Aug. 12, 2007
Koh Tao
Having arrived in Chumphon the day before, I got up early in the morning to hurry to the train station. I bought a train-ferry joint ticket from Bangkok. The staff at Bangkok Railway Station asked me to go to Chumphon Train Station at 7 a.m. to take the bus to the pier for Koh Tao. We arrived at the station at 6:40 a.m. only to find out that the bus left 20 minutes ago already. It turned out that the boat (not the bus) leaves at 7 a.m. The pier is at least 30 minute away by car. My ticket was an open ticket so I could still use it for the next ferry which departs from the pier at 1 p.m.
It’s difficult to kill a couple of hours in this sleeping town. The Ocean Department Store in the town center opens at 10 a.m. There are two massage shops near the department store but they don’t seem to open until late afternoon or evening. I sit in a hotel lobby reading a book until the department store opened at 10 a.m. We had some food at KFC and walked to Fame Tour & Service nearby where the bus to the pier picks up passengers. Around 12:00 noon we were asked to get on a big songthaew. I didn’t know why we had to use this vehicle (there is for sure a bus going to the pier around the same time). Except for the slight inconvenience, it did take us to the pier without extra charge.
There are 3 companies offering ferries from Chomphon to Koh Tao. I bought the ticket for Lomprayah. They use high speed catamarans – perhaps the fastest but also the most expensive one (boat + bus costs 550 baht per person). Different ferry companies use different piers. The Lomprayah pier is on a sandy beach with palm trees and is quite charming. The boat stopped at Nang Yuan Island first just northwest off Koh Tao to load passengers. When we arrived at Koh Tao, it was almost 3:30 p.m.
The pier is in a village called Mae Hat on the west coast. We walked south of the pier and saw some expensive bungalows on the way before we found Save Bungalow (there is a sign in English on the left side of the road). There were only 3 rooms available. I picked a non-air room without hot water for 400 baht and Mandy picked a non-air room with hot water and TV for 500 baht. The rooms are quite spacious and clean.
After settling accommodation, we walked back to the main road trying to find an agency that could help us find a boat to Ao Luek Bay or Ao Tanote Bay on the east coast (famous for snorkeling). Funny enough, the people we talked to all asked us to take a taxi (they never understand my desire to see the sea and the need to be in the middle of the sea to do good snorkeling). We eventually had to arrange with a taxi (songthaew) driver to take us to the intersection leading to Ao Luek for 150 baht one way to save some time (super expensive for the 1.5 km, or 5 minute drive). We then walked all the way downhill on an unpaved road to the beach (the taxi driver asked for 600 baht to go to the beach because this part of the road is difficult to drive).
Ao Luek Bay is quite beautiful with stones off the beach and a few bungalows on the hills. There are not a lot of people there which makes it quiet and cozy. I rented the snorkeling equipment for 50 baht and tried some snorkeling near the beach. It turned out nothing comparable with off the sea. I only saw a few fish – most of the time only sand and stones! Although the snorkeling is disappointing, watching the sea itself is pleasant enough. We spent about 2 hours there until it was getting dark. We then walked back to Mae Hat Village.
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| Ao Leuk |
Aug. 13, 2007
Koh Phangan
There are 3 ferry companies offering boats between Koh Tao and Kho Phangan. Again Lomprayah seems to be the winner with faster and more frequent services. We took the first boat at 9:30 a.m. and it arrived shortly after 11 a.m. Just before boarding, I picked a free copy of PHANGAN.INFO – an excellent source of information about the island for me to read on the boat.
Koh Phangan is much bigger than Koh Tao (still smaller than Koh Samui) and is impossible to explore on foot. There are a couple of travel agencies near the pier Thong Sala. We walked to one of them and managed to ask them to find a driver to take us to several places on the island for 1,500 baht one way (like other islands in southern Thailand, although it’s quite expensive, it’s probably the only option for people who don’t drive).
We first checked out Wat Khao Tham 4 km from Thong Sala. The temple itself is nothing special. But the view from there is quite impressive. Continuing inland for another 30 minutes, we reached Than Sadet Waterfalls. It’s rather streams/brooks than falls between the rocks. We also checked out a beach on the east coast near the falls.
The last destination for the taxi was Thong Nai Pan Beach on the northeast coast. It’s a rather bigger (therefore less charming) beach with more people and of course more services. There are snorkeling tours and boats for hire from there. Unable to negotiate the price but eager to see the sea, I finally agreed to pay 1,200 baht to hire a boat to Hat Rin on the southeast coast for the 30 minute trip.
Although expensive, the boat trip was quite pleasant. There are several beaches along the east coast and many stones too. Hat Rin is the biggest beach on the island and is also home to the full moon party each month. We arrived at the Sunrise (east) side of Hat Rin and saw many people lying there just like another crowded beach. There are many shops, bars and restaurants in Hat Rin. We walked 10 minutes to Sunset (west) and saw a different scene. It’s the departing point for Koh Samui (4 times a day) and there is not too much sand. Although several bungalows are being built, it’s still very quiet.
The Songthaew (taxi) stand is between Sunrise and Sunset. We waited 15 minutes to take the shared taxi back to Thong Sala (about 20 minutes, 50 baht per person), had some food in a restaurant opposite the pier and took the slow (but very pleasant) Raja vehicle ferry at 5 p.m. to Surat Thani (joint ticket – ferry 200 baht to Donsak and 160 baht continuing to train station) to catch the last train to Bangkok at 11:24 p.m.
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| Hat Rin Sunrise |
Overview
Although Koh Tao is famous for scuba diving, it’s definitely worth checking out even if you don’t dive at all. Being small is its charm. Koh Phangna is between Koh Tao and Koh Samui in size and geographically. Its attractiveness is also in between in my opinion. Transportation costs for both taxis and boats are sky high so it’s better if you can drive a car or a motorcycle. Both islands have numerous stones along the coasts and offer around-the-island snorkeling tours at reasonable prices (about 500 to 850 baht per person) which I didn’t join due to limited time.
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