Crete

Ko Ngai

This was my favourite island on this trip. Pronounced as Ko Hai. You arrive at an Island with beautiful turquoise coloured water, dense tropical forest, rocky headlands, and a beautiful white sand beach. This Island has no roads and is approximately 4 km long and 2 km wide. It has approximately 10 resorts, with 9 of them lined up across the beach on the east side of the island. There is one exception with one resort located on the southern beach.

This is one of the more relaxed islands. It is not too large and therefore the crowds are minimum. There are no day trippers so it feels like an actual holiday without intrusion here. The hotels are cheap and the costs on the island for restaurants are cheap with the option to go even cheaper outside the hotel. There is no cash machine so bring about ฿300-900 for each day if you eating out. You will need money for the private non hotel excursions which costs ฿400-500. So bring cash, mosquito repellent, and snacks. Definitely a great stay that is better than some of the bigger Islands.

Here are my top 10 tips for Ko Ngai:

1. Use the Speedboat: The island is a 45 minute speedboat ride from Koh Lanta. It is the middle point for travellers going further towards Koh Lipe, Koh Muk, and Koh Kradan. The speedboat pulls up to the front of one of the resorts to let all the passengers and luggage off. A long tail boat then comes to pick up the luggage and passengers. Most of the visitors choose to walk to the resort since it is so close and the beach is awesome.

Arriving to the beach landing spot

Arrival to Ko Ngai island

2. Accommodation options: They have a range of accommodation from the Hill side Villas to the beach from villas. There is also couple of camping sites. I chose Koh Ngai fantasy resort for my 3 night stay. Try to get one of the beach front villas or a family villa which is just behind the beach front villas with partial views to the ocean and a quick 1 minute walk to the beach. Accommodation prices vary from backpackers to hotels. Hotels are roughly ฿5000per night with breakfast.

3. Be Prepared for the wildlife photography: The island has a dense tropical forest and there are all kinds of wild animals and insects present here. I saw some bugs that I have not seen on Discovery channel on hangover Sunday. The main fear is once again mosquitoes so use a lot of repellant. (Recommend citronella which is very effective) There are snakes, spiders and monkeys in the tropical forest here so any hikes would require proper shoes and not flip flops (jandals, thongs).

Bug John Doe

Dragon Fly

Horn Bill Birds

Bats

4. Things to do on the Island: The Island is small and day time activity would include tanning, swimming, snorkeling, kayaking, scuba diving, PADI scuba courses, and just long walks on the beach. There are two hiking paths on the island, one goes to the south of the island to a sunset viewing point. The other goes west of the island to another view point from the west of the Island. I set out on the west end view point but took a wrong turn and ended at the southern point which was pretty good. Chilling on the beach at night time is fun and if you lucky you might see some shooting stars.

Tanning and Enjoying the view

Ocean Time

5. Excursion to Ko Maa & Ko Chuaek :There are two islands in front of the beach. They are Koh Ma and Koh Cheuk. Most of the excursions have a snorkeling trip which visits these two islands with 2 additional spots. The 3rd spot on the excursions is the Emerald cave (Morakot cave) located on Koh Muk. The final spot is usually the beach on Koh Muk where you can visit one of the resort restaurants for lunch. Koh Ma and Koh Cheuk offers nice snorkeling spots where there is a lot of fish and they are not shy swimming all around you. The reef is quite colorful and alive. On the rocky cliffs you can see hundreds of bats chilling in the sun (not by choice).

6. Excursion to Emerald Cave: This was quite an experience. The boat operator anchored the boat a good 30 meters away from the cave. He did not speak good English and gave our group of 6 a touch and pointed to a hole in the rock. We assumed this was the cave and just jumped in. Once we got to the entrance of the cave it was a 70 meter swim to the beach on the other side. Approximately 30 meters of this swim is through the caves is in pitch black hence the touch. Our touch worked for 30 seconds and then we followed the sounds of people on the other side. At this point I was thinking of all my equipment back at the hotel like my touch and the Rambo glow sticks. There is the occasional chain gang tourists in life jackets in groups of 10-20 swimming through in a line formation through the caves. The beach on the other side is amazing and worth the effort in the darkness.

