Koh Sukorn Resort

Out of BKK - What we did

by Pammy27

"Krabi and Koh Sukorn - not yet in paradise..."

Southern Thailand is simply not to be missed; you can find a place to please everybody: We wanted to go to smaller resorts, where we could rest and enjoy each other’s company. Dave and I took the overnight train from BKK to Krabi, we spent 2 days there kayaking on the mangroves and exploring the temples around the area, the mangroves where well worth the visit, but the city of Krabi is not that attractive. We went to Wat Tham Seua (Tiger Cave Temple), where we climbed 1,200 steps to the top of this mountain, there you have the most superb view of the region, it was very tiresome but worth it.

After 2 nights in Krabi we took a minibus to Trang, then a songthaew to a pier to catch a boat to reach Kho Sukorn, an island on the Andaman coast mainly inhabited by Muslim fishermen families. We spend 3 nights there, it was alright, the beach has dark sand so it was not the idyllic Thai island that I had envisioned, we stayed at Sukorn Beach Bungalows, which also was fine, but I found our room dark and stuffy. We did a snorkelling trip to Koh Lao Lieng and Koh Takieng which are a couple of islands west of Sukorn, it was quite good, these islands are beautiful and only inhabited by fishermen.

"Finally paradise - Koh Muk"

After Sukorn we got back to Trang and decided that we wanted to go to another island on the Andaman coast, so we found out about Koh Muk, we stayed at Charlie’s beach resort. Now, that was paradise to me, it reminded me so much of my family’s beach house in the northeast Brazil, I loved the bungalows, brand new, so clean, it was great, the food wasn’t that big deal, Sukorn’s food was far better, but this place was just the right place, only three small resorts in our beach, great swimming and the most beautiful sunsets that I ever saw in my life, the staff was very helpful too, I would go back there for sure, It’s also worth to walk to the fishermen village on the east part of the island, the locals are just adorable, simple people, always happy, I remember this old dude trying to sell me his little baby girl, when I looked at him totally horrified he started laughing at me, and hugged his baby saying no no, like he would never do such thing, he got me! Also in Koh Muk there is the Famous Emerald Cave, definitely worth visiting, you have to catch a boat till the cave opening, them you swim inside the cave for about 80 meters, and about 2-3 minutes you are in total darkness, it’s was a thrill, then you get to this amazing, jaw dropping beach, that is surrounded by dense, lush vegetation, and very high limestone walls, the only way in and out is through the cave.

"Happy days - Koh Pan Ngan"

On the morning of the 4th day we went to Koh Pan Ngan, another incredibly beautiful island on the gulf coast, south eastern Thailand. It was quite the ride to get there, first we got a long tail boat to leave Koh Muk, then a Songthaew to Trang, then a minibus to Surat Thani, then we hopped in a bus to the ferry pier, then finally the ferry itself to Tong Sala in Pan Ngan island, it took us about 12 hours to travel 300 km…. but it was worth it, We went to Ao Thong Nai Pan, that are twin coves that form a scenic double bay on the north east side of the island Yai (south), Noi (north) The first day we spent at Noi, at the Star Huts resort, I really didn’t like it at all, we barely could sleep because of the dogs barking the whole night, there room had the bare necessities and it was very dark, I don’t do dark rooms where I can’t see where the bugs are! The next morning we moved to Yai beach. We stayed at Dreamland resort, in a brand new bungalow, the food was great, and the staff was very friendly. We did a snorkelling trip there too that was great. It was time to move on, We wanted to go to Ang Thong National Marine Park, so we moved to Maenam beach, in Koh Samui, the park was okay, I would have preferred to stick around Koh Pan Ngan a bit longer but you can’t always have what you want. From there we got into a plane to Chiang Mai, could not waste more time getting to places, time was running out! Off to northern Thailand!

Ko Laoliang Nong

by scott_dallas

Ko Laoliang Nong is the smaller of the twin Ko Laoliang islands. It is the island where we stayed. There was decent snorkelling just off the beach in front of the campsite. A short kayak ride away the snorkelling was very good.

I took this photo at around 6PM as the sun was setting over the cliffs behind us. About 10PM it came an absolute downpour of rain.

Our second night after we ate the barbequed seafood. We were relaxing and enjoying a few drinks. One of the employees did some fire twirling. I have of course seen guys twirling the glow sticks on strings at dance clubs so I would figure he would do this to some techno. But no. One of the songs was "2 Minutes to Midnight" by Iron Maiden. Wouldn't have been my choice, but anyway, Scream for Me Thailand!! HAHA.