Thailand’s Angthong Archipelago: Beauty Beyond Proportions

Visualize this! Turquoise waters, silver soft sandy beaches with swaying palms, dense green hills, amazing limestone cliffs, panoramic views, amazing inland lakes and rich marine life that is beyond comparison. Each island in this archipelago seems to be a better beach holiday destination than the other if that were physically possible. A marine national park, this archipelago goes by the name of Angthong Marine National park and it is located in the Gulf of Thailand.



This is the kind of place where kids can play with hermit crabs and build sand castles of silver, the elderly can enjoy that pristine tropical beach environment and read a book under the shade of a palm tree, the water babies can indulge in some snorkelling, kayaking, swimming and scuba diving and the land babies can discover these volcanic islands through steep hikes across the limestone cliffs and even indulge in some caving.



From the time you arrive at one of these islands of the archipelago to the time you leave it with a heavy heart, this place will give you a feel of paradise. As the lagoon waters around these islands are teeming with life and with the underwater visibility being close to 30 feet, snorkelling is one of the favorite activities to experience at Angthong. The rich coral life, the colorful fishes, the massive school of barracudas or sometimes that elusive shark can all be seen just by floating on the surface.



And if you go on a scuba diving trip, you will see much more and so much more that most of the time you will end up talking about it. When I was staying at this archipelago, I tried to experience all of its charms. Early morning was time to experience the cliffs, the inland lakes, the birdlife and the steep hikes. Late morning was for snorkelling. Mid day was a nap under the palm trees or a swim in the lagoon, evenings were kayaking to explore the hidden caves under the cliffs and some beach volleyball with other tourists around sunset.



This place is not your typical party circuit as there is no nightlife or pubs, but you definitely up the ante with your guitar, a lovely camp fire and a bottle of beer. As the days are fairly activity intensive and since there is not much to do here during the night with the exception of a midnight swim and some camp fire dances, it is best to get some shut eye. And just so you know, there is no electricity after 11 pm so the only light you can see is the light of the moon and the only sound you can hear is the sound of the tiny lapping waves. According to me, this is one of the best charms of staying on this archipelago.



Scuba diving trips take place either early in the mornings or late in the afternoons, in which case, you will be away from the island, but you will get to experience it from a different perspective (the underwater one). As there are a lot of diving spots in this vicinity, a lot of travelers prefer live-aboard trips where they dive during the day at the various spots and camp during the night at permissible camp sites.



Easily accessible from both Ko Samui and Ko Phangan, the Angthong archipelago is fantastic for both day trippers and for those who seek a more relaxed holiday in this tropical paradise. While most travelers prefer day trips from Ko Samui and Ko Phangan via speed boats, I prefer to stay here at Angthong as it gives you a better feel of this tropical beach paradise.



Accommodation is either through basic bungalows (no hot water and no electricity after 11 pm) or through camping in tents. If you can stay away from luxury for a few days, staying on the island allows you to keep the island to yourself during the early morning hours and the late evening hours when the day trippers are not there and it also allows you to simply experience this archipelago at your own easy pace instead of going with tour groups and following the tour itinerary.



If you are planning a holiday to ‘Amazing Thailand’ or if you are looking for tropical beach holiday destinations, Angthong Marine National Park is very much recommended. It’s beauty beyond proportions can either be experienced through a short or a long holiday. You have to see it on your next visit to Thailand.

Continue Reading...

Day 10 Digest from Koh Pha ngan and Anthong Marine National Park, Thailand

For the earlier daily travel digests from my South East Asia Backpacking trip, look here.

The day began early for us as we had to be at the travel office by 8 AM where a taxi would pick us up and take to the Thongsala pier and then off to the Mu Ko Angthong Marine National Park. Hence, we left our Lazy House hostel early and walked to the travel office where at 8 AM sharp, a taxi picked us up and some more folks and took us to the speed boat’s office. At the office, we were given tickets and told to have their light breakfast that consisted of tea, coffee, fruits and cookies. We had breakfast and after a brief break, the speed boat company folks accosted us to the pier and into their boat.

Once we were in the boat, we were given a high level plan and off we went into the ocean and towards the marine national park. The first 45 minutes of the trip was uneventful as it was just blue seas that we passed, but post that we started seeing small islands jutting out of the water and soon started seeing a cluster of islands all close to each other and lush green in appearance. Some of them even had their own beaches. Then, the guide started showing us some islands that resembled a monkey, a lion or more. Shortly, after this stretch we reached our first pit stop on the waters. Here we were given our life jacket, masks and snorkels and told to jump into the water. All of us jumped in and found the marine life to be beautiful. A lot of fishes came up to my face and the experience was very good. But, what I did not realize is that there was a current in the water and while I was looking at the fishes I had gone quite far away from the boat and the rest of the group. Now, to tell about me, I don’t swim, but since I had a life jacket, I was comfortable floating or bobbing around. When I did look up, I saw the boat to be quite far and had to wave for help. My friend saw and swam up to me, but he could not pull me towards the boat as the current was quite strong. Soon, one of the crew members dove in, swam up to me and started pulling me, but the progress was slow as I am a big guy and the current was heavy. We swam a little bit more before a rope was thrown into the water. Finally, I reached the boat safely. An interesting experience it was.

