Island Wrap #79: Phuket mudslide, a rare look at islands of Songkhla Lake, dugongs traveling far for food, and more

A free monthly spin around the most intriguing and consequential news and other media from Thailand's islands and coastal areas.

Greetings island lovers and welcome to your free monthly news review from Thailand’s islands and coastal areas — and sometimes beyond.

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Recently from Thai Island Quest

T.I.C.D.: Surat Thani coast & offshore islands

T.I.C.D.: Mu Ko Ang Thong

The latest section in the Thai Island & Coastal Directory pushed us up to 929 islands and 272 notable coastal areas covered so far in the book. Next up is Nakhon Si Thammarat province, which has some terrific, alternative beach and mountain areas joining a few little-known islands. A total of 52 sections of the T.I.C.D. are now complete, with about 10 more to go before it’s finished.

Catch of the month

At Wat Phrong Akat in Chachoengsao, asking Ganesha to relay a message to the the weather gods: please take it easy on Thailand this month.

Flooding & mudslide tragedy

Mountaintop construction may have contributed to a mudslide that took 13 lives when extreme rainfall and flooding hit Phuket late last month, leading to disaster declarations for some parts of the island. Near where the mudslide occurred, the popular ‘Big Buddha’ site is now closed and an investigation is looking into its construction and operations as authorities have already reportedly seized some land. The site is now closed and may ultimately be demolished.

Prior to the Phuket tragedy, most of the flooding last month occurred in rural districts up north, first along a raging Mekong River in Chiang Rai and later spreading downstream to parts of Sukhothai and Phitsanulok. Along the Gulf coast, flash floods in Pattaya swamped several vehicles earlier this week. A familiar anxiety grips the nation with flood warnings now in effect for many districts in 27 provinces, including Ranong, Phang Nga, Phuket and Krabi.

Travel & food

Koh Mak adventures (Bangkok Post with a fabulous piece covering ‘the other Ko Mak,’ not the one near Ko Chang but the even quieter one down in Songkhla Lake along with its neighbors, Ko Kra and Ko See / Ko Haa.)

Escape Bangkok and explore these hidden corners of Thailand by rail (The Independent is just in time for the opening of the faster dual track railway on the Southern Line, although calling Hua Hin and the other mass tourism destinations in this article “hidden corners” is quite a stretch!

Sightseeing in Songkhla (Bangkok Post unravels layers of ancient history from the Srivijaya to Ayutthaya periods and beyond in Singhanakorn and Songkhla town, which are now under consideration for UNESCO World Heritage status.)

Exploring the Islamic spiritual heritage of Bangkok (Thai PBS spotlights historic, exquisitely decorated mosques in a city better known for its temples.)

Tourism

Thailand visa scheme opens door to digital nomads (DW explains the new five-year DTV visa “aimed at luring remote workers, freelancers and so-called digital nomads to live, work and travel in the country for up to 180 days per entry,” although the “proof of salary slip in the last 6 months (and) a foreign employment contract” might make this a non-starter for most freelancers.

Southern Thailand sees 140% tourism recovery in Q3 2024, outpacing pre-pandemic levels (The Phuket Express)

ACT probes Koh Rap title deeds amid stunted ‘park’ (Bangkok Post on a land rights dispute playing out between those who claim to own parts of this island south of Ko Samui and authorities from Hat Khanom - Mu Ko Thale National Park, which was introduced in 2015 and is also being challenged locally on nearby Ko Taen as the park prepares for official establishment.)

Travellers told not to smuggle pot (Bangkok Post relays a plea from UK authorities who are tired of air travelers packing in cannabis from Thailand.)

Transport

Wide support for Koh Chang bridge at first public hearing (Bangkok Post on four potential routes the bridge could use if it ever takes shape, be it as proposed in 2029 or, more realistically, maybe sometime next decade.)

Thailand considering investing in three deep sea ports to boost marine tourism (The Nation on cruise-ship port proposals for Ko Samui, Phuket and Pattaya.)

Bangkok-Butterworth train service to be revived (Bangkok Post on the agreement in principle that would bring back a service which, before ending in 2016, allowed for a contiguous train journey to Malaysia’s Andaman coast near Penang.)

