Island Wrap #71: Welcome to 2024 in coastal Thailand

A spin through the most consequential news and other media from the last month in Thailand's islands and coastal areas.

Jan 04, 2024

Greetings island lovers. In this first Island Wrap of 2024 I’m trying out a more streamlined format in what remains your free monthly review of news from Thailand’s islands and coastal areas — and sometimes beyond.

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CATCH OF THE MONTH: A view from the Khanom coast featuring, from right to left, Ko Wang, Ko Taen and Ko Samui.

Weather & shipwrecks

Six dead, tens of thousands hit by southern Thailand flooding (The Straits Times on what Thai PBS called “the worst flooding in several decades” in parts of Narathiwat province. Large areas of Pattani, Yala and Songkhla have also been hit hard by the floods.)

Seven boats sink in Gulf and Andaman Sea in four days, eight people still missing (Thai PBS on a dismal Christmas week for Thai maritime safety. Shipwrecks included a dive boat near Ko Surin, a night ferry to Ko Tao, an island-hopping speedboat ferry from Ko Lipe and several tour boats. While unusually rough seas were at least partly to blame for these, recklessness may have caused another accident that tragically killed a five-year-old Russian girl near Phuket.)

Boat emergency exposes alleged response delays: Pattaya officials under fire for alleged nonchalant attitude (The Pattaya News)

Concerns arise over warning systems as Boxing Day marks 19 years since 2004 tsunami (The Nation spotlighting Phuket’s tsunami warning system.)

Tourism

Tourist arrivals top 28m in 2023 (Bangkok Post)

Thailand, China to waive visas for each other’s citizens from March (CNA)

Environment

Southeast Asian cities sink while sea levels rise (The United States’ PBS with a video report on Bangkok with footage from Wat Khun Samut Chin, a temple in Bang Khun Thian that is now surrounded by the Gulf of Thailand.)

Thai mackerel might be wiped off the menu, but why? (SCMP with a video report on the dwindling stocks of pla tuu, Thailand’s national fish.)

Hydropower pushing millions of Mekong people onto front line of climate disaster: experts (Thai PBS)

Wildlife

Three more Bryde’s whales spotted in Thai waters, totalling the number to nine (The Straits Times with results from a recent survey of the Upper Gulf.)

Ship ‘killed’ whale shark (Bangkok Post on a shark found in Krabi that is “believed to have died from wounds sustained from a ship's propeller.”)

Third leatherback nest found at Khao Lampi beach (The Phuket News on continuing nesting by members of the world’s largest turtle species.)

Rare sighting of tiger and cubs raises hopes for species in Thailand (The Guardian on recent camera-trap images from Thailand’s Western Forest Complex.)

Twenty-year-old tiger among 15 big cats saved from tiger farm in Thailand (The Nation on the rescue of the severely emaciated tigers by Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand, which runs a rescued wildlife sanctuary in Phetchaburi.)

Macaques in Thailand started using stone tools when Covid-19 stopped tourists feeding them (IFL Science on some clever island-dwelling monkeys.)

Pesky macaques being relocated from Phetchaburi’s Khao Wang (Bangkok Post on the removal of monkeys that may not use stone tools but are adept at stealing food and other items from tourists at this hilltop historical site.)

Transport & infrastructure

PHOTO SPECIAL: New Hua Hin train station opens (Hua Hin Today)

Eight new Thai airlines to debut this year (Bangkok Post with another mention of Siam Seaplane, a small airline that intends to use amphibious planes to shuttle passengers to and from Ko Lipe and other islands.)

Other news

Cambodia talks set over territorial spat (Bangkok Post with a map showing how a 1972 claim by Cambodian officials included the southern quarter of Ko Kut along with Eastern Gulf seabeds that contain fossil fuels.)

Goodbye, so long, farewell: We’re closing Coconuts (Coconuts on the loss of a cheeky yet important Southeast Asia media outlet.)

Thank you for reading Thai Island Quest, an independent newsletter and online resource sharing the beauty, challenges and distinctive identities of Thailand’s islands and coastal areas. Written with love for every one of them. 🌴

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