Island Wrap #80: Andaman marine parks reopening, slowing down on trains, flooding situation, and more

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

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Catch of the month

Nearing the end of Nakhon Si Thammarat’s Laem Talumphuk, the longest cape in Thailand.

Weather & shipwrecks

Blamed on a combination of Typhoon Yagi, climate change, La Niña and Mekong River dam discharges from countries upstream, flooding last month was the “worst for 30 years” in some parts of Northern Thailand.

Tourists had to evacuate downtown Chiang Mai when it briefly flooded on September 26th, and train travel on the Northern Line was halted after a mudslide covered the tracks a little further south. In Chiang Rai province, where towns like Mae Sai have endured the very worst of the flooding this year, floodwater returned today after it had receded but left a thick blanket of mud last month.

Flooding also did damage downstream of Chiang Mai. As floodwater closed in, a Lamphun farmer decided to kill 100 of his crocodiles rather than risk them escaping. In Sawankhalok district of Sukhothai, an elderly woman watched her house and belongings carried away by an overflowing Yom River. In Umphang, photos show a raging Thi Lor Su Waterfall damaging an observation platform.

Some flooding hit parts of every other region last month as well, including Nong Khai and Bueng Kan in the Northeast; Pattaya in the East; and Satun and Phuket down South. As shown in a video report, rough seas badly damaged beachfront structures on Ko Libong, one of the islands of Trang province. Communities in 17 provinces are on mudslide alert as well. In Phuket, residents of the area where a mudslide took 13 lives in August are still “haunted” in the aftermath.

Yet other parts of Thailand have been dryer than usual, pointing to the weather extremes that seem a new normal. Parts of Nakhon Ratchasima, for example, are experiencing a water shortage. The Office of the National Water Resources appears certain that Bangkok, where rainfall has been minimal, will not face serious flooding this year. But with river levels still high in many areas and more rain anticipated this month, the country is not out of the woods yet.

No fatal shipwrecks were reported despite rough seas. A pair of squid fishermen were lucky to be rescued after their boat sank and left them adrift in the dark for four hours near Ko Chuang in Sattahip. The Royal Thai Navy also “rescued” 143 tourists who had been stranded on Ko Racha Yai when tour boat captains — no doubt recalling a tragic capsizing in 2018 — opted not to risk returning to Phuket.

Hopefully a similar shift towards safety will happen on Thailand’s roads after a devastating bus accident (see below) added to what has arguably been the country’s roughest stretch since the Covid pandemic.

Recently from Thai Island Quest

T.I.C.D.: Nakhon Si Thammarat coast & islands (Part II: Ko Kra, Mueang Nakhon, Pak Phanang & Khao Luang)

T.I.C.D.: Nakhon Si Thammarat coast & islands (Part I: Khanom & Sichon)

Travel & food

Train vs. plane: Why slowing down might be the best way to see Thailand (Thai Train Guide from the man who is currently undertaking an entirely-by-train journey from Singapore to Beijing via Malaysia, Thailand and Laos.)

Spending time in Thailand’s ancient mangroves could be the path to peace (The Independent visits the Thung Yee Pheng area of Ko Lanta in an article that I bring you alongside a Thai PBS story on exploring the mangroves of Pranburi.)

Royal Thai Navy sinks decommissioned patrol ships in Sattahip to create undersea diving learning park (The Pattaya News on a new wreck dive near Ko Chuang — and I reckon this is the first Island Wrap ever in which this remote island in the south of Mu Ko Samae San gets two mentions!)

The first MICHELIN Key Hotels: All the keys in Thailand (Michelin Guide with 58 mostly upmarket lodgings that it claims are “the most outstanding.” In related news, the transformation of the historical and long-dilapidated Customs House into a new hotel on the Bangkok riverfront is complete.)

Official schedule for the Phuket Vegetarian Festival (The Phuket News runs down this fascinating time of vegan fare and skin piercing — and don’t forget the smaller-scale festivities are held in Chumphon, Songkhla, Bangkok and elsewhere.)

Annual seasonal opening/closure of attractions of Thailand’s national park system (TAT News links to a timely and highly useful DNP-maintained document showing closure periods in all of the national parks, including the reopening dates of all marine parks in the Thai Andaman Sea this month.)

