needed to combat rising sea levels.” In other words, Thailand better start looking into the types of “real engineering solutions” mastered by the Dutch, or confront a seriously waterlogged Bangkok in the future.
More help for at-risk marine species (Bangkok Post)
A look at what is being done in Trat, Trang and Pattani to protect species like the whale shark, guitarfish and dugong, as well as reefs and mangroves.
Five Bryde’s whales born each year on average in seas off Samut Sakhon province (Thai PBS)
The known birth and death rates tentatively indicate a strengthening wan bruda population, though threats remain.
Thai island makes a virtue of simplicity (Nikkei Asia)
Ko Mak’s popularity has been given a boost by this and a similarly gushing article from CNA that I spotlighted in last month’s Island Wrap.
Wildlife sightings
A newly discovered crab species, known as Demanietta Sunthorni, is thought to exist nowhere on earth other than Ko Adang.
A whale shark wandered close to the famous Maya Bay, delighting a lucky foreign couple during their longtail boat trip.
A pod of 10 bottlenose dolphins surfaced near Ko Khao Yai in Satun, and the body of a dead dolphin washed up on Ko Si Boya in Krabi.
Footage shows the first adorable flops of 80 green sea turtle hatchlings from a nest on Ko Tachai, while two more nests combining for 200 eggs were found on nearby Ko Miang in Mu Ko Similan.
And a herd of wild elephants were no match for some yipping dogs in Chachoengsao.
In other news
35 people hurt in Phuket speedboat crash (Bangkok Post)
Phuket boat crew rescued after getting stuck on rock in Krabi (The Phuket Express)
Tourists rescued after longtail capsizes (The Phuket News on the incident in Phang Nga Bay.)
Kradan Island in Trang with the world’s best beach will be temporarily closed (The Phuket Express)
DNA barcoding to help in conservation of sharks and rays in Thai waters (Thai PBS on improved testing of processed foods for protected species.).
1,000 meter long fishing net removed from underwater reef in Phuket (The Phuket Express on the volunteer work off Ko Racha Noi.)
DSI probes illegal encroachment of protected forest in Kamala (The Phuket News)
Wildlife trafficking gang arrested, macaques rescued (Bangkok Post on the enforcement in rural Phetchaburi province.)
Two arrested for illegal fishing off Cape Panwa (The Phuket News on the illegal hunting of black-tip reef sharks.)
Hungarian man facing legal action after touching pipefish while diving at Pha Ngan Island (The Phuket Express)
More than 1,000 foreigners in Phuket caught for visa overstay (The Phuket News)
Higher risk of haze in southern ASEAN region between June and October 2023 (CNA)
Pattaya mayor reveals plan for covered Bali Hai Pier (The Pattaya News)
Appeal made for Aussie at risk of losing lower leg (The Phuket News)
Australian woman in Krabi helps save three people from fire by calling for help (The Phuket Express)
First raise in a decade sought for Thailand’s defenders of the wild (Coconuts Bangkok)
Wild Boars: Memorial planned for inspiring rescue from flooded cave (The Nation on five years since the remarkable cave diving rescue.)
I leave you with…
The guy who spent seven hours wandering the Pattaya sewers.
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.
wow, a busy month!
wishing the best for MFP & Pita & the coalition