Snorkeling the Surin Islands

In April 2007, I had a chance to visit the Surin Islands, the first time in a long time I had embarked on any type of adventure travel in Thailand.

This trip would mark my second flight to Phuket, the first being in November 2004, for a kayaking trip with John Gray.

This time around, I flew from Bangkok to Phuket on Thai Air Asia, and the check-in at the airport and the flight were all without any mishaps.

Arriving on a mid-morning flight, at Phuket, I was met by a driver, provided by a tour agency I had contacted over the Internet. From the airport, I and my friend would be put up for the night at a hotel in Khao Lak.

About 90 minutes from the airport, Khao Lak was one of the areas of Phuket that was especially hard hit by the 2004 tsunami, but there wasn't any evidence of it. The area seemed quite well developed, with plenty of hotels, resorts, guesthouses and shops.

The hotel I was staying in, Tony Lodge, is a small boutique hotel, wedged between a couple of others. The website is a pretty accurate depiction of the place, as it offers no scenic view to speak of. But the rooms are comfortable and well-appointed. The beach is across the highway and down a lane, perhaps a 15-minute walk, or the advertised five minutes if you hire a motorbike.

We did visit the beach, and I had a chance to show my friend a bit about how to use the snorkeling gear.

Pretty soon though, it was time for sleep and an early morning call to be taken to Kuraburi pier by van, which was provided in the tour-package price.

This is when the sheer distance and scale of the Phuket area dawned on me. To get from area to area around Phuket, you have to have transport, and on Phuket, transport is going to be a hassle and it's going to be expensive.

After about a two-hour ride in the van, we reached Kuraburi. Here is where I discovered I had a problem with the booking agency I hired. I had actually hired a company that then booked with another company that was doing the actual package. I should have been dealing with them direct, instead of this intermediary. Due to the miscommunication, I was not going to be given a bungalow on Surin Island as requested, but I would have to sleep in a tent, at least one night.

Now, I've been in Thailand long enough to know that I should not show anger. Strong displays of emotion are not polite in any society, but in Thailand it is the height of rudeness. But the breakfast of dry toast and instant coffee had left me a bit grumpy, so it didn't take much to upset me.

Luckily, one of the workers at the desk didn't do the usual routine of shutting down and becoming unresponsive. Instead, she wanted me to stop being angry and said she would take care of the problem.

As we boarded a speedboat, and hit the open water, my negative emotions subsided with the fresh sea air and the sight of the clear, blue waters of the Andaman Sea.



Mu Ko Surin is a national marine park of Thailand. It is open for tourists from November to May, so we were getting there just at the end of the season.

As the boat approached the island, the helpful Kuraburi Greenview staffer informed me that she'd straightened out the mess with the bungalow after all. What a relief! I really didn't want to sleep in a tent, and deal with a shared latrine and shower house.

The accommodation at this national park is more rustic than I'd seen in previous trips, and I can readily say that if you go to Koh Surin, make sure you get a bungalow, unless you are used to sleeping in tents and dealing with a dark, pit toilet and crude shower huts.

Checked in, and everything as much to my satisfaction as I could expect, we were served a light lunch, communal style at the park canteen. Here, we would meet our guides for the three-day, two-night package, and they would attend to all our needs, serving our meals and making sure we got on the boat for snorkeling.

That afternoon, we hit some snorkeling spots not far from the dock. It was just the right amount of snorkeling, with some great views of colorful coral and fish.

After an evening meal, it was time for bed, and then up again around 6.30 or 7am for breakfast.

After a morning snorkel, there was a visit to a Moken (sea gypsy) community. I felt like an intruder, as if we tourists were sullying a traditional way of life. There was a school and medical clinic at the settlement.

During an afternoon snorkeling session, one of the guides caught a sea turtle. I had earlier seen it, thinking I was just looking a rock. But something about it looked different, and then the rock moved and swam away at high speed. I was amazed the guide had captured the creature, which probably measured about 18 inches long and 10 inches wide.

On another dive, I caught a fleeting glimpse of a large eel.

The second evening, there was some time before dinner, so I grabbed one of the park's kayaks, available for an hour's rental for 100 or 200 baht. My friend and I rode double, and we paddled around the mouth of bay and along the back side of the island in a narrow inlet betwen the main island and another. We did perhaps an hour or two of paddling - nothing spectacular, but a great way to pass the time.

The next morning we got to go for one more snorkel. We visited a second campsite on the island, not far from where we'd paddled the kayak the day before. And then we visited another deep bay with some decent coral. I spent a lot of time diving down as deep as I could stand and then resurfacing, and kept doing so until it was time to leave.

