Many islands open for high season, new push for Kra Isthmus 'land bridge', opposition to fisheries deregulation, and more
Thai Island Wrap #69: A spin through the most consequential news and other media from October 2023 in Thailand's islands and coastal areas.
Welcome to the Island Wrap, a free monthly round-up of Thai island and coastal news and other media. To also access the entire Thai Island & Coastal Directory as it’s published along with many other in-depth articles, welcome aboard for the price of a single river prawn, if not only half of one, in Ayutthaya.
This Island Wrap updates you on the latest developments in Thai tourism, from the easing of visa rules for certain nationalities to the reopening of numerous marine national parks and island-hopping routes. You’ll also find news on the government’s plans to deregulate Thailand’s fisheries industry and embark on a major “land bridge” construction project. Plus, a dugong rescue in Krabi, an outcry over a “monument to corruption” on Songkhla’s seafront — and much more.
October was a tragic month for Thailand due to the indiscriminate shooting that took three lives at Siam Paragon in Bangkok, and also the deaths of 32 Thais, along with 23 abducted, in the attacks on Israel. Meanwhile in Northern Myanmar, more than 160 Thais are reportedly trapped as an opposition alliance force seizes areas previously held by junta forces, blocking key border routes to China.
Last month I published only twice here at TIQ, advancing the Thai Island & Coastal Directory with a 3,800-word section on Ko Phuket and sharing a remote mountain farm in Trang as the latest Extraordinary Spot. This month I expect to publish at least four more posts, including another Extraordinary Spot and the first in the new Pier Profiles series, which spotlights the island ferry piers of Thailand. In the T.I.C.D., we’ll tally Phuket’s outlying islands and then begin the next chapter: the Deep Southern Gulf. I’m anxious to share it after traveling to Pattani, Narathiwat, Songkhla and Phatthalung as part of research for the book last month.
Catch of the month
Something nifty
One thought that often crosses my mind when I watch a sunset from Thailand’s Andaman Sea coasts is how the Andaman Islands, a sizable chain that is part of India but much closer to Thailand, lies just beyond the earth’s curve in the west. On North Sentinel, an island set only 50 km from the chain’s primary inhabited island, the indigenous Sentinelese have successfully rejected outsiders for centuries, including most recently when an American missionary was killed, with his body never recovered, after he tried to make contact in 2018. The story of the Sentinelese is the subject of a new book, The Last Island: Discovery, Defiance, and the Most Elusive Tribe on Earth, by Adam Goodheart. After reading his recent National Geographic article on the subject, I’m keen to track down the book.
Tourism watch
Thailand’s inbound tourist arrivals topped 22 million over the first 10 months of 2023, with visitors from the US, UK and Australia topping the list of countries outside of Asia. Though many feel that Thailand is currently drawing a reasonable or sustainable number of foreign tourists, 2023 entries will be far lower than the record of nearly 40 million in 2019 and, with a Thai economy that is struggling to find its post-pandemic footing, the new government is incentivizing tourism.
Most notably, it broadened the visa-exemption program to allow tourists from India and Taiwan to enter Thailand for 30 days without a visa, and for tourists from Russia to enter for 90 days visa-free. With the rule change for Russians coming as PM Srettha Thavisin extended an invitation for Vladimir Putin to visit Phuket, many are wondering why other nationalities, such as the British or Japanese, are not also being upgraded to 90 days visa-free, from their currently allotted 30 days.
Plans are also afoot to extend nightlife hours from 02:00 to 04:00 in certain tourist areas, with four pilot provinces to start.
The tourism high season is on its way and the many island-hopping ferries are again linking, for example, Ko Lanta and Ko Lipe in the lower Thai Andaman, as well as Ko Mak and Ko Kut in Trat’s Ko Chang Archipelago. National park islands that are now open or set to reopen later in November include Ko Similan, Ko Surin, Ko Tarutao and Ko Rang (Trat). The reopening of Maya Bay on October 1st made Hat Noppharat Thara - Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park, which charges 400 THB per foreign adult, Thailand’s top-earning national park in October.
Thailand won “best destination” in the Asia-Pacific region in Travel Weekly’s 2023 Readers’ Choice awards, even if Malaysia’s Penang snatched “best island destination.” November is a busy month for festivals in Thailand, including Loi Krathong, which signifies renewal via candlelit floating offerings and was recently nominated for UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Wire picks
Analysis: Thailand’s proposed land bridge project easier than Kra Canal idea, but steep challenges await (CNA)
“It won’t be easy,” Dr Yuttaporn told CNA. “It could push Thailand into territorial disputes in the South China Sea. We can’t forget that maritime shipping routes involve tremendous economic profits and political stability in the region.”
This is just one of many concerns over a project that is essentially a modern version of the Kra Canal, an idea first floated in the 17th century. The plans are reportedly being “expedited” after the Thai PM pitched them to Chinese investors, even if many observers think it’s a “bad idea” or argue that building an actual canal, rather than a land bridge, is more appropriate for the desired purpose.
I do wonder what the effects of such a project would be on marine and coastal areas, including on the marine national parks found on both the Chumphon and Ranong sides. For one thing, it’s hard to see UNESCO granting its coveted Natural World Heritage status to the recently proposed Andaman Sea Nature Reserves of Thailand if this proposed park’s environmentally fragile areas, such as Mu Ko Surin and Mu Ko Laem Son, are suddenly thrust close to a major global shipping route.
