South Thailand

Islands and the underwater world

1. Bangkok – Chumphon (5 h by bus)

2. Chumphon – Kao Lak (3,5 h by bus)

3. Kao Lak – Koh Lanta (3 h by bus + ferry)

4. Koh Lanta – Koh Ngai (20 min by boat)

5. Koh Ngai – Koh Lipe (1.30 h by speed boat)

We really liked this part of the trip, despite the fact that it’s quite a touristic destination.

In the south of Thailand there are a large number of islands, some of them are filled with tourists (especially the most famous ones, such as Phuket, Phi-Phi, Ko Samui, etc.), but it is always possible to find a small quiet island if you wish to.

Our path to the azure shores laid through Bangkok, but after a quiet time on Koh Rong in Cambodia, we didn’t want to go back to the huge metropolis. However, having arrived in Bangkok, we suddenly found that we are very happy to return to civilization! After spending a couple of months in South-east Asia, we changed our mind about Bangkok, we realized that is clean (compare to what we saw) and very developed city! We even stayed longer in the city just to enjoy the city: to do some shopping, eat delicious food, enjoy fast internet, and take a break from regular photo shoots!)

After Bangkok, we went to Chumphon province to visit the Mu Ko National Park. We took a scooter for a day, but unfortunately all the beauty of this park is on the islands and there was nothing to watch on the coast. We did not have time to explore them because we made a reservation already in a diving school on the other side of the peninsula.

However, we still managed to take several photos in Chumphon:

From Chumphon we arrived to Khao Lak, where we stopped for a week to get our scuba diving certificate. A new world opened to us! An incredible sensation of weightlessness and a “superhuman ability” to breathe underwater, as well as observing the diverse inhabitants of the marine world in their habitat. Unlike terrestrial animals, fish have not yet had time to develop an instinct to fear humans, therefore they can be viewed from a very close distance.

After 3 days of intense training, theory and 5 dives, the certificate was in our pocket. And we immediately decided to test our new skill on the Similan Islands.

This archipelago is located 70 km from the continent, in the Andaman Sea. Untouched nature is preserved on the islands and surrounding waters. The Similan Islands are considered one of the best diving sites in the world.

We saw a lot of colorful fish and corals, besides, the water was very clear, and we managed to make some cool shots, so you can plunge into another reality with us 😉

A couple of months before our 2nd visit to Thailand, our friends from Paris, Alla and Adlan, traveled around Thailand and left us a challenge on one of the islands (Koh Ngai). In our way to that island, we did a 1 night “pit stop” in Koh Lanta. Having stayed on the island for the night, we met a stunning dawn on the so-called “long beach”.

The picture below is a 360 photo, click and drag to look around, scroll to zoom!

The next day, sitting on the boat, we got to the island we needed. Koh Ngai turned out to be an island of dreams! Small, cozy, with the Cote d’Azur, without roads and, accordingly, without exhaust gases of cars and mopeds. All hotels are located along the same beach, so even in the season, the number of tourists does not exceed the limit. The only negative is the prices … everything is certainly expensive, but we found a tent camp at the very end of the beach, which was organized by a local entrepreneur, next to his Light My Fire bar. We were fascinated by the relaxing atmosphere and the attitude of the workers in this place who lived there. Every evening they organized concerts with a guitar. Our tent was next to the sea, so we fell asleep to the sound of the surf and the fresh breeze of the sea, and got up early in the morning to meet the amazing dawn.

Our favorite activity was to chase (mostly hermit) crabs on the beach 🙂 Some hid in their shells, others buried in the sand, leaving the original patterns on the sand.

Initially, we were going to stay on the island for 2 days to complete the assignment given by Alla and Adlan (the task turned out to be a hike through the jungle and find a secret place with a beautiful sunset), but in the end we were left almost for a week! Koh Ngai is a great place to take a break from the annoying transport, snorkel, get creative and do nothing.

The picture below is a 360 photo, click and drag to look around, scroll to zoom!

If you take a closer look, you will see an orange paddle board on the water, and Alena on it 🙂

Next to this island are a few small ones, near which it is interesting to dive with a mask. Of course you can’t swim there, but there are daily excursions. Also on one of the islands (Ko Muk) we visited the secret lagoon, the entrance to which lies through the “emerald cave”. In fact, it’s not so emerald, but rather dark and scary, if you shine a flashlight up, you can see bats.

You need to swim by yourself through the cave, well at least with a torch!) You can swim it only during low tide

There is nothing special to see in the lagoon, the space is very small. But the most interesting part is when you swim through the cave to discover it!

They say that the pirates used this place to store their loot. Unfortunately, we did not find their treasure 🙁

It was hard to leave, we even changed our ticket to the next day to stretch the pleasure. But everything is good in moderation.

The picture below is a 360 photo, click and drag to look around, scroll to zoom!

Our last island in Thailand was Ko Lipe. We chose it for two main reasons: firstly, it is a border island with Malaysia, where we were headed, secondly, at night you can see fluorescent plankton on the beach!

The island is not so quiet, like where we were before, but there are many bars and tourists, dusty roads, but very high-quality food, and for young people there’s bars to hang out. But we chose to go to a dark distant beach, in search of the plankton. We were lucky, the sight is very unusual. It seems that the starry sky is reflected in the water, but the “stars” are much brighter. Unfortunately, to capture this phenomenon in a photo or video is almost impossible. The light is very faint.

Afterwards, our journey from Thailand flows smoothly across the sea to Malaysia, but this is another story.

And I would like to complete this beautiful white creature that we met in Khao Lak, meet her majesty Jasmin!