That afternoon, the speedboat from the mainland brought a fresh load of tourists, and we caught the boat back to the mainland.

Once returned, and changed out of swimshorts and wet clothes, we caught the van back to Phuket, for a long late afternoon and evening of driving, from van, back to Tony Lodge, where we met the original tour agency's driver, and then a long drive back to Phuket airport.

All in all, a great trip, tainted some by the aggravation of the miscommunication about the bungalow reservation.

Would I do it over again, I would deal with the primary tour agency direct. This is Kuraburi Greenview. In addition to Surin Island, they also run tours to the Similan Islands.

Kuraburi can also be reached via Krabi, which is also served by an airport.


(Photo credit: Darlene is Evil via Flickr)

South Thailand seacanoeing

My first real adventure trip in Thailand and my first such trip in a long time took place in February 2003. It was organised by Sea Canoe, based in Phuket. The trip, dubbed the Bucket of Bulldogs Tour, was with seven other guys and we all got on amazingly well, considering our different backgrounds and personalities.

After taking a 14-hour train ride from Bangkok down to Trang, and spending a day and night there in a hotel, the Sea Canoe people picked us up the next morning and took us on a two-hour drive by songtaew (pickup) to Talay Noi National Wildlife Sanctuary, just in time to see the lotus blossoms still open. The place was abundant with birdlife, with the best viewing close to shore. I was thus dismayed to find out that we would not be immediately paddling on arrival there. We would first be towed out to a more desireable spot by longtail boats. This would set the tone for the rest of the trip: A lot of riding around on various conveyances and then a little bit of paddling.

When we finally got around to paddling, it was nice, and we probably would have seen and heard a lot of birds if it hadn't been for the constant drone of longtail motor boats ferrying package tourists around (and this was after we had been advised to keep quiet, though one of our party used the lull between between longtail boats to discuss the differences of Southern Thai language and Central Thai language).

I saw some kind of falcon catch a fish and carry it away. Also, there were numorous comorants and gulls as well as some Brahminy kites. It was pointed out by one of our more astute members that these birds were migratory and would be spending their nesting season in Siberia or some far-off place.

Later in the day, we took a short, rugged nature hike and went in a cave with bats, blind fish and some centipedes. I can't remember the name of the park we visited. We got our first whiff of bat dung, which we would smell several other times during the trip. We stayed in Phatthalung at a fish farm that had some cheesy guest bungalows. The carpeting on the walls was the touch of class that woudn't be out of place at a summer cabin up on Lake Superior.

I was feeling sick and we stopped at pharmacy. I self-medicated myself with amoxicillin. Also, my roomie for the night gave me a does of Theraflu. In return, I gave him my cold and felt better the next day.


Day three started with a dusty truck ride and a long hike to see the Sakai hilltribe people. They are an ancient people who have been in Thailand probably longer than any other people. A secretive tribe, they were scared of us. Only an old man, the village chieftan, was present when we arrived. Then a middle-aged woman came out. Gradually, more women and children came out, probably about two dozen people in all. There were no adult males in the village, except for the old man, who demonstrated his skill with the blow gun, an artefact he would later give to one of our party. Many of the children were clearly half Thai, with straighter hair and lighter skin - the result of Thai-Malay rubber tappers having relations with Sakai women. After a lunch, just outside the village, we headed back down the mountain. I was walking ahead of the party, searching for some solitude away from the banter of the others when I came upon the young Sakai men. It was pretty scary, being alone in the woods and meeting up with some boys from the 'hood. But, there were just as scared of me, I suppose, and were wondering what a little, fat white man was doing out in their jungle.

On the way to Pakbara pier, we had 20 minutes to swim at a raging waterfall and wash the dust off. At Pakbara, we each got a rustic bungalow. At sunset, three of us went for a sunset paddle. We were taken out into the bay by longtail boat, where we paddled around Koh Yai. I saw a white-bellied sea eagle, a small cave with bats and some crab-eating macaques. Later at night I borrowed a bicycle to search for an Internet cafe and get some change for a 1,000 baht bill. I found out why Thai people ride their bicycles so slow - none of them have brakes that work. I discovered this without mishap and adjusted my speed accordingly.


