Island Wrap #63: A look back on April 2023 in coastal Thailand
A month's worth of curated stories from Thai islands and coastal areas.
Welcome to the Island Wrap, a free monthly round-up of Thai island and coastal news. If you haven’t yet, feel free to subscribe to Thai Island Quest for free, or upgrade to gain access to the entire Thai Island Directory as it’s being published, and many other island-rich articles, for $5 USD per month.
Last month Thailand enjoyed an all-out celebration of Songkran for the first time since 2019. In the future, I’m sure that historians will put much thought into how the country survived three whole years without a real Songkran and all of the water-splashing joy and release that goes with it.
Otherwise, though, April was a bit of a rough one for Thailand due to choking air pollution (including in the islands), a record-setting heatwave, forest fires and a “freak storm” that capsized at least 20 boats in the Mid-Southern Gulf. But more positive stories also emerged on the sustainable approach of Ko Mak, a step forward for putting the UNESCO stamp on several Thai Andaman islands, a quiet beach in the Trang islands that was ranked best in the world — and plenty more.
Thailand is now preparing for this coming May 14th, the date of a general election that could be the most consequential since 2010. In addition to being an island nerd, I am a closet Thai politics junkie so I’ve been reviewing the stakes, learning more about leading candidates for Prime Minister, and watching recent polling that shows the opposition with its best chance of reclaiming power since the coup of 2014. The parties are busy making campaign promises — some less novel than others — while analysts assess the potential outcomes.
Here at TIQ I published three more sections of the Thai Island Directory, introducing paying subscribers to the Upper Gulf coastal zone before honing in on the largely undeveloped islands of Ko Khram, Mu Ko Samae San and the Ao Sattahip group, along with the busier islands of Ko Si Chang, Ko Larn and Mu Ko Phai. (Apologies to paying subscribers for falling one post short last month; I’ll make that up to you with five posts for May, if not more.)
Cool site or page
This seems like a good place to congratulate my friend and former employer Stuart McDonald on completing three years of Couchfish, an e-newsletter that has taken readers on the virtual Southeast Asia trip of a lifetime while also digging into serious issues surrounding tourism in the region. Check out this recent piece that revisits some of Stuart’s personal favorite Couchfish posts to date.
News wire picks
At least 7 still missing in seas off Nakhon Si Thammarat as search continues (Thai PBS World)
In addition to these seven fishers who were lost when their boats capsized on April 16th, at least two more had already been found dead when this article was published, and another body was recovered near Ko Samui in the aftermath. Also contributing to the partial sinking of a Ko Samui ferry after all of its passengers had disembarked, this was one of the deadliest storms in recent memory.
Thai islanders prepare to protect Koh Kradan ecosystem after its beaches were named ‘best on earth’ (The Straits Times)
Having written about the beach walk of a lifetime on Ko Kradan, I know just how marvelous this island can be. Still, I was surprised to see it ranked first on a list of the “best 100 beaches in the World 2023” from the UK-based website, World Beach Guide. (Also included are Krabi’s Railay Beach at 9th, Phuket’s Freedom Beach at 17th, Ko Yao Yai’s Laem Hat at 20th, and Ko Tao’s Ao Tanot at 43rd.) As for Ko Kradan, many are now concerned that the high-profile ranking could spell the end of keeping mass tourism away from Trang’s sparkling islands. The provincial governor “announced development plans aimed at turning the tiny island into a major tourism destination,” according to The Nation, even if the DNP is taking steps to begin closing Kradan to tourists annually from June through September.
Park shortlisted for Unesco honour (Bangkok Post)
A UNESCO committee has accepted Thailand’s bid to make the ‘Andaman Sea Natural Reserves of Thailand’ a natural world heritage site at a selection meeting later this year. If chosen, the coveted World Heritage status would be applied to six different national parks containing many islands, such as Mu Ko Surin and Mu Ko Similan, as well as mainland coastal areas like Hat Thai Mueang and other leatherback sea turtle nesting beaches on the Phang Nga coast. Part of Thailand’s promotion for its proposal included getting a bunch of foreign diplomats to tread on islands like Ko Huyong, which is otherwise closed to visitors.
Karen villagers can return to forest, rules committee (Bangkok Post)
This ruling appears to be a big and long-awaited victory in the indigenous Karen peoples’ struggle to regain legal rights to dwell in tiny forest villages where they lived for many generations, until a former chief of Kaeng Krachan National Park violently relocated them in 2011. In related news, activists from 10 organizations are pushing for that very same former park chief to be sacked after he was promoted to head of the National Parks Office in February, despite his alleged involvement in the forced disappearance and murder of a Karen activist in 2014.
