Thailand has
many beautiful islands. I’ve been to
some but it always disappoints me, I think it’s because I’ve been to Palawan
and Boracay and some beautiful islands in the Philippines that my standard is quite high. That standard
was raised to another level when I visited Soksan Beach in Koh Rong Island in
Cambodia. I’m a beach bum and whenever there’s a chance for a quick holiday I
always choose the beach as my go-to vacation, so instead of Japan, me and my friend Taylor decided to go to Koh
Mak and Koh Kood here in Thailand. These
two islands came into our radar because I saw it on some of vlogs and blogs, and i love places that is off the beaten path, so we finally checked it out.
Koh Mak:
The island
is a small tropical paradise. It’s quiet, laid back and peaceful island. It’s a
nice place to relax, to chill, to reflect and to be with nature. You will not
see night clubs in the island so if you’re into partying then the island is not
best for you. Maybe for some they will find the island boring but for us it’s
the best island here in Thailand.
Untouched
beaches, crystal clear water, few people and trees everywhere (natural forest),
what more could we ask for??? For us it’s one of the best island. They have
small cafés and restaurants, a pharmacy and convenience shop. Since only few tourists visit the island,
business owners are trying to keep their businesses afloat. Some restaurants,
cafés and resorts have no customer at all. Well it was still lean season when
we went there, so I don’t know what the island is like during peak season.
They have
rubber and coconut trees, so I think that’s their main source of income. We
were able to go around the island on our motorbike for 40 minutes. We drove around and sometimes we would end up
in an empty beach. It’s pretty cool. The people are polite, friendly and helpful.
We stayed in
Banana Sunset Bar and Bungalows, we stayed there for six days. It’s a bit far
from the main pier but we love it. We love the room, the ocean view, the
service and the food. Most of the staff can speak English, so it’s not hard to
communicate with them and they are nice people. They have motorbikes that guest
can rent. The only downer is, the beach is rocky but we still enjoyed swimming.
(Just put on your sleepers)
We also went
swimming to Koh Mak Cococape resort. There’s a bar on the sea we stayed there
and spent the whole day swimming. You can go snorkeling on that part. The water
is crystal clear and you can swim with the fish.
Koh Kood
From Koh Mak
we were picked up by a speed boat from Ao Nid pier which is near from our
accommodation. It was a 20 minute speed boat ride. It was also the opening of Boonsiri's new route from Koh Mak to Koh Kood.
Koh Kood is
bigger, has more people and tourist than Koh Mak. From the pier we traveled a
bit longer than we expected to our accommodation.
We stayed in
Siam Beach Resort which is in Bang Bao beach. Bang Bao beach is what I love
most in Koh Kood. The water is warm, calm and crystal clear! Our accommodation
was a bit disappointing. We got the fan room, but we didn’t expect it to be
humid and a bit warm. I was expecting a cool, breezy air since it’s in front of
the beach, but nope! It was a decent room, a very basic room. But the beach has
taken all our disappointments away!
Visit their website:
http://siambeachresortkohkood.com/
Visit their website:
http://siambeachresortkohkood.com/
We went
waterfalls hopping on our second day:
Klong Chao
Waterfall – the largest and has a huge pool that you can swim into. We had a
great time swimming on its cold, refreshing water.
Klong Yai
Kee Waterfall- It’s a smaller one. We didn’t dip in cause there were just two
of us we’re a bit scared hahaha. We’re not expert swimmer so better safe than
sorry.
Huang Nam
Kaew Waterfall – This one is the farthest and oh dear the road going to the
location is rough and downhill. It gave me a bit of a scare. But if you’re an
experience driver it would be easy. It has a small pool but I like it better
than Klong Yai Kee. We took a dip for bit and decided to leave because it’s
getting cold. The water is colder than the two falls.
Baan Ao
Salad
After
waterfalls hopping we went to their fishing village which is located in the
North of the island. Baan Ao Salad is a little bit far. Coming from the
waterfalls it was a long motorbike ride. It’s a small village; it is built on
stilts in the water. Walking around it we saw fishnets, big fish and different
kind of sea creatures. I think it’s the cleanest fishing village I’ve ever been
to. The water is still clear and the surrounding is pretty neat. It’s an
interesting place. Made me think what life is like living there. Since we love
seafood we didn’t miss the chance to eat some very fresh seafood in one of
their restaurants. It was a bit pricey but it’s worth it!
(Tip: Don’t
stay too late because the ride going back is a bit scary since it’s dark and
long road and just trees. Oh well me and Taylor are both scardy cat so our
imagination was a bit too much hahaha)
We didn’t do
much on our third day, we drove around for an hour and came back to our
accommodation spent the whole day lazing around and enjoy the beach.
*Koh Kood is
pricey than Koh Mak.
*Siam Beach
Resort has free buffet breakfast
*Koh Kood
has the best seafood than Koh Mak
*Both
islands doesn’t have a nightlife
Koh Mak Ferry Schedule
http://explorekohchang.com/koh-mak/how-to-get-to-koh-mak/koh-mak-ferry-speedboat-island-hopping/
Koh Kood Ferry Schedule
https://kohkoodferries.com/
The fares are a bit pricey (for us) but it's worth it!
Here's my Travel Vlog
