Island Wrap #67, recapping August 2023 in coastal Thailand

A month's worth of curated media from around Thai islands and coastal areas.

Welcome to the Island Wrap, a free monthly round-up of Thai island and coastal news and other media. If you haven’t yet, feel free to subscribe to Thai Island Quest for free. (Note: paid subscriptions will resume on September 11th.)

August was an eventful month as Thailand finally formed a new government, stepping into a future in which tourism stands as a top priority for the newly appointed leader. This Wrap digs into some of the plans he shared during a visit to Phuket while also spotlighting stories on a potential easing of tourist visa rules, various facets of the “climate change sword hanging over Thailand,” and much more.

Paid subscriptions are currently on a two-week pause here at Thai Island Quest, but they will resume on the 11th when I’ll send an update on what to expect from this newsletter ahead. Before the pause, I covered Mu Ko Lanta and the Phang Nga Bay coast as the latest sections in the Thai Island & Coastal Directory. Later this month I’ll pump out the rest of Ao Phang Nga before looking towards Phuket as we start getting into the last quarter of this complete book of Thai islands and coastal areas. Looking beyond its completion, exciting days lie ahead here at TIQ.

I’ll refrain from going too far into Thailand’s recalibrated political situation, other than to point out that the end of nine years of military rule has coincided with the return of former PM Thaksin Shinawatra after his 17 years in self-imposed exile. This once-polarizing figure looks set to walk free soon as his one-time protege, Pita Limjaroenrat, steps back into the opposition despite his Move Forward Party’s victory in the May election. If you’re going to read only one article about this pivotal shift, I suggest Time’s interview with Pita as part of a story providing much context on how Thailand arrived at its new government, led by the Pheu Thai Party.

Something nifty

Travel writer Narina Exelby of the e-newsletter NE Where posted an unusual piece, ‘A day in the life of Thailand,’ in response to the question from her mother, “so what’s Thailand actually like?” Well worth a read along with the rest of Narina’s fantastic newsletter, the piece shares wide-eyed observations from Ko Chang, Phang Nga Bay and other spots during her first trip to Thailand a decade ago.

News wire picks

PM sets out big plans for Phuket (Bangkok Post)
It was telling that the first trip taken by Srettha Thavisin after he became Thailand’s new PM last month was to discuss spurring tourism growth and expanding travel infrastructure in Phuket and Phang Nga. "I want everyone to know that the Pheu Thai government will propel the tourism sector in every dimension, including matters related to airlines, airports, security, visa exemption for some countries and extension of stays,” he explained before strolling down Phuket’s Bangla Road.

Specifically, Srettha voiced his support for increasing the duration of visa-exempt tourism stays from 30 to 90 days, and expanding access to visa exemptions to citizens of China and India. He is also behind expanding Phuket Airport and building a new airport in Phang Nga, as well as adding a bridge to Ko Kho Khao, among other proposals. Working on enacting Srettha’s plans will be the new Tourism Minister, Ms. Sudawan Wangsuphakijkusol, also from the Pheu Thai Party.

A property tycoon with minimal experience in politics, Srettha appears to be viewing tourism through the lens of corporate growth strategy. Though it’s good to see the new leader of Thailand placing a focus on tourism and easing visa rules that were tightened considerably by previous governments, I do hope that minimizing negative impacts on the environment is a also a top priority for the new government.

Rising sea levels forcing residents in Thailand’s low-lying areas to adapt — or leave (Mekong Eye)
Focusing on tiny Samut Songkhram province, this report comes alongside a similar one about Bangkok’s Bang Khun Thian to spotlight the current and potentially future impacts from rising seas on the millions of people who live near the Bay of Bangkok. Gulf-facing villages are already enduring significant coastal land loss, saline intrusion and storm surges that sweep houses away. “It is a very hard decision to uproot the entire family and move away. But the environment has become too hostile for us,” a lifetime resident of Khlong Bang Bor told Mekong Eye.

Existential threat to marine life as oceans impacted by global warming (The Nation)
“As global temperatures rise, coupled with the absorption of around 30% of emitted carbon dioxide, this results in a decrease in oxygen levels in the water, leading to the condition known as ‘ocean acidification’.” In short, that is not a good thing, and it is happening right now in the Upper Gulf, “where over 50% of the water is in poor condition or is deteriorating.” It is no surprise that beachgoers are increasingly finding algae blooms disrupting their holidays in places like Bang Saen.

‘Main customers’: Russians fleeing Putin’s war find a home in Phuket (The Guardian)
”Last year, Russians were the leading international buyers of property in Phuket, and during the first quarter of this year, sales to Russian nationals increased 68% on the same period in 2022.”

A new frontier for travel scammers: A.I.-generated guidebooks (The New York Times)
Though not Thailand-specific, this report will be disturbing to any non-fiction writer as it unravels how unscrupulous “publishers” are cranking out reams of poor-quality, AI-generated “writing” about destinations worldwide and packaging it as expert-written travel guidebooks, complete with fake-review mills to prop them up. For now, sites like Amazon and Google seem happy to support the onslaught of robot-generated online “resources,” regardless of how crappy they are, how far astray they could lead readers (and travelers), or how badly they hurt human writers.