Thailand’s tourism recovery puts 4 marine species back on extinction watchlist (The Straits Times)
Bryde’s whales, dugongs, and both Irrawaddy and pink humpbacked dolphins are being closely watched “as early indicators of whether Thailand’s push for sustainability will be a success or failure.”
Amid the rush for more tourism arrivals, Thai island Koh Mak is deliberately taking it slow (CNA)
”’Nothing in this world remains the same, but I think what we are trying to do is hang onto the clock's big hand to slow time, to preserve nature and our way of living,’ said Tanin Suddhidhanakool, a business owner and fifth-generation resident of Koh Mak.”
Environmental Education Tourism in Khao Sok, Thailand (Talk Travel Asia)
Podcasters Scott and Trevor discuss sustainable tourism at one of the country’s most spectacular national parks with Marius Hermann of the bonafide eco-friendly lodgings company, Our Jungle Resorts, and Mike Horrocks, an environmental educator with a decade of experience in Southeast Asia.
The Tao of island travel (Bangkok Post)
”Nature is at the heart of our businesses, so tourists must assist us in caring for it. We teach them how to care for the nautical environment during a diving class and also offer them a presentation on a ferry. We want our businesses to be passed down to future generations of Koh Tao locals, therefore we are wary of multinational firms.” Sounds good to me.
Thai community in Cambodia’s Koh Kong (Thai PBS World)
”When his sister wanted to travel to her friend’s house in Koh Kong 20 or 30 years ago, they did so by boat from San Chao beach (in Trat). Back then, he said, there were only long-tail boat services to cross the border as there was no road.”
Wildlife sightings
“Dozens of false killer whales” surprised tourists heading out to the Similan Islands.
Also in Mu Ko Similan Marine Park, footage of a Bryde’s whale emerged from near Ko Tachai.
Sadly, the body of a decapitated dugong with several other wounds, thought by a village headman to have been suffered through entanglement with fishing rubbish, washed up on Ko Si Boya in Krabi.
A camera trap captured images of a rare great argus pheasant Nakhon Si Thammarat’s Kathun Wildlife Sanctuary.
In other news
Single jet ski involved in Pattaya double fatality (Bangkok Post)
Two people rescued after fishing boat capsizes in Phang Nga (The Phuket Express)
Blast on tourist speedboat in Phang Nga kills one crew member (The Nation)
Tour boat with 42 foreign tourists gets stuck on a sandbank in Phang Nga (The Phuket Express completing a rough month of boating news from Phang Nga.)
Dept revives ship terminal plan (Bangkok Post with more details on a proposed cruise ship terminal for Ko Samui.)
‘Spectrum of the Seas’ sparks environmental worries in Phuket (The Phuket News on what Samui can expect if it builds that cruise terminal.)
Artificial reefs boost restoration efforts (Bangkok Post on the artificial reefs under development near Ko Samae San in Chonburi.)
Diving instructor cursed for killing titan triggerfish (Bangkok Post on the incident at a reef off northern Chumphon province)
Navy acquiesces angry residents over forest land (The Phuket News on a conflict over six square km of Phuket.)
Park rangers shoot hunters caught with dead monkeys (Bangkok Post on the poaching incident involving six grey langurs in Kaeng Krachan.)
Phi-Phi islands earning a million baht a day in entry fees (Thai PBS on the considerable crowds returning to Maya Bay and other sites.)
Water shortage hits Koh Lan (Bangkok Post on one of the symptoms of a drawing an average of roughly 10,000 visitors to Ko Larn per day.)
Move to relocate troublesome Khao Wang macaques (Bangkok Post on the 3,000 moody monkeys at Phetchaburi’s premier historical park.)
Krabi to Phuket swim aims to raise marine conservation efforts (The Phuket News on a 70-km swim for a good cause.)
Krabi cave art hints at old rituals (Bangkok Post on the prehistorical paintings discovered recently amid the crags of Ko La Pu Le.)
14 elephants get apologies and a fruit feast after unique ceremony in Trang (The Nation on the “tham kwan chang” ceremony.)
I leave you with…
Footage of comic legend Conan O’Brien wearing traditional Thai attire while commenting on the Bangkok heat during a break from recent filming for his new HBO show. Didn’t anyone tell him that April is the hottest month?
Thank you for reading Thai Island Quest, an independent, reader-supported e-newsletter sharing the beauty, challenges and distinctive identities of Thailand’s islands and shorelines. Yes, all of them.
i also obsessively follow any and every bit of news about Thailand, and i wonder what the new election holds, and how soon after another Shinawatra ascends to PM that another coup will be fomented...
i hope Koh Kradan isn't ruined by the recent laurels, but knowing the general greed that usually infects most things in the kingdom, i'm doubtful...