Civil society groups urge Thai government to halt deregulation of fisheries sector (Thai Enquirer)
”Moreover, the joint statement warns that deregulating the fisheries industry could have a broader impact on Thailand’s economy by affecting the tourism sector… The proliferation of overfishing, unsustainable fishing practices, and IUU fishing could deter tourists and damage another vital revenue source for Thailand.” (Read the full statement from 70 organizations.)
A dramatic journey through the deterioration of coral reefs in Thailand and Indonesia (El Pais)
Though mostly focusing on Indonesian reefs, this photo essay also touches on the coral research and preservation underway in Songkhla and Bangkok.
From elephants to whale sharks (Couchfish)
Analyzing the pull of wildlife tourism in the region, this piece starts with the story of a UK traveler who was recently badly injured due to a fall during an elephant ride in Thailand before drawing similarities to the highly packaged experience of swimming with whale sharks off the coast of Cebu, the Philippines.
The deadly roads of Khao Lak (Thai PBS)
”Each year, a number of foreign visitors lose their lives in accidents on Khao Lak’s roads, as a result of inadequate lighting, lack of traffic discipline and speeding by local drivers.”
NACC wants govt to decide on ‘monument of corruption’ aquarium in Songkhla (The Nation)
”Kiartisak added that the specifications of the aquarium were shortchanged in over 102 items, making the building useless to be an aquarium or a maritime museum, which was why it had been left unused for years … (He) noted that there was no road leading to the building, as if it was designed to remain unused from the beginning.”
Land of natural wonders (Bangkok Post)
”As part of Satun Unesco Global Geopark, (the Khao To Ngai Fault Plane) is nestled in Muko Phetra National Park of La-ngu district and serves as a mystical portal transporting visitors back to the primeval period when the 541 million-year-old Cambrian red rock and the 485 million-year-old Ordovician limestone were merged as a consequence of a fault and the sea inundating the whole area.”
Wildlife sightings
Once thought to be extinct, a rare sea creature called the Neptune’s cup sponge surprised marine scientists when it reappeared near Pattaya.
A rare Omura’s whale was spotted in Mu Ko Surin for the first time ever.
The carcass of a Bryde’s whale, a close cousin of Omura’s whale, was towed ashore in Cha-am for examination.
A beached dugong was helped back into the sea by villagers in Ban Bor Mueang on the southern coast of Krabi province near Trang.
A large green sea turtle was rescued after national park officials in Mu Ko Surin found it trapped in a discarded fish trap.
Two wild elephants died upon bumping into an electrified fence that had been illegally installed within Tai Rom Yen National Park. Also in Surat Thani province, a village headman in Tha Chana died after he was attacked by a wild elephant on agricultural land. Recent wild elephant attacks also occurred in Eastern Thailand, where a regional group is formally asking the government for help dealing with wild elephants that frequently enter farms and strip crops.
In other news
Two drown when car drives off ferry pier (Bangkok Post on a tragic case of a driver getting lost near Ban Samae San in Sattahip.)
Three killed after jet ski rams longtail boat (Bangkok Post on another tragic accident southeast of Bangkok, this time in a Samut Prakan canal.)
Plankton blooms in the Gulf of Thailand signal bad pollution, warn experts (The Nation on the stinking green plankton that has blanketed the sea off the northern coasts of Chonburi province in recent months.)
Forest loss from rubber ‘greatly exceeds’ estimates (Bangkok Post on how “More than 4 million hectares of forest have been lost to rubber plantations since 1993, with two-thirds of it in Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia.”
How Thailand’s seven-decade submarine dream hit the rocks and sank (Thai PBS)
Land dispute on Ko Lan escalates (Bangkok Post on alleged forest encroachment near Saeng Wan Beach on Pattaya’s main tourist island.)
Vendors revive battle for Surin Beach (The Phuket News on vendors who want to nix an order reserving this quiet Phuket beach for public use only.)
Sattahip residents cry foul over seaside resort building pool on Na Jomtien Beach (The Pattaya News)
Phuket tram project expected to start in about two years (The Phuket Express)
New section of Sri Racha Floating Bridge opens to boost Ko Loi’s tourism (The Pattaya News)
Tracking Thai railway system’s journey to transformation (The Nation)
5 new Thai airlines to start flying in 2024 (The Straits Times with a mention of Siam Seaplane, whose “first route will be the famous Ko Lipe in Satun province” via the use of amphibious aircraft made for island hopping.
Cold season may arrive in mid-November, last just a month (Thai PBS)
Bird breeders seek bulbul delisting to boost economy (Bangkok Post on calls to remove the beloved bird, which stars in birdsong competitions that are a big part of Southern Thai culture, from the protected species list.)
New dive spot hopes to lessen pressure on local reefs (The Phuket News on a new shipwreck dive off Ko Racha Yai, not too far from where divers recently removed 800 kg of discarded fishing nets from an artificial reef off Ko Racha Noi.)
On location: To invent a sci-fi version of Planet Earth, ‘The Creator’ shot over 60 locations around Southeast Asia (Conde Nast Traveler on a major new film that was primarily shot in Thailand, including in Railay, Sangkhlaburi and Bangkok.)
Emerald Buddha statue found in mango tree trunk at Thai temple (Thai PBS on an artifact that was miraculously discovered with a chainsaw.)
I leave you with…
An old music video of “Made in Thailand,” one of the best-known songs from one of the most popular Thai rock bands of all time: Carabao. The group, which a Thai-American friend once described to me as “the Grateful Dead of Thailand,” announced recently that it is “calling it quits” after an epic four-decade run. From the beaches of the South to the rice fields of Isaan, Carabao’s music will live on. 🌴
Thank you for reading Thai Island Quest, an independent e-newsletter / online resource written with love of the islands. Yes, all of them.