Inside the cave where there is still some sunlight

Exiting the cave after some Pitch black action

Enjoying the moment after exiting the cave

At the Hidden Beach

Cave Exit to the Beach

The Chain Gangs of Tourists

7. Where to Eat: Food is relatively cheap outside the hotel and will cost ฿200-400 a day. At the hotels you can double this cost. Water is expensive with big bottles 1.5 litres trading at ฿60. Beer is about ฿80 and cocktails can range from ฿180 to ฿400.So head next door to the Thai restaurants on the beach for some fresh seafood at really cheap prices. The service is fantastic and the food is representative of the island.

8. Hotel Services: Some of the resorts on the island are under foreign ownership and this kills the vibe for the resorts. Fantasy resort for example is under Chinese ownership and the services are focused on making money from tourists without much concern of the staff. This removes some of the traditional Thai friendly hospitality. A lot of the staff were from Burma and Philippines here. All hotel bills have a 10% service charge (tips) but some investigation led to the discovery that this money goes to the owners and not to the staff who deserve the tips. So get to know the staff and tip them privately with the secret handshake. The resort food is okay but too international with burgers, pasta etc.

9. Medical Emergencies: : There is no medical center on the island so emergencies will require a boat visit to the east towards the Trang district on mainland. Our group had one case of dental emergency and had to take a 2 hour boat ride to Trang and a private taxi to the hospital dentist. The quotation from the Chinese owner for this trip was ฿5000 for the trip including the taxi. Speaking to locals the same trip was done for ฿1600.

10. Watch out for Hidden costs: As mentioned the hotels have lots of mark up on all products and services for normal Thailand prices. Excursions can be purchased for 50% less from the local tour operator at the beach. Same with restaurants outside the hotels which are 50% cheaper and quality of food is better.

Similar Thailand articles of Interest:

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13 useful tips that will help you understand the Thai culture and the way things are done there. Best advice one can get to save time, money, and ones sanity.

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Phuket 10 Useful tips

Phuket is a large island situated off the west coast in the Andaman Sea with a bridge connecting it to mainland Thailand. It acts as the focal point for tourists who use this island as the main stay holiday or the base camp. Here are some quick tips about Phuket to help construct your plan when you visit this Island.

Here are my top 11 recommendations for Phuket :

1. Select wisely your entry points into the Island:
Phuket International Airport:
The second largest airport in Thailand after Bangkok. Nothing special about the airport but it is effective and efficient in operations with the high number of tourists passing through. Good to book your flight direct here instead of going through Bangkok if you have the chance. Once you are outside the arrivals area, you can get a taxi to your location. Remember the same same but different rule and therefore bargain for a taxi. Airport is located north of the Island.

Phuket harbour:
Rassada Pier is the main port here for moving tourists to the Islands around Phuket or across to Krabi. This port is on the east side of the island and it is a mess with herds of day trippers walking around without purpose, simply following a guide when they are not lost. There are all kinds of good, bad and nasty smells here so the less time spent here the better. There is a drop of point outside the ferry terminal and then it is a mission of getting your suitcases and yourself through the crowds to the right ferry or the ticket office. Avoid using the port if you can.

Thao Thepkasattri Bridge:
The driving option is one of the better options to avoid the crowds. Krabi is a 90 minute drive and the roads are very good, so it makes for a comfortable ride. So if you are flying into Krabi this is a good option as can skip the above two busy areas. I drove from Phuket to Krabi on New Year’s Day and it was a great scenic trip with lots of amazing temples and landscape along the way. Bangkok is a 9 hour drive so best to have a pit stop along the way for that road trip.

2. Get a driver if you are not renting a car:
Once you use a few private taxis, use one of the drivers as your local guy. You can pay them 1000-3000 bhats for 4-5 hours. They will take you around and take you to good lunch places, some sightseeing and pretty much save you time and money. Our driver below had this van they carried the team to all locations while keeping us entertained with the fancy lighting and sound systems.

Try the following drivers that I used while in Phuket, remember to call at least 1 day in advance.
West Side:
Mr. Mee (Buntang area) +66-83-105-3441 or +66-85-884-2859
Mr. Nop (Surin Beach) +66-92-073-6436
East Side:
Mr. Hab (Panwa Beach) +66-86-952-1667

3. Avoid living in the west side:
Okay for a night or two but not longer. It is noisy and chaotic especially Patong, you never know when a ping pong ball will fly at you. So stay in the East if you want to avoid the day trippers and big crowds.

