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Published: February 23rd 2020
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Saturday 22nd February 2020 Koh Muk translates as Pearl Island. We said it was a little gem! Like Koh Jum and Koh Yao Noi, it is rated as one of the few remaining truly exotic islands of Southwest Thailand, with very limited tourism and stacks of local flavour. We love it here!
Well, we have stayed in countless bamboo thatched huts in our time, in different countries, but none as charming as the one we have now on the eastern side of Koh Muk: Everything is bamboo, the floor, window shutters, doors and furniture. Often the bed is just made of cheap boards with a hard mattress. This bed is chunky and solid bamboo, with a lovely deep mattress and soft pillows. The chunky furniture is made in the same rustic style. Of course, being bamboo, there are gaps everywhere, some quite large, so anything could crawl in through the floor or walls; there are no windows, only bamboo shutters and the bathroom at the back has a sand floor and is open to the elements at the top. Thus, mosquito netting on the bed and mosquito coils burning all evening and night are essential. The hut is wonderfully
breezy, being right by the beach, with the shutters open. It is really beautiful and very peaceful as well. This accommodation is actually the cleanest we have stayed in so far, despite its basic facilities and we haven’t had to ask for room housekeeping (which was non-existent in some of the others). Well done Nick for recommending this place. Actually, our hut is just behind the one Nick stayed in last year, about twenty metres away (they are all really nicely spaced out).
We arrived here yesterday, by motorbike tuk-tuk from Charlie Beach (there are no cars on Koh Muk, only motorbikes and three-wheeled motorbike tuk-tuks). It isn’t far, the island is only about three and a half kilometres wide, but too far in the heat with rucksacks and anyway, the tuk-tuk only cost 100 Baht (£2.44 or €2.92). Since getting here we have done little, just enjoyed the chill and the good food. We did, however, do some washing this morning and we walked about two kilometres to the centre of the island to find a restaurant recommended by some Swedish friends we made (our next-door-neighbours on Charlie Beach). It was worth the walk. This couple, Roger and
Anna-Marie are now on Koh Phi Phi island, where we are going on Monday.
Our original plan was to leave here on Monday and take the ferry across to the mainland, head for the city of Trang to experience some southern Thai urban culture and maybe buy some souvenirs. We haven’t bought anything yet because these small island shops don’t stock a lot! We planned to spend a couple of days there, then get back to Phuket by bus, via the towns of Krabi and Phang Nga by Friday 28
th February, which is the day we fly to Doha, ready to fly to Barcelona on Saturday 29
th February. Tomorrow, Sunday, would thus have been our last day of beach, island life and shimmering Andaman sea. We decided that we really were not ready to say “Farewell” to the sun, sand and sea tomorrow, so we are missing the towns and the overland route and have just booked a ferry for Monday morning to take us to Koh Phi Phi! We have also booked four nights on Phi Phi with booking.com and we shall leave there by ferry next Friday morning, then get a taxi or bus straight to Phuket
airport (wearing our masks again). We shall have to visit Trang another time; the Andaman Sea is still beguiling us and this island life is so very escapist; good for the soul! We are heading for a quieter part of Koh Phi Phi but hopefully, a visit to the main hub will get me some time to shop for souvenirs as well! In the meantime, its “Chill time!”
Tomorrow afternoon (Sunday) we are going back over to Hat Sai Yao on the west side of the island and taking a long-tail boat for a snorkel trip and a visit to Tham Morakot, the Emerald Cave (
Morakot is Emerald in the Thai language, as Muk is Pearl).
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I LOVE THE LOOK OF THAT SALAD,MADE ME SALAVATE ALBEIT NOT REALLY SALAD WEATHER HERE!! THINKING OF RE-MODELLING OUR SHOWER ROOM AND WILL UPDATE TO SOMETHING SIMULAR TO THE ONE IN YOUR PICTURE..HOW QUAINT...LOVELY LOOKING PUPPIES WHICH I HOPE ARE FOR PETS RATHER THAN THE COOKING POT...SORRY..!!