Thailand Island Time: part one

When I was planning my trip to Thailand I wanted to see as much as possible. I couldn't just stay in Bangkok the entire time, so I went up north to Chiang Mai since it is known as the craft hub of Thailand. I knew I couldn't just see up north and miss out on what some call "the worlds best beaches". I planned a trip to an island.


Koh Kood

The problem was, how does one who knows nothing about Thailand pick out an island when there are so many to visit? For me it was as much about the place to stay as the island itself since I was traveling solo and wanted to feel safe. I just ended up asking everyone I knew who had been there what they did and decided on taking the advice from my hosts Logan & Sandy about a small spot called Bann Makok on *Koh Kood.

*Also spelled Koh Kut, and I think there was another way too. Everything has more than one English spelling in Thailand, it' proves to be very confusing when looking on a map.

Getting to Koh Kood was a bit more of an investment then I had realized I had signed up for. I took a 4 hour min-van trip from Victory Monument in Bangkok at 6am (arranged the day before with the help of Logan & Sandy who knew the small folding table to approach on the street to reserve my spot) to the town of Trat. Trat is where you catch the speed boats to the southern islands including Koh Kood and the much smaller Koh Mak (from where, if clear out, you can see Cambodia). In Trat I waited at a designated spot for a "taxi" (which was more like an open-air truck with benches) that took me another 30 minutes away to the dock.

Have you ever been on a speed boat? I had not. This one was rather large (I rode smaller ones when going between the islands). It sat about 20 people and ran 3 motors at once. It was the loudest 45 minute, open ocean trip I had ever been on. When the engine seized at one point, I pictured myself bobbing around hoping I wouldn't die there. The boat makes a number of stops at different resorts and islands dropping people off on the way. I was dropped off on a dock and met by people wearing shirts from the guest house who took me and my one small bag in a smaller boat up a canal to my guest house on the water. It was worth the trip.

I was only on the island for two nights and the next day I had arranged to take a day trip to Koh Mak to go find the sculpture garden of self taught artist Somchai. I'm saving that wild story for the next entry. If you go to the islands if you can swing it, I recommend you stay for a minimum of 4 nights. With that said I am glad I made the trip even with such a short amount of time but it would be nice to unwind a bit- apparently not what I'm best at....


A map of Trat where I was dropped off to wait for my boat. I definitely walked down to where it said "guy" out of curiosity, it was a restaurant.


Speed boat dock




Boat ride to my guest house Bann Makok




my rooms outdoor shower


sun rise view from bed






this guy joined me for lunch


You have to kayak down the canal to get to the beach













After an 8 hour trip to get somewhere, kayaking alone up a canal on an island towards your guest house as the sun is setting feels like you are really on top of the world.