MRTA plans rail systems in 4 provinces (Bangkok Post on a fresh push to bring “light rail” metros to Phuket, Chiang Mai, Phitsanulok and Khorat.)

Nine believed dead after plane crashes in Thai jungle (AFP via CNA on the small plane crash in Chachoengsao, which is now under investigation.)

Environment

Climate risks threaten Thai economy (Bangkok Post with an op-ed explaining how in recent years Thailand is seeing “a shorter and more drastic flood cycle alternating between heavy floods and severe drought.”)

Can Bangkok’s ageing drainage system defeat La Niña flood threat? (Thai PBS on steps being taken to avoid a repeat of 2011 as the Bangkok governor publicly suggests Thailand “build a sluice gate at the mouth of the Chao Phraya River similar to the Thames Barrier in London”, as reported separately by Bangkok Post.)

Thailand wages war against ‘alien’ tilapia fish (The BBC on “the ‘most invasive species’ to ever hit Thailand - one which risks enormous damage to the environment, according to officials.”

Fears Thailand’s fishing reform will destroy a decade of progress (Dialogue Earth reports that among the laws that could change, “a reclassification of trawlers as non-destructive is provoking especially heated debate.”

Call to fill in sea areas to combat erosion (Bangkok Post on the idea, floated recently by an ex-PM of Thailand, to launch a major sea reclamation program off the badly eroded coast of Bang Khun Thian, Bangkok’s only coastal district.)

Wildlife

• A one- to two-month old dugong calf is now under the care of marine scientists after tourists found it alone and struggling off the coast of Ko Poda in Krabi. An adult dugong was also spotted off Phuket’s Rawai Beach for the first time in recent memory. Though some people are spinning the Phuket sighting as an indication of environmental strength, conservationists are very concerned about the recent decline of Trang’s dugongs due to unstable seagrass feeding grounds. From that standpoint, dugongs showing up alone in places like Phuket is a troubling sign displaying their need to forage far from home.

• Bryde’s whales surprised onlookers near Bang Saen in Chonburi, a part of the Gulf where these large whales are not often seen.

• A morning beach walker from New Zealand initiated the rescue of an ailing bottlenose dolphin on Phuket’s Nai Thon Beach.

• Monga Bay reports on the charitable work of rescuing and releasing captive gibbons via Phuket’s Gibbon Rehabilitation Center.

• Sharing some amazing footage of wild tigers trouncing through the Western Forest Complex, WWF lauds Thailand as the “first country in Southeast Asia to increase its wild tiger population.”

Society

CNA explains: What’s next for Thailand after a month of political chaos? (CNA with a video report on where things stand after major court rulings last month dissolved the main opposition party — although it has already regrouped under a new name — and sacked the PM, leading to a slightly different government under yet another PM from the controversial Shinawatra clan.)

Tak Bai: Justice looms 20 years after deadly crackdown in deep South (Thai PBS)

Thai rural doctors delighted by ‘Nobel Prize of Asia’ recognition (Bangkok Post on how a movement that was instrumental during Thailand’s pandemic response earned the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award.)

In other news

Foreign tourists and guide rescued from flooded cave in Surat Thani (Thai PBS on an incident that tragically took one life and appears to be heading for legal action towards the tour company, which entered a cave that was closed at the time and the site of a previous tragedy when it flooded in 2007.)

Spanish actor’s son jailed for life for grisly Thai island murder (CNA with some closure on a crime that happened on Ko Phangan last year.)

Here’s why Phuket court cleared Swiss expat of assault charges (The Nation on how a judge appears to have given the defendant the benefit of the doubt over a beachfront incident that went viral online, causing a backlash earlier this year.)

Phuket Hungry Ghost Festival begins with a parade — PHOTO TOUR (The Phuket Express)

I leave you with…

The 35 extraordinary images that are finalists for this year’s Ocean Photographer of the Year awards, including one by a Thai photographer displaying a micro shrimp colony off Ko Haa in Mu Ko Lanta National Park. 🌴

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