The next morning we were taken to the Satun River for a paddle through Seven Curves Cave - a real cave with bats and darkness. First, we paddled upstream in the dark, in a cave, a wholly disorientating experience. You couldn't see the current, so it would come out of nowhere and threaten to sweep you into a wall. Had we been prepared for this with proper headlamps and helmets, it wouldn't have been as big a deal. We paddled up through the cave and then turned around and paddled downstream through it, followed about about an hour's worth of paddling on a river - a wholly relaxing experience not unlike float trips I had been on back in the States. After the paddle, we stopped at an interesting set of waterfalls that went over some clay. The surface was kind of soft and tactile, not slippery, so it was fun to climb up the falls.

That afternoon, we headed back to Pakbara and hooked up with the small boat that would take us out into the Andaman Sea. Our first stop was Koh Tarutao National Marine Park, a two- or three-hour trip. The sea was pretty choppy, and I got slammed by a good-sized wave. Also, some of the kayaks came undone went flying off the top of the boat.

On Tarutao, after getting situated in a quirky bungalow, there was time for another sunset paddle. We did a fairly good pull, this time paddling from the harbor to a couple of beaches, all without the assistance of any motorised craft. That was pretty nice.

The bungalows on Koh Tarutao left a bit to be desired. They are tidy, sturdy and clean, but there's no fans in the room, so it's hot at night. Also, there's no power during the day, which is not a problem unless you use the toilet, which is windowless.

Tarutao is a historic place, as we learned from the excellent visitor's center (with an interesting library). There was once a penal colony on the island, with some influential political prisoners. During World War II, when the island was cut off, the prisoners and the officers became pirates and conducted raids throughout the strait. The island was the setting for "Survivor: Thailand", the US unreality TV show. I saw no evidence of the TV show having been there, though.

Day 2 on Tarutao was spent paddling up through some mangroves. This would prove to be the most challenging activity on our trip. We paddled up the river that runs through the center of the island. It is lined with mangrove swamps and we saw some crab-eating macaques along the way.

When we got to the cave, we had to portage into it. During these manuevers (the Sea Canoe people did most of the lifting and carrying) I lost a flashlight, but had a spare.
We paddled through the cave (fairly disorientating, but not as bad as being on a fast flowing river) and then up a creek that got smaller and smaller until we couldn't paddle anymore. We then turned around. When I got back to the mouth of the cave, the water had gotten lower and the entrance was sealed. There was still a way in, but not by boat. It was necessary to get out of the boat and drag it through the mud. I got out and sank in up to my knees. I stayed calm and got out, but not without having my Teva sandals sucked off. I retrieved them, but they were broken.

The rest of the group was similarly baffled by the problem. One of the Sea Canoe guides tried unsuccessfully to find a new way into the cave. From inside the cave, I advised all to take off their sandals and go the way I did. Eventually, we all got through, but not without getting muddy.

The next day, we departed Tarutao for an island I will not name because it's a nice place and I don't want to see it trashed. The beach was clean, and there was a coral reef right off the shore, where I went for my first-ever snorkeling swim. I saw all kinds of fish and colorful coral.

Later, I took a hike up a mountain, which turned out to be quite exhausting. Another part of my sandals broke, which I was able to repair, with the help of a loaned Swiss Army knife and the encouragement of at least one other person. I also took a short sunset paddle. The accomodation was some neat tent bungalows, which I shared with one other person. This was a relaxing place.

The next day, we headed out to Koh Rawi for snorkeling. At some point, the Sea Canoe guys thought it would be a good idea to try some snorkeling. I jumped into the ocean, only to see black murk in choppy waters and to feel the sting of jellyfish. Bad idea. Later, at Koh Rawi, I snorkeled and saw fish and coral to my heart's content. It was pretty nice.

This was also our last time of kayaking, a 30-minute slog through choppy seas and baking sun from Koh Rawi to another small island. It was an inauspcious end to the "kayak" trip that didn't see us do an awful lot of paddling.

The last night of the adventure was spent of Koh Lipe, an island of resorts with lots going on. Budget travellers visit here use it as a base to explore other islands. This particular night, a big man named Jimmy, representing probably 300 pounds of heavenly joy, was having a wedding party after marrying his Thai girlfriend. There was lots of people dancing on the beach in what must have been a full moon party.

Our final day was spent travelling, first by boat back to Pakbara, then minivan (my least favorite mode of travel in Thailand) and finally by airplane from Hat Yai back to Bangkok.

Overall, I will give the Sea Canoe people high marks for planning a gradually more challenging itinerary for us out-of-shape guys, as well as their helpfulness and courtesy, especially at mealtimes, where the group of us were all served at the same time, personally being waited on by the Sea Canoe staff. The difficulties in this trip were perhaps unavoidable, and without them, it wouldn't have been as memorable or as adventurous an experience.