Thailand as it was before mass tourism: on Koh Kood and Koh Phayam, get up close with nature and have white-sand beaches almost to yourself (SCMP)
In response to Fodor’s placement of Thailand on its “no list” as a country to avoid in 2023, this piece relishes two Thai islands with thin crowds and much beauty.

A forgotten heritage (Bangkok Post)
This one traces the rich history of Chanthaburi from ancient Khmer rule to an 18th-century shipbuilding period to a time of French rule a century later.

Wildlife sightings

• Watch out for the blue dragon, “a small but highly venomous type of sea slug,” after several of them appeared on Phuket’s Karon Beach.

• A rare green humphead parrotfish, which can grow up to 1.5 meters and is the rarest type of parrotfish, was photographed off Ko Losin in Pattani.

• An “extremely rare sighting” of a humpback whale was accompanied by a photo of its tail taken between Phuket and Ko Phi Phi.

• Also on the extremely rare list is the dugong spotted during an aerial survey off Surat Thani in the Mid-Southern Gulf, where they are far fewer in number than their counterparts in Andaman areas like Ko Libong.

• In fact, one of those Ko Libong-area dugongs sadly washed up dead on the Hat Samran coast in Trang province.

• An injured striped dolphin was taken into care after beaching with injuries on the Thai Mueang coast in Phang Nga province.

• Marine scientists were forced to amputate a fin from an olive ridley sea turtle that was found struggling amid fishing debris off Phuket’s Mai Khao Beach. Another olive ridley and several other sea turtles were rescued from the oil slicks that recently hit several Phuket beaches (story on that below).

• A new species of vampire crab was discovered in a Narathiwat swamp.

• And a large python was pulled from a toilet at a home in Phuket — you might not want to see the photo of that nightmarish scenario.

In other news

Body of second victim in Bang Tabun Bay recovered (Thai PBS on the freak waterspout that destroyed a boat and took two lives off the Phetchaburi coast.)

Five rescued from sinking fishing speedboat (The Phuket News on an ordeal for five boaters off Ko Maithon near Phuket.)

Kayak believed used by alleged killer on Koh Phangan found (Bangkok Post on a gruesome murder that quickly put a Spanish celebrity chef behind bars.)

DSI investigate B225mn land grab in Sirinath National Park (The Phuket News with yet another report on Phuket forest land encroachment.)

Activists step up efforts to protect Bang Khanun forest (Bangkok Post on efforts to protect another swathe of Phuket’s remaining forest.)

Sea gypsies urge govt to save ‘sacred’ beach from developer (Bangkok Post on a proposed hotel development that could harm nesting sea turtles and destroy sacred ground for the local Urak Lawoi ‘sea people’ at Phuket’s Mai Khao Beach.)

Search on for source of Phuket oil slicks (Bangkok Post)

Health alert issued after acid chemical blaze at Laem Chabang deep seaport (The Nation on a sizable blast at the port in Chonburi.)

Kuan Kreng peat swamp forest on fire, 165 hectares destroyed (Thai PBS on the wildfire at the wildlife-filled swamp that encompasses parts of Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phatthalung and Songkhla provinces.)

Phuket covets low-carbon island image (Bangkok Post)

Bangkok is the world’s most visited city this year (Thai PBS on the city’s 22 million international arrivals leaving the pandemic in the rear-view mirror.)

Ko Samui’s tourism returning to 2019 high (Bangkok Post)

Phuket airport chief confirms app taxis welcome Sept 1 (The Phuket News)

Airport in Hua Hin to be expanded (Bangkok Post on plans to make HHQ a new hub for international fights.)

B34bn Koh Samui bridge project starts public hearings (Bangkok Post on a major project that could be completed by the end of this decade.)

Is the massive “land bridge” project worth the trillion baht investment? (Thai PBS on the controversial proposed shipping route aimed at moving cargo and oil between the Gulf and Andaman coasts via two deep-sea ports along with a six-lane highway, a duel-track railway and an oil pipeline.)

Impact study due for Andaman road (Bangkok Post on a proposed coastal road linking tourist destinations in all six of the Thai Andaman provinces.)

American with ‘weed blower’ spurs Bangla check (The Phuket News on some really dumb cannabis behavior on the island’s main nightlife strip.)

Campaign to clean up Phuket’s cannabis trade (The Phuket News on a push for better oversight of the island’s 1,451 business operators with licenses to sell weed.)

No more beer in glass bottles on Koh Tao (Thai PBS on a new law that outlaws glass bottles throughout the island, leaving only cans and taps available.)

Space junk? Beach debris fuels origin theories (Bangkok Post on the strange wreckage that has been washing up in Phuket and Phang Nga.)

Hungry spirits and turtle cake (Thai PBS explaining the traditions and beliefs behind the Hungry Ghost Festival, which is happening now in Phuket.)

I leave you with…

The inspiring story of Niall Harbison, an Irish expat who, after hitting rockbottom with alcohol and depression while living in Thailand during the pandemic, dedicated himself to sobriety and the rescue and care of stray dogs on Ko Samui — all while amassing over 600,000 followers on his Instagram account. In a recent profile from The Guardian, Niall explains how his new charity’s vision for easing canine suffering goes far beyond Samui: “There are 500 million street dogs in the world. I want to halve that to 250 million in my lifetime. It’s going to take an army of people to do it. I know they are out there – people are passionate. They want to help.” 🌴

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