After six months living on Koh Phangan, a small and remote island that seems to get ever smaller and more remote the longer we stay, it was time for a vacation.
For ten days at the end of May into the beginning of June, Cream and I did some island hopping along Thailand’s stunning Andaman (west) coast, visiting some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. To cap it off, we finished with a weekend in Hat Yai, one of Thailand’s largest cities and a cultural hub.
All in all, this was a fantastic trip where we made it to several less-touristy and incredibly beautiful destinations.
Phi Phi Islands, Krabi
View Phi Phi Islands photo gallery
Cream used to live in the Phi Phi Islands and loves the area dearly. She still has many friends there. We visited last year and had an amazing time, and she promised herself to come back every year, so naturally, it was the first stop on our itinerary.
From Phangan, we boarded a 1.5-hour speedboat, followed by a 3-hour bus ride, a 1-hour lunch break, and then an extraordinarily bumpy 1.5-hour ferry ride where unfortunately, Cream lost her lunch more than a few times. But by the end of it, we arrived at Tonsai Harbor on Koh Phi Phi Don in Krabi province, still alive and in (mostly) one piece each.
We checked into our hotel, owned by one of Cream’s close friends named Non, who we chatted and caught up with. He’s a friendly and welcoming guy and it was great to hang out with him again.
We relaxed and walked around the charming, pedestrian-only streets full of restaurants, souvenirs, friendly cats, and massage shops. While the island is quite small, it was bigger than I remembered.
In the evening, we enjoyed some excellent Indian food and walked along the north bay beach as the sun set, enjoying the ultra-fine, pure sand. It was quiet and calming, with not many people around this late in the season. Vacation mode: on.
In the morning, we ate breakfast and arranged a longtail boat tour for the day. While the main attraction in the Phi Phi Islands is Koh Phi Phi Leh and the famous Maya Beach – the worthy namesake of the movie, The Beach – we visited there last year and decided to check out another spot in the small paradise archipelago.
We weren’t sure if the weather would hold out, as it was a bit rainy in the morning and the monsoon was fast approaching. The forecast predicted rain for a week nonstop, but thankfully, as we boarded our boat, the weather began to clear. The further north up the island we went, the clearer it got, until we reached Bamboo Island where one direction was gorgeous blue sky and another resembled the clouds of Mordor.
We relaxed for a little while on Bamboo Island with even more, ultra-soft, crystal clear, pure sand. We swam for a bit – the water was a warm and comfortable temperature, although the waves were on the strong side. The ocean reflected the blue sky with gorgeous tones of light and cobalt blue. The Andaman Sea is home to the most beautiful blue hues I’ve ever seen.
From Bamboo Island, we reboarded our boat and stopped by the Phi Phi Holiday Resort, where Cream used to work for several years before the pandemic. The resort is in its own area on the north side of Koh Phi Phi Don, far out from Tonsai, making it even more secluded and quiet. We surprised some of Cream’s old friends and coworkers there and chatted a bit on another too-good-to-be-real beach that had not even a single stone to break up its soft sand.
Soon enough, it was time to head back home. We headed back into town and hung out with Non a bit more before going out on another walk and eating kakigori – Japanese shaved ice cream – for dessert.
Trang City, Trang
The waves were a bit calmer in the morning, and Cream and I took the ferry onward without losing our small snack breakfast, followed by a 2-hour van ride south to Trang city in Trang province. Before arriving at the bus station, the van stopped at a mall to drop off some stuff, and we got out since it was closer to our hotel.
Immediately, we found some of our favorite shops – Swensen’s ice cream and Oriental Princess, a Thai cosmetic brand that Cream loves. We enjoyed being back in civilized life (remember, we’ve been on a remote island for the past six months).
Trang is a fairly large city with a ton of Chinese influence, which is quite common in southern Thailand and Malaysia. The city is refreshingly local, and I was one of the only Western visitors in town. I enjoyed getting away from the touristy parts of the world’s 8th-most-visited country into a more genuine cultural experience, with plenty of opportunities to speak Thai and chat with locals.
