The word ‘Ko’ or ‘Koh’ means island in the Thai language. Some of these islands are very dramatic, bright green gems jutting out of the deep blue sea.
We left Langkawi on 29 December, very pleased to be in more open water (though this body of water is still the Malacca Strait we were now out of the narrow channel) and sailed slowly through the southern islands to the Butang group, stopping at Ko Lipe. We rowed into shore that evening and walked barefoot along the beach which was lined with open tents hung with brightly coloured awnings, furnished with carpets, cushions and low tables upon which stood smoky candles and a hookah. A cool sea breeze rustled the colourful drapes, snuffing out the candles, and mingled the scent of the sea with those of the land – fish and seaweed, incense and marijuana, suntan lotion and cigarette smoke, diesel and gas fires, garlic and chilli. Music floated out from the row of makeshift wooden hut bars and restaurants set beyond the tents leaving a sandy walkway in between. People lounged in the tents, talking and caressing, smoking and drinking. It was all very romantic, sultry and sexy and somehow exactly what I expected of Thailand, except most of the customers looked like tourists.
Next we went to the divine pair of islands, Ko Rok Nok and Ko Rok Nai, which are somewhat off the beaten tourist track and still unspoiled. We chose Rok Nok and hung on a mooring buoy. Mike dived straight into the water as he always liked to have a good look at either his anchor or, in this case the mooring, and came hurtling out very quickly when a big striped whale shark came sliding by. He was an ugly looking brute and quite put us off swimming, unfortunately, as we found out later they are perfectly harmless. That night was New Year’s Eve which we spent in solitary splendour in this perfect spot. There was no moon but the night was brilliantly starry and utterly peaceful.
Next morning, the first of January 2006, we rowed in to this pristine beach and explored the island. The Ko Roks are part of the Ko Lanta National Marine Park and there were some rustic cottages with cooking and washing facilities ashore. There are no villages or resorts and the only people living here exist on the Ko Rok Ranger Station. We saw no one.
The next island on our route was the much more developed Ko Lanta where we found a less pleasant anchorage called Ko Kluang. Mike went ashore, scrounging among the rocks and collected some crabs and oysters which he cooked and said were delicious – Mike is quite marvellous in that way, he will eat almost anything, but I’m more of a ninny and didn’t fancy the look of them.
We only spent one night and then moved on to the famous Phi Phi islands (pronounced Pee Pee). We anchored in Ton Sai Bay on Phi Phi Don, the larger of the two, which is inhabited – it’s smaller sister Leh is not. The diving is very good around all these islands.
Loh Dalam at low tide
This was the first time we saw evidence of the 2004 tsunami which passed right over the strip of land between Ton Sai and Loh Dalam Bays, wiping out everything in its path, causing massive destruction to property as well as the loss of many lives. Much had already been done to rebuild the island’s infrastructure, but there was still a lot of work going on and many of the youngsters now living there were actually volunteers. In total Thailand lost 5395 confirmed dead, though many more lives were estimated lost. Indonesia in fact suffered far greater losses but as we made so few stops there we saw no evidence of the tsunami.
The traditional boats in South East Asia were narrow wooden canoe types, with a very long prop shaft out the back (for good manoeuvrability) and an extremely noisy little engine. There were always loads of them clattering up and down, shattering the peace.
Freedom Fargo was anchored next to us and we went over to share a few beers with Alf and a bunch of young backpackers he had on board. A happy group, they loved it there and were having a great time. The island was chock full of tourists, mostly young, suntanned, half naked and long haired – with pop music filling the dusty streets and the whiff of marijuana in the air it could have been the sixties. The place had a good atmosphere and we enjoyed our stay, but it was easy to imagine just how beautiful these islands would have been before all the people and attendant ‘stuff’. I had to keep reminding myself that we, too, were tourists and should therefore not be resentful.
Leaving these lovely remote islands, on the 7th of January 2006, we sailed into Nai Harn beach in Phuket. Here is the map of our travels from Singapore. We add Malaysia and Thailand to bring it to 33 countries, and 652 miles to bring our voyage to a grand total of 26,242 nautical miles.
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