TRANG, Thailand (dpa) – The global quest for the perfect island retreat has swept over Thailand’s largest southern islands and is now taking aim at the smaller oases in the Andaman Sea, such as the still pristine archipelago off the coast of Trang province.
Most Western tourists who come to southern Thailand are looking for a beautiful beach, a cheap, clean bungalow resort that has banana pancakes on the breakfast menu and, of course, complete exclusivity.
Thailand’s most famous island resorts, such as Phuket and Samui, are arguably on the decline, certainly in the exclusivity department.
Lanta Island, the southernmost beach resort in Krabi province, has arguably already gone the way of Phuket.
Four years ago Lanta got electricity. Now there are 117 bungalow resorts on the island, lining the shoreline from the Long Beach on the northern point to the “Last Beach Resort” on the southern tip.
From Lanta one can take day trips to the nearby islands of Trang, comprising Ma (Horse), Muk (Pearl), Kradan (Board), Sukorn (Pig), Waen (Ring), Chuak (String), Rok (Sheave), Ngai and Libong, but it is a two-three hour boat ride trip back and forth.
Most tourists who want to explore Trang’s offshore attractions choose to base themselves on one of the islands, where there are a growing number of resorts sprouting up.
Of these, Koh Kradan Paradise Beach resort has gained the most publicity over the past three years as the site for an annual underwater mass wedding ceremony every Valentine’s Day.
Arranged nuptials for scuba diving enthusiasts was the marketing brainchild of Thai Airways International (THAI), which offers daily flights from Bangkok to Trang airport.
Originally, the Valentine’s Day wet wedding was held at Koh Waen (Ring Island), which makes some sense, but the currents there proved too rough for scuba-clad couples so THAI looked for a calmer beach.
It chose Kradan instead, which boasts a clean white beach, clear waters and at least two decent coral reefs.
“Next Valentine’s Day there will be 73 couples getting married here, to mark the king’s 73rd birthday,” said Mon Sakulmethanon, owner of the Koh Kradan Paradise Beach. Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej turned 73 on December 5, 2000.
Mon, a Bangkok-based businessman, bought 32 hectares of Kradan’s beachfront property 17 years ago for 5 million baht (115,000 dollars) and has developed the resort on a piecemeal basis over the years.
One not-so-successful project was a row of cement shophouse bungalows, meant to offer airconditioned accommodation, which were badly damaged by a recent typhoon and are now an eyesore.
Kradan’s advantage is its privacy, since all the beachfront property is owned by Mon and he is not eager to share his island paradise with another investor.
Koh Ngai, which is closer to Lanta, already has three bungalow resorts including Koh Ngai Villa, Koh Ngai Resort and the recently opened Fantasy Resort.
All are relatively high-priced, compared with Lanta’s dime-a-dozen bungalows, anyway, but one is also paying for the self-generated electricity supply and the extra transportation cost for food and supplies by boat.
Kradan and Ngai are well situated for taking day trips to other islands and dive spots in the Trang archipelago. Koh Muk’s Emerald Cave, which leads swimmers to a lush, plant-encrusted hollowed out beach enclave in the centre of the island, is a major attraction.
Higher costs and limited accommodation on these two islands may save them from the mass tourism that has already invaded neighbouring Phuket and Krabi, said Ponlert Oochareon, an official at the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) office in Nakorn Sri Thammarat province, which oversees tourism developments in Trang.
There are only two bungalow resorts at Koh Libong, which has the largest island community of an estimated 2,000 residents. Libong offers well-preserved coral reefs for snorkelling and also a bird sanctuary and, supposedly, the is the best place in Thailand to see a dugong, a herbivorous sea mammal that is on the fast track to extinction.
“About five to ten years ago there was a dugong in Libong that was friendly with the local people and foreign tourists but after it died it’s been pretty hard to see any dugongs there,” admitted TAT’s Ponlert.
The TAT, which has become increasingly mindful of Thailand’s environmental degradation in recent years, is fearful that too much tourism in Trang’s archipelago will inevitably lead to the destruction of its chief attractions – especially the coral reefs that abound in the area.
“Now tourists from Phuket and Krabi have heard about Trang and are starting to go to places like Koh Ngai,” noted Ponlert. “If we don’t find a way to control the growth it will soon be like Phuket.”