Our hotel was right near the train station, which, luckily for us, had a huge night market on the weekends. We checked it out and got a delicious fermented fish and rice salad. We then explored the city by foot, passing by fresh fruit and vegetable markets and old, Chinese-style buildings.
Cream and I walked down the main street towards the city’s most famous landmark, an art deco clock tower. We improvised a mini food tour along the way and grabbed some sausages and yentafo, a special kind of noodles with a pink soup made from fermented soy.
On our way back, we stopped by the street market again, munched on some southern Thai snacks like roti and sugar cake, and then headed home.
Koh Kradan, the World’s Best Beach
In the morning, we joined a day trip to Trang’s famous islands, including Koh Kradan, which was rated the best beach in the world on World Beach Guide’s 2023 top 100 list. Kradan is one of a few islands located in a big group off the coast, and the boat ride through the karst cliffs and beaches of the archipelago was very cool despite some more bumpy weather. No sea sickness this time.
Kradan itself was beautiful, with more crystal-clear, soft sands. Kradan’s sands were a slightly darker, livelier hue of tan than the bleach-white beaches of the Phi Phi Islands, Krabi, and Phuket. At first cloudy, the weather began to clear as we wandered the empty, 1.5 mile-long beach.
It was stunning, although I think part of the reason it’s ranked so highly is because Kradan is also very quiet. Trang is not a very touristy place, and there was barely anyone on the island to interrupt the natural beauty.
I’ve read that when the weather is clear, the waves on Koh Kradan are gentle and the water is crystal clear, where you can see fish swimming around right underneath you. Alas, when we were there, the waves were fairly strong and we didn’t see any fish. Still, it was really nice, and it was cool to visit the World’s Best Beach even if we didn’t get the world’s best weather. A few days after our visit, they closed the island for planned conservation during the monsoon season.
Cream and I made our way back to town and capped off the evening with some more pleasures of city life. We went to the mall and ate at MK, one of our favorite places for hot pot, before grabbing a tasty bubble tea and even some Auntie Annie’s pretzel sticks. From there, we stopped by Chinta Market, which has some fun Japanese decor and flair, before walking back home in an on-and-off rain.
Trang is famous for its dim sum, and in the morning, we ate at a place by our hotel. I also tried some traditional Thai coffee, called olieng, which is a sweet iced coffee with hints of star anise and cardamom. Delicious!
Koh Lipe, Satun
After breakfast, our island hopping trip continued. From Trang, we had a 2-hour van ride to Pakbara Pier, where we boarded a 1.5-hour speedboat to Koh Lipe in Satun province.
As a fun side-story, the speedboat broke down shortly into our trip, prompting an extra 1-hour wait on the water followed by a wavy transfer to another boat, which took us the rest of the way. They passed out bags and a lot of people got seasick but Cream, assisted by medicine and a seasoned pro at this point, did not. (Although by now, we were getting a bit sick of boats.)
The new boat’s engines roared to life and people cheered and screamed like a roller coaster as our speedboat took huge leaps over 10- to 20-foot waves. As we continued on, Langkawi, Malaysia, could be seen on the horizon as a reference point. We had made our way all the way down the coast to Thailand’s southernmost islands, and eventually, we arrived at Pattaya Beach in Koh Lipe.
Once more, we sifted our feet through the ultra-pure sands; this time, the color was somewhere in between Krabi’s bleached white and Trang’s mellow tan, and once more, it was ultra-fine, ultra-pure, and ultra-soft. I have nothing against Thailand’s east coast, but to me, all the west coast beaches are simply perfect.
Cream and I checked into our hotel – a tiny, quiet bungalow up on a hill. Basically just a bed and a bathroom. Nothing too luxurious, of course, but when visiting a remote paradise island, it’s the right vibe. We took the stairs down the cliffside for lunch at the hotel’s restaurant by Sunset Beach, followed by a short walk into town. It’s a tiny island and is very walkable.