The next stop was lunch where we were taken to a beautiful island with a white sandy beach. By this time we were all very hungry as the breakfast was light. Thankfully for me, there was 1 vegetable dish and fruits for me to eat and hence I ended up having a good  lunch. After lunch, there was a 30 minute break for everyone. During this time, the other tourists preferred to get into water and take a swim, while me and my friend stayed in the shade and decided to let our food digest. After this island, we were taken to another island in Angthong marine national park where we were supposed to climb up to the view point and also get to see the salty emerald lake inside the island.

When we reached this island, the weather was nice and sunny, which was good as that meant great photographs. But, it was only when I started climbing the steep stairs that it was bloody humid too. It took me about 5-6 minutes to reach to the viewpoint but by then I was drenched to the bone in sweat. The view was fabulous though. Here, we stayed for about 10 minutes taking photographs of the Angthong island that was one side and the Emerald lake that was on the other side. Then, we walked down the other side to the base of the Emerald lake. The lake was beautiful, but it was too hot and hence the view was murky. No one was allowed to swim in the lake as it was national park rules. Again, we started climbing to the top and then to the bottom. This time we were totally bushed and hence immediately jumped into the ocean to cool off. The dip was refreshing, but we were all called to the boat as we were headed to the other island.

This final island was large and in pristine condition. The plan here was to explore around the island or take a break and then do some kayaking. Since we were in no mood to take a break, we decided to play some beach volleyball. (the net and ball were already provided for). Soon, we were all sandy, but enjoying the game. It was during the game that my friend realized that he had lost his ring. He thought that he lost it while playing volleyball and hence we started looking in the sand for his ring. But searching for a ring in the sand is like looking for a needle in a haystack. We tried hard, but had to give up. By then, we had lost all interest in our kayaking trip and hence decided to give it a skip. We tried looking for the ring again but gave up quickly. We took a dip in the sea to get rid of the sand sticking to our bodies and then did 30 minutes of photography around the island before hopping onto the boat and back to Koh Pha ngan. At the Thongsala pier, a taxi picked us up and dropped us back near our hostel.

It was a good day trip to the Angthong Marine National Park, but it was a bit tiring and I felt like I was still in the boat as the ride was a bit bumpy on the return. Evening was relaxed with a long dinner and a movie back at the hostel.

Continue Reading...

Angthong Marine National Park: A Natural Wonder in the Gulf of Thailand

If you are visiting the islands of Koh Samui, Koh Phangan or Koh Tao in the Gulf of Thailand, you should ensure that you don’t give Angthong Marine National Park a miss. Mu Ko Ang Thong is an archipelago of 42 limestone islands that rise up in the middle of the Gulf of Thailand and are possibly one of Thailand’s top sights.


This place that means ‘bowl of gold’ is famous for its rich coral waters, fabulous beaches, amazing caves and mind blowing panoramic views. And since this place is a marine national park, most of it is uninhabited except for one island, where a small population resides.


The most popular way to explore Angthong is by taking a day trip from Koh Samui or Koh Phangan. The approximate cost of an all inclusive day tour from Koh Samui should be 1300 THB, while that from Koh Phangan should be 1800 THB. The cost might vary a little depending on boat and services offered. If you’d like to stay away from the crowd that an organized tour brings, you have the option of chartering a private boat.


I took the tour from Koh Phangan on a speed boat and it began roughly at around 8:15 AM and ended at 5 PM. In this, a light breakfast, snorkeling, lunch on one of the islands, hiking to the view points and kayaking is included.


It is super critical that the weather be good when you  go on this trip as otherwise you will end up seeing no views. Hence, when I saw blue skies in the morning, I was really happy and hoped that it stays like that for the rest of the day.


It took me about 45 minutes from the Thongsala pier to our first pit stop, the Koh Wao island, where we were supposed to get wet and snorkel. The visibility was perfect in this 5-10m coral reef and a variety  of fishes could be seen in huge numbers and that too at the surface. When I was in the water, I felt like I was in the middle of these fishes. Such was their huge numbers. 


The next stop was lunch at Koh Sam Sai island, but before that we passed by some of the iconic islands of Angthong, namely monkey island and lion island. Basically, if you have a good imagination, you can see an entire island looking like a monkey face. The other lion island used to look like a lion, but the lion’s head dropped off during a storm and only its body remains.


Koh Sam Sai Island was a nice small island with a pretty beach. A dip in the sea was followed by lunch and then a short break in the shade. The island looked nice, but I didn’t explore as it was a bit too warm and I wanted to reserve my energies for the climb to the famous Angthong view point.


The next stop was Koh Mae Ko island from where one can see the salt water emerald lake and the view point from where one can supposedly see the entire 42 islands of Angthong. The climb to the top of the view point is fairly short, but extremely steep and can send your heart rate soaring in no time. The saturated air just made the climb a tad more difficult. But, the end result was totally worth it as the view was simply spectacular.


On one side, you could see the emerald lake or Talay nai and if you turned around, you would see the limestone islands of Angthong. From here one can climb down to the emerald lake, though swimming is prohibited in this lake. It took another climb and descent to get back to the boat jetty. Here we took a much needed swim to cool our over heated bodies.


The next and the last stop was Koh Pee island where we could explore the forests and see its monkeys, simply swim and laze around, play a game of beach volleyball or go kayaking through the caves surrounding the island.


The return journey was fairly uneventful as we were all tired, but the beautiful memories remained. I would definitely recommend this place to all kinds of travelers to Thailand. Such sights, if accessible are not to be missed.


Note: Carry a hat, sunscreen, sunglasses, lots of water and a shirt for snorkeling as the sun can be really bright and warm during the day.

Continue Reading...