Tourism

Baht’s biggest rally since 1998 threatens tourism, exports (Bangkok Post)

Leading figures question Phuket’s ‘over-touristed’ label (The Phuket News explains why a report from MoneyTransfers.com on the world’s most over-touristed places, which was recently regurgitated by several UK tabloids, is, in my opinion, complete rubbish. While Phuket certainly suffers overtourism, the report uses badly flawed methodology and opaque sources to label Phuket, Pattaya and Krabi as the three most over-touristed places in the world.)

Transport

At least 23 people including children die in Thailand bus crash (The BBC with a video report from a veteran journalist who yesterday affirmed that the devastating fire which erupted after a minor accident, tragically killing 20 children and three teachers on a field trip, was likely preventable. The Ministry of Transport ordered “all 13,426 vehicles using CNG to be inspected within 60 days”, reports Bangkok Post, but many are skeptical that Thailand’s dismal road safety will improve.)

Southern pier upgrades planned (Bangkok Post makes this sound like a major change although it only involves expanding the existing piers that already serve Tha Len in Krabi, the Ko Yao islands, and Ao Po in Phuket.)

Site selected for Phatthalung airport in southern Thailand (Bangkok Post on plans for a new airport on the W side of the Songkhla Lake region.)

Bangkok mass transit fails to ease traffic (Prachatai with an in-depth look at the paradox of new metro lines pushing up rents and property values and thereby prompting many locals to move farther outside the city.)

Environment

Seawall plan raises ire (Bangkok Post on a proposed land reclamation mega-project — seemingly borrowed from the playbook of Dubai or Amsterdam — to build eight new islands along the eroding Bay of Bangkok that, in theory, would protect the city from flooding and saltwater intrusion. Opposition to what would be “be the country's most expensive project to date” is already growing.

Thailand turns to mangrove carbon credits despite scepticism (Dialogue Earth visits Ranong to show how another coastal protection measure, mangroves, are viewed as a boon to local communities but come with the potential to “be co-opted by high-polluting companies as part of their greenwashing schemes.” The article also covers the land bridge mega-project proposal, which continues to face determined resistance from locals in Ranong and Chumphon.)

Greenwashing concerns as Thai companies rush climate targets (Khaosod English on how Thailand is doing on tracking carbon emissions as the 2017-drafted Climate Change Bill resumes consideration in Parliament.)

Garbage piling up in Phuket amid tourism revival (Bangkok Post explains, “The province has only one incinerator operated by the Phuket municipality which can handle only about 900 tonnes of garbage daily", which falls short of the 1,100 ton daily average of garbage produced on the island this year.)

Wildlife

• Villagers in Satun province’s La-Ngu district tugged a pink dolphin back out to sea after it became stranded as the tide went out. Sadly, the body of an “extremely rare” Risso’s dolphin, which typically live in deep seas, washed up tangled in debris on Phuket’s Kata Noi Beach.

• Sea turtle rescues were reported all around Phuket, including a green one at Bang Tao, a hawksbill at Patong, and an olive ridley in Kata.

• And in the most terrifying wildlife news of the year so far (those with snake phobias, skip to the next section now!), a five-meter python emerged from under a sink and constricted a 64-year-old woman for an agonizing two hours in the Phra Samut Chedi area, along the Chao Phraya south of Bangkok. Left relatively unscathed physically apart from some bite marks, the woman is lucky to be alive after a neighbor heard her faint cries for help.

Society

Thai king signs same-sex marriage bill into law (The BBC quotes one activist who “plans to organise a mass wedding for more than 1,000 LGBTQ+ couples on 22 January,” the day when the new law comes into effect.)

Attacks on Narathiwat’s Hala-Bala Wildlife Sanctuary most violent in two decades (Thai PBS on the attack in Thailand’s restive Deep South, which is bracing for more violence as the statute of limitations for accused perpetrators of the Tak Bai Massacre of 2004 is set to expire on October 25th.)

In other news

One of Thailand’s most beautiful islands is up for grabs — at THB1.8bn (The Nation explains a potential sale of Ko Kham, a wee island located a km from Ko Mak in Mu Ko Chang that has long hosted an unfinished resort.)

Russell Crowe film featuring ONE Championship will ‘bring Thailand and Muay Thai to the world stage (Bangkok Post on ‘The Beast in Me,’ a forthcoming movie focusing specifically on Thailand’s signature martial art.)

I leave you with…

Nothing but pure, unadulterated, crowd-pleasing, viral, presidential (?), hilarious, absurd, grandiose and slightly controversial Moo Deng, the pygmy hippo of Khao Kheow Open Zoo who gave the world something to smile at. 🌴

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