As we entered town, we found an abundance of Malaysian roti, martabak, and teh tarik stands. Personally, teh tarik is my favorite beverage of all time and I think martabak and roti are delicious, so I was very pleased to enjoy the southern cross-culture.
Cream and I reached Walking Street, the center of town, but we were a bit disappointed to find that so much was closed. At the end of May, well into the low season, many of the island’s business owners had closed up for the summer and skipped town. Still, we relaxed with a good-quality massage.
The weather was not bad but not great; cloudy with on-and-off light rain. We checked some scuba diving shops to see their offerings and inquired if the weather and visibility would be good enough to dive. They said probably, and we thought about it for the evening before grabbing some excellent seafood – grilled snails and fish, both tender and fresh – and headed home to our jungle bungalow. Jungalow?
The following day, we opted for a snorkeling trip instead of diving. If you ever visit Koh Lipe, snorkeling should be at the top of your list. It’s a small island in a tightly bunched archipelago, and there are tons of superb snorkeling and diving spots throughout. A bit tired of boat trips, we opted for a short itinerary visiting some of the closest islands, each just 10-20 minutes away.
I snorkeled five times throughout the day trip, and every single spot was phenomenal. I even saw a pufferfish, some clownfish, four squid, and some underwater sea snakes (those spooked me!). The coral formations were huge, colorful, and impressive. Cream felt seasick after the first round of snorkeling, so she stayed and lay down on the boat while I was in the water. We also stopped off at another stunning beach in Tarutao National Park which we had almost entirely to ourselves.
Coming back to Koh Lipe, our captain dropped us off at east-facing Sunrise Beach. This was my favorite of Lipe’s three main beaches. It had that wonderful, pure sand, and Sunrise Beach is made even more unique and charming by the dozens of longtail boats that perch just offshore in the crystal clear water. We stopped at a beachside restaurant for some tasty Thai lunch before wandering around the walking street a bit more.
We had originally planned to stay on Koh Lipe for three days, but the weather wasn’t great, the jungalow’s bed wasn’t super comfortable and we weren’t sleeping well, and the town was rather dull with so many closed shops and restaurants, so we decided to cut it a day early and head out in the morning.
Hat Yai, Songkhla
I enjoyed visiting all these islands a lot, but for me, the last part of the trip was my favorite – perhaps because our home island has wonderful beaches anyway. Cream and I took the 1.5-hour speedboat back to the mainland (no breakdowns this time), followed by a 2.5-hour van ride to Hat Yai in Songkhla province.
Located less than 30 miles from the Malaysian border, Hat Yai is a gem that’s hidden in plain sight. Even though you’ll spot it on any map of Thailand, virtually no Western tourists seem to go there, although a lot of Malaysians and Singaporeans do. Deep in Thailand’s south, it’s a predominantly Muslim city, meaning you get a fairly different variety of Thai food and culture. It’s also huge, as Thailand’s 3rd largest metropolitan area behind Bangkok and Chiang Mai.
We hopped off the van at Central Festival Hat Yai, the city’s biggest shopping mall, and immediately popped down in Starbucks for a refreshing taste of civilization. (I’ve never been crazy about Starbucks, but something about living on an island without one makes me crave it any time I visit a decent-sized city.) We browsed the mall, joining swarms of locals out for some weekend shopping, and eventually grabbed some sushi.
In the evening, we took a short ride to get a haircut, and then wandered over to some of Hat Yai’s famous night markets. We started at Greenway, which was staggeringly enormous, with a giant food court to boot. I ordered a Malaysian roti canai with curry, another teh tarik, and some ramen noodles, while Cream munched on a super-spicy southern seafood curry. (Did you know: the southern part of Thailand has the spiciest food in the country – by far?)
