Jill & George's trip: Koh with your heart part 1

It’s funny how the end of our Thailand trip unfolded. We had always planned to end our island hopping with a trip to the Andaman Sea Islands of Koh Lanta, Koh Phi Phi and Phuket, this all changed with a quick glance at a poster as we were hurrying to the ferry as we left Koh Tao. The conversation went a little like this; “Oh, that place looks nice, where’s that?” “Koh Tarutao? Not sure where that is but it looks amazing, it might be worth looking into.” “Yeah, sounds like it could be a good plan.” and so, after a relaxing few days on Bottle Beach, and with a little research done, we were on a speedboat heading for Koh Tarutao National Park; a place that promised all of the island lifestyle, white sands, blue seas and dense monkey filled forests, without the tourism. It was what we had been hoping to find on other islands and had not yet managed. We were hopeful that this would be the perfect end to the Thailand leg of our trip.

Our journey south from Bottle Beach to Koh Tarutao took us through a different Thailand to the one we had previously seen. We had become used to seeing the elegant, slender 3 tiered roofs with their scrolled wood edges of the wihaan and the bell shaped chedi’s, the monks carrying their orange umbrellas to protect themselves from the midday sun. But as we travelled through the Thai countryside moving closer to the Malaysian border we began to see more shimmering, golden, onion domed Mosques and women in head scarves. We heard the call to prayer echoing through the streets of Haad Yai. It was good to see, hear, smell and feel the culture of an area, something we hadn’t seen much of in weeks.

Our speedboat skipped through the ink blue sea passed the many small islands that make up the Tarutao archipelago and within 45 minutes we were alongside the jetty at the national park. They say that you only get one chance to make a first impression, Koh Tarutao took full advantage of the opportunity to impress. As we climbed from the boat our eyes fell upon the lagoon of the most incredible shades of blue green, a white sand beach at its edge and a thick forest that climbed the steep slope beyond. We exchanged a smile before our gaze shifted to the blindingly white sand of Ao Pantae, as wide as a football pitch and stretching out as far as the eye could see, waves breaking over a sandbank 100 metres out to sea before rolling onwards to shore. It was breathtaking.

We were staying at the next beach along and the lorry that would take us there was not ready so we walked on the beach, the hot sand squeaking under our foot, and we swam in the sea with no one else around. If only waiting for a bus was always this good! We arrived at Ao Molae, the beach we would be staying at, to a similarly stunning first impression. A half kilometre, crescent beach with rocky headlands at either end, forests all around and the sound of monkeys playing, a dozen little huts and hammocks in the trees. It was a perfect spot to spend a couple of days. We filled in our first day with swimming and relaxing, Jill had a run on the beach while I watched the sunset with a book. The following day we walked to a waterfall about 8km away, through thick forest and rivers. It was a beautiful walk, tough, but we were rewarded with a swim in the waterfall’s pool at the top, it was cold and crystal clear. The afternoon was spent in the same way as the first, running, reading and relaxing. But the following morning, and all too soon, we were off again, back on the boat and heading further from the mainland to the Island of Koh Lipe, part of the Adang archipelago, good for diving, snorkelling and sunbathing.