4. Avoid the malls:
Unless you looking for something specific and need an international brand. Prices in the mall are not necessarily cheaper and it is very crowded. Try the night markets instead or wait till you get to a different city.

5. Avoid the spas near the malls or in the malls:
Forgot about privacy and expect something from the matrix. This photo was taken from outside the spa where at least 50 people were squeezed next to each other like a manufacturing factory.

Our Ride for Phuket by or driver Mr Hab

Spa at the Mall

6. Pick up some goodies from the Pharmacy:
Here you can get all the goodies you need to survive the trip. Citronella organic insect repellent is great along with lemongrass palm if the damage is already done.

7. Try the Chalong bay beach restaurants for good fish dishes and views:
These restaurants are mostly occupied by locals, tourists anchored in the bay and the guests living around the area. The price is approximately 1/4 of what you pay on the west side.

8. Try this restaurant for seafood Phong Phang in Chalong:
There is a tourist trap buffet restaurant in the front but take the back entrance to find a big seafood restaurant that served some of the best seafood during my time in Thailand. It is filled with locals and its a local hidden gem. Here is the Facebook page for this place.

Chalong Bay Dinner at the beach

Seafood galore at Phong Phang

9. Familiarize yourself with the Island setup:
Here is a Map with some descriptions of the areas. This is a big island with a lot of activity in comparison to others in this area.

10.Wildlife:
Expect a lot of mosquitoes all over the place. They have a lot of monkeys running around at the temples and other spots close to the forest. They will usually grab any food item that is on you or in close proximity so be careful.

Monkey at the Big Buddha park

The Big Buddha

11. Three days is too long in Phuket so get out to the other Islands:
The best beaches, the good spots, the reefs, and all the stuff that makes a holiday more relaxing is outside of Phuket or big cities. Go to the smaller Islands.

Similar Thailand articles of Interest:

KO NGAI
The island of Relaxation. An overview of Ko Ngai Island. The places to stay, things to do, and things to avoid.

KRABI
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RAILAY BAY
The hidden treasure of this Region.An overview of Railay Bay. The places to stay, things to do, and things to avoid.

KO PHI PHI
The most visited spot in South Thailand due to the Movie "The Beach". An overview Ko Phi PhIsland. The places to stay, things to do, and things to avoid.

Phuket Geographical breakdown

West Side: 

All the good beaches are on the west side. Starting from the top you will have:

•       Bangtao: This is a relaxed area next to the airport with many top hotels & resorts, and Nikki beach Phuket is in this area. It is a quite area in comparison to further south.
•       Surin: Lots of beach clubs here, along with nice hotels & resorts. Slightly more action here than above. A lovely location for New Year’s Eve. We had a fantastic time here.
•       Kamala: Similar to Surin beach in terms of Activities and features good hotels & resorts.
•       Patong: This is the heart of the Phuket nightlife and it all goes down on Bangla road. The beach is nice but the nightlife is intense. Walking along Bangla road you will go through a different range of emotions: shock, fear, excitement, laughter, sadness, happiness and probably a lot more. There are Go Go dancers busy on the poles/table tops visible from the streets. These girls looks very depressed. The lady boys are on the streets advertising for the cabarets and they are big targets for tourists wanting to take a picture with or off them. Then there are the club workers approaching you to try and sell the best PING PONG SHOW in all of Thailand. There are huge crowds all over the place on the party street, Main Street, and in the mall. Would not recommend staying in this area.
•       Kata and Karon: These 2 areas are quite active in the nightlife as well but nothing like Patong. Good area for hotels & resorts away from Patong.

South Side:

•       Nai Harn beach: More relaxed area with not too many hotels. One of those places to come for a more relaxing beach dinner.
•       Rawai Beach: Relaxed area where the fisherman are quite active, quite a few long tail boats anchored before they take tourists on excursions to Coral Island, Koh Lone or Racha Island. It’s a laid back area with couple of 5 star resorts.

East Side:

•      Phuket Town: Thalang road is the city center and it is worth a quick visit to see more of the real Phuket. Here you can also find the boat port.
•      Chalong Bay: Beaches attached to the bay are not the best in Comparison but the hotels here and restaurants here offer you more of a laid back vibe with great views of the bay.

North Side:

•      Mai Khao: A laid back beach where you can take pictures here without having tourists in the background. Few hotels and a good peaceful getaway.

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