We perused through the endless aisles of infinite cute T-shirts and jeans before making our way a few blocks over to ASEAN Night Bazaar, yet another giant night market. There, we wandered still more narrow walkways densely packed with shops and merchandise. I even bought a few shirts – something I haven’t done in years, it seems – before we headed back home.
Our Songkhla Circuit Day Tour
In the morning, we rented a motorbike and made our way to Chokdee Dim Sum, one of the most famous dim sum restaurants in Thailand. Despite the long queue, they worked fast and had us seated within ten minutes. On our way in, we chose different bite-size dishes for them to steam. We also ordered some excellent bak kut teh soup, with tender pork ribs that slid right off the bone. By the time we stacked almost twenty little wooden dim sum dishes, we were more stuffed than ever.
Cream and I drove out of downtown on our way to Hat Yai’s Magic Museum by Black Crystal, a magician and recipient of the Merlin Award, the highest international honor in the craft. The museum had an exhibit of elaborate wall and floor paintings that appear like 3D in photos. We snapped pictures of ourselves on cliffs, with mermaids, and trapped inside Einstein’s lab beakers and flasks. Then, Black Crystal himself performed a marvelous magic show with different levitating objects flying around the room, people cut in half (yet somehow unharmed), birds stuck in people’s mouths, and a helicopter that appeared out of nowhere. It was great showmanship and very fun!
Near the Magic Museum, we drove through Hat Yai Municipal Park up the mountain to the cable car station (long closed). The Buddhist temple and observatory there held a beautiful view over the city and valley below, watched over by a golden standing Buddha. To our right, we could see all the way to Thailand’s eastern coast.
We drove another 30 minutes to reach Songkhla city, an older, smaller town along the Gulf of Thailand. The road led along a quiet beach for miles until we eventually reached Samila Beach, where another few miles of beach stretched out along a small peninsula. The iconic Golden Mermaid statue stood out against the sands – empty in the afternoon sun – with a few picturesque islands off the coast.
Cream and I explored Songkhla’s traditional fishing-town setting, seemingly untouched by years of tourism. The old town featured more colorful architecture and street art, with many old buildings converted into trendy cafes.
We stopped into a cafe to sit back and relax with a delicious craft coffee. I chatted in Thai with the barista, who had just returned from working in Montana, USA. They offered us a delicious cream puff to taste as we were getting ready to go. The locals in Hat Yai and Songkhla seemed especially friendly and welcoming, perhaps because visitors are fewer and further between here.
After wandering around the old town a bit more – which closely resembles Phuket’s old town, in case you were curious – we developed a small appetite and stopped over in Koh Yoh at Srirada Restaurant, a popular place along the water. We ate the freshest calamari and biggest mussels I’ve ever had while staring out at long wooden walkways over the shallows, used for fishing and shellfish farming.
As the day wore on, we made our way to the Central Mosque of Songkhla Province. The white domes soared high above a long water feature, surrounded by turrets. Some guys invited me in and gave me snacks and coffee; Cream couldn’t come in because she was wearing shorts (apparently that’s only a dealbreaker for women). We chatted a bit in Thai and they enthusiastically welcomed me when they heard I was from the New York area.
I excused myself to stroll along the perimeter of the mosque to get a view of the sunset. Even from the huge mosque’s heights, it was tough to see the sunset beyond the palm trees, so I joined Cream again and we wandered around the water feature for some more great views.
It had been a long day at this point – all the above was in one day, mind you – but we had one more place to check out on our little road trip through Songkhla province. We headed to Khlong Hae Floating Market, where huge crowds of people swarmed around food vendors on boats. The dishes were the same as the average Thai night market; the experience’s novelty comes from the floating chef. We were tired and didn’t eat anything, but it was still pretty cool and impressively big. Even in this very touristy location, I only saw one other Western tourist – the only other Westerner I saw in three days in Hat Yai.
