Island Wrap #81: Ko Kood border dispute, new 'Riviera' road projects, dugong struggles, 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
Recently from Thai Island Quest
T.I.C.D.: Chumphon coast & offshore islands (Part I: Mu Ko Wiang & Pathio)
Weather
Cool season arrives with a cold front from China (Thai PBS)
Travel
30 best tropical vacations around the world (Travel + Leisure puts Ko Chang of Trat province at #2, a surprise given how these types of listicles and surveys tend to be mainly about popularity. For example, the recently published Conde Nast Traveler readers’ choice awards includes only Thailand’s two most popular islands in its Asia category, with Ko Samui in the top spot and Phuket at seventh.)
Singapore to Beijing: A train journey through five countries (Thai Train Guide with a full summary of an epic trip that actually included two swings through Southern Thailand and peninsular Malaysia. In related news, Thai PBS published a summary of specialty train journeys on offer this dry season.)
Krabi’s boat builders keep ancient craft alive in modern times (Khaosod English reports from Nua Khlong on a strong tradition as the hua thong boat, typically outfitted with longtail engines, remains as popular as ever.)
Mats that matter — the colors of Chanthaboon (Thai PBS on Chanthaburi’s high-quality sedge grass mats that were reportedly introduced by “a group of Vietnamese Catholic nuns who immigrated to Thailand many years ago.”)
Tourism
Thailand aims for record-breaking tourist traffic in 2025 (DW quotes several expert analysts on the government’s aim to shatter the 40-million inbounds mark next year — and the over-tourism concerns that come with that.)
Thailand’s forest dept doubles its take from visits (Bangkok Post explains how the four national parks topping this year’s ticket revenue list are all fully or partially marine parks: Hat Noppharat Thara - Mu Koh Phi Phi, Mu Koh Similan, Khao Laem Ya - Mu Koh Samet, and Ao Phangnga.)
Step by step: Why Phuket is far from the ‘Pearl of the Andaman Riviera’ (The Phuket News with an opinion piece comparing Phuket to the other five Andaman provinces in terms of infrastructure and efficiency.)
Thai government still plans to introduce traveling tax for foreign tourists in 2025 (The Pattaya News on an idea that I thought was dead in the water.)
Transport
Thailand’s ‘Andaman Riviera’ report due in February (Bangkok Post with an article that joins a similarly vague one from The Nation; both left me wondering what exactly this might amount to other than a handful of connector roads and perhaps some rest areas and other small-scale amenities. Thailand’s Andaman coast strikes me as a notably difficult place to build a contiguous coastal road, owing to its many sizable expanses of mangroves and limestone mountains.)
New ‘Riviera’ in the works (Bangkok Post on a totally separate new road idea for the muddy Samut coasts near Bangkok, displaying how — at least according to transport officials — there is no limit on what a ‘Riviera’ can be in Thailand.)
A new airport experience awaits travelers to Thailand: Here’s what to expect (Skift on the Airports of Thailand’s implementation of biometric screening.)
Ministry to back six new airport projects (Bangkok Post on the Transport Ministry’s tentative plans to bring air travel to some of Thailand’s sleepier provinces, including Satun and Phatthalung in the South. These plans cone in addition to another proposal to construct a new airport in Phang Nga.)
Environment
Gulf of Thailand seawall: The greater Bangkok flood barrier and new sea city (Future Southeast Asia summarizes very early-stage plans for an immense and expensive project to reclaim land lost to erosion near the capital. Not just another Riviera, mind you, this one is dubbed the ‘Pearl Necklace.’)
China state enterprise to resolve Phuket’s wastewater woes (The Phuket News on a much-needed effort to clean up the island’s runoffs.)
Worry over mine’s impact on World Heritage site (Bangkok Post on an attempt to build a 214-acre dolomite mine just one km outside Kaeng Krachan National Park, which is encountering stiff resistance from locals.)
Monkey-faced flower among 4 new plant species found in Thailand (The Nation on discoveries in Rayong, Lopburi and Saraburi that have supposedly “shaken the world of botany.”)
Wildlife
Marine officials reported a staggering eight dugong deaths last month, including three found in Phuket. The endangered dugongs of Thailand’s Andaman Sea numbered only around 200 a few years ago, and a scientist quoted by Bangkok Post warns “the population could drop to just a few dozen due to the lack of seagrass in just 5-6 years” in this unfolding tragedy.
In lighter news, a pod of 30 bottlenose dolphins appeared in Mu Ko Surin.
Ninety-eight green sea turtle hatchlings emerged from a nest in Mu Ko Similan, and lifeguards at Phuket’s Kamala Beach freed an Olive ridley sea turtle that had washed up tangled in debris. Sadly, an autopsy found rubbish in the stomach of a young green sea turtle found dead on Phuket’s Mai Khao Beach.
Society
How has Koh Kood become a Thai-Cambodia political issue? (Khaosod English on a ruckus that erupted over rumors that this magnificent island in Mu Ko Chang could be “used as a bargaining chip.” Ko Kood’s status as part of Thailand “is safe,” but politicians are debating whether to abandon a 2001 Memorandum of Understanding over 26,000 sq. km of gas-rich seabed claimed by both countries. Demonstrations calling for more clarity are planned for Bangkok and Trat, and a top admiral helicoptered into Ko Kood to assure locals that the Royal Thai Navy will “maintain the integrity of Thailand’s maritime boundaries.”)
Thailand’s southern discomfort (CNA with a in-depth video report spotlighting Thailand’s long-simmering Deep South conflict after the statue of limitations for those accused of perpetrating the 2004 Tak Bai Massacre recently expired.)
‘Historic development’ in Thailand as it moves to end statelessness for nearly 500,000 (UN News applauds the government’s tentative decision to grant citizenship to 483,000 immigrants who have lived in Thailand for many years, as well as their children and members of various indigenous minority groups. The ultimate outcome is uncertain, though, with some vocally opposing the move and a government spokesman saying the process could take 44 years.)
Food delivery riders protest for higher wages in Phuket (The Phuket Express on some 50 riders trying to raise awareness about what some believe are exploitative practices woven into a large foreign-based delivery app.)
In other news
Foundation, president charged with forest encroachment at Phuket landslide site (Bangkok Post reports trouble for the foundation that built and operates the popular Big Buddha attraction on Nak Koet Hill near Karon Beach.)
Samui villa demolition runs into hurdles (Bangkok Post on a high-profile conflict playing out between some of Surat Thani province’s highest-ranking officials and the wealthy owners of 11 luxury villas in the Lamai hills.)
Koh Chang jetty takedowns ‘too slow’ (Bangkok Post on how a large resort on Sai Khao Beach is allegedly stalling the removal of illegally built concrete structures that are “are exacerbating erosion in nearby coastal areas.”)
Patong begins B122mn project to beautify beachfront (The Phuket News on a 950-meter beachfront promenade now in the works.)
Thai tearjerker ‘How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies’ submitted for Academy Awards (BK on the touching drama that was beautifully filmed in Bangkok’s Talad Noi area, and just might get an Oscar nomination.)
The Royal Barge Procession - in pictures (Thai PBS on this elaborate centuries-old tradition, starring the King himself on the Chao Phraya River.)
I leave you with…
A post from the DNP showing off a nifty new coastal walkway encircling Khao Bae Na, a vertical limestone islet off the mainland in Hat Chao Mai National Park. Though best known for Ko Kradan and the Emerald Cave on Ko Mook, the coastal sites of this small national park in Trang province are also worth a look. 🌴
Thank you for reading Thai Island Quest. For the love of the islands.
thank you David, for all you do...