As one final stop on our way home, we drove through downtown Hat Yai to grab bingsu, a Korean shaved ice dessert. Cream and I both love this dish, so we were excited to be in a city where we could finally find it. After savoring the sweet and cold ice, we headed home for a well-earned rest.
Hat Yai Shopping
On the last full day of our trip, Cream and I explored Hat Yai city a bit more. We started off at Decha Kai-Tod (Decha Fried Chicken), which is probably Thailand’s most famous fried chicken restaurant. Fun fact, Hat Yai is the home of Thai fried chicken; even when you eat it in Chiang Mai or Bangkok, they’ll call it “Hat Yai fried chicken” – kind of like “Texas barbecue.” The origin story is simple: Southern Thailand is mostly Muslim, and fried chicken is halal.
The fried chicken was delicious indeed, along with one last teh tarik. We ordered a few more dishes – egg with melinjo leaves, a local specialty, plus amok seafood curry served from a coconut. The food was tasty but on the greasy side and we quickly felt extremely full. I think just fried chicken would have been enough; we were stuffed and could barely look at food for hours afterwards.
We headed to Kim Yong Market, not to be confused with Kim Yong Un (bad joke), to walk off the food at Hat Yai’s largest fresh market. It was tightly packed with an array of single-file alleys that each stretched for a couple hundred meters. The markets in Hat Yai truly are huge! Different snacks and clothes were being sold at bargain prices. Cream picked up a few variety packs of oat cookies to give to her coworkers.
Cream and I wandered the streets and soon stumbled across Wat Chue Chang, a giant Chinese-Buddhist temple with a stunning exterior of terracotta ceramics and paintings. We walked around the first floor and admired the statues of golden Buddhas and elders. People left huge offerings of fresh food for the ghosts and spirits to eat.
We rode to Robinson’s, which is like Thailand’s version of Macy’s, and I bought a few more shirts. Then, we headed back to Central Festival Hat Yai for some more shopping, where I got another couple pairs of shorts. We stopped by Starbucks again and Cream picked up her new favorite jacket – a thermal shell from Uniqlo. As crazy as this sounds, it feels great to buy some new stuff again. Eventually, we finished off with a trip to the movies, where we saw Fast and Furious X.
In the morning, we checked out of our hotel, returned the motorbike, and hopped on a 4.5-hour van ride and a 2-hour ferry to get back home to Koh Phangan.
A 10-Day Tour of Southern Thailand
All in all it was a great trip. Even though we traveled at a fairly fast pace, with four hours or so of travel every couple days, both Cream and I feel extremely refreshed and rejuvenated. We scratched the itch to get off our remote island for a bit, and it was nice to take some time off work too. Heck, I even took enough pressure off myself to eat dinner and meat again for the first time in months. I had been very stressed and in retrospect, I may have been working too hard.
It’s a good reminder that relaxing and enjoying the ride is not always a bad thing. We made some memories, saw some wonderful off-the-beaten path sites, and even brought home some souvenirs and new clothes. The hilarious and painfully ironic thing is that, even though I’ve lived abroad for close to two years, I still have to force myself to do these things.
Now we’re back to work, but we’re still taking it at a relaxed and easy pace. A few friends have visited me on Koh Phangan recently, and it’s been enjoyable to share in their delight at the island’s remote beauty. I’ve been appreciating it a lot more too.
Cream and I plan to be here another few months before moving onto our next step, still TBD. Until then, thanks for joining the ride. I hope you enjoyed our trip as much as we did!
See you soon,
Andrew
P.S. Which of these places would you like to visit the most? Let me know in the comments, and check out the photo galleries too: Phi Phi Islands | Trang | Koh Lipe | Hat Yai
Lol! With all that food, I’d need new shirts too! Good thing we did a buffet last night. Otherwise I’d be very hungry now! Glad your trip went so well. Great that you’re getting to see so much out there.
Thanks! Yeah, it was really amazing!
Pics are beautiful! Sounds like you both had a great time!! 🙂
We sure did 🙂 Glad you enjoyed!