This page starts with a movie taken from the motorbike trek around the island. It features the three main 'suspended' fishing villages of Ao Salat in the north, Klong Maad and Ao Yai in the south of Koh Kood.
Decided not to use the bike on a second day. We'd explored about 90% of the navigable island so we gave it a miss. The only parts we didn't investigate were the two or three remaining waterfalls which, at this time of year, are a waste of time 'cos there's simply no water in the rivers.
Started the day at 07:00 with a swim in the sea and a stint of frisby. Sea lovely and warm and calm. Aom had never heard of a frisby before but she soon got the hang of it. We had the entire visible beach to ourselves. Fantastic.
That swim and water activity certainly makes sure of a good appetite and a hearty breakfast was enjoyed after which we dossed back in our suite for several hours.
It was around noon when we decided to do something, so we walked to the far end of Shantaa to a rocky beach and did some snorkeling.
It was somewhat tricky to get into deeper water from the beach so I decided we just snorkel along the shoreline and exit the sea at the sandier part of the shore about 300 meters away. Lots of fish and a fair bit of coral to see.
After traipsing back to our base at the far end, a swift Singha beer was called for at the beach-bar. This was followed by Aom's passion for Papaya salad which she consumed while I had a coffee.
There are several Dive-Centres here on Koh Kood and I had hoped to get a dive or two in, but I've been afflicted by a mild but irritating bug which has bunged-up my sinuses in past few days. Even snorkelling down to 3 or 4 metres is bloody painful. So that's that off the to-do list; there's at least one decent wreck-dive here too. Ho-hum.
TUESDAY 24th: Awake late this morning at 8:00 and it's absolutely p***ing down outside. The first rains in months. the bloody mozzies are going to love this so it'll be out with the jungle-formula DEET this evening.
Well that was short-lived, the baking sun's back with a vengeance.
What's strange here that in the morning the windows and glass-door are smothered in condensation. Just like winter in UK. The only difference being is that the condensation streaming is on the OUTSIDE of the glass. That's air-con for you.
Aom not too well this morning, maybe something she ate last night. So, no very early morning swim today (yet).
Madam feeling better now so it was back in the nice warm sea for an hours fooling about with frisby and swimming.
The coral sand is dazzling white and the sea turquoise and with the tall palms it really is a perfect idyllic setting.
After the swim we had lunch in one of our beach-bars; God life's so tough here!!
Walked down along the beach to the bar on Sea Far resort we've been to before. It's much better than Shantaa's which is, frankly, boring. The staff at Sea Far are less formal and stuffy, and, it has to be said, cheaper. We stayed here until it was too late to walk back to Shantaa and eat so we ordered food at Sea Far. Nothing like as good food as Shantaa but highly edible nonetheless.
I noticed a couple of large conche type shells on the bar. They are used as ashtrays would you believe; back in UK they'd easily fetch £40+, but they're so "available" here they leave them lying about or used as everyday objects. I asked the barman if they were for sale but he said probably not and he'd have to ask his boss. Anyway, after a few more drinks I reckon he thought we were such good customers and along with Aom's persuasive charm he gave me the smaller of the two. Unperturbed, I later offered 500 Baht for the larger one and a deal was struck. Back down the beach through the surf, Aom taking time to sample the palm-tree swing on the way... crazy. A good night. Here's a short movie of our along-the-beach pub-crawl
TOP LEFT: The 2 conche-shells I haggled for and bought.
TOP RIGHT: Our friendly Vietnamese barman, Ga.
BOTTOM: Aom clowning on the palm-tree swing on the way back from the beach bar, clutching the bag of conches I just haggeled for.
WEDNESDAY 25th: Our last full day on Koh Kood. We were woken by the sound of heavy rumbles of thunder at 06:00, heavy rain too. The storm seemed to centred in the mountains behind us to the east. Eventually, the rumbles lessened as the storm moved over into Cambodia. By the end of breakfast at 08:00 the sun was blasting the ground; back to normal.
As it was our last day here we decided to do as much as possible. To start with we borrowed one of the kayaks and paddled around the pier and along the shore to a rocky reef some 300 metres away. We beached the kayak and snorkelled out and beyond the reef. Seawater temperature 33ºC (according to my Suunto). Well worth it as the vis was good and the corals and fish plentiful. Rather than swim back over the same ground we carried on completely circumnavigating the reef. A stroll back to the beached boat and we wee off again.
However, we carried on way past Shantaa and eventually rounded the distant headland, some 2 miles. Sea calm and clear if not a little on the hot side (37ºC). Made our way back slowly and dossed on one of the coral beaches for a while before the next swim and frisby chucking. Spot of late lunch followed by yet another swim.
Started on the big bore... packing. Best we get most of it out of the way this evening before dinner.
TOP: Just a couple of poses.
CENTRE LEFT: And a couple of beach huts.
CENTRE RIGHT: The deputy photographer.
BOTTOM LEFT: The food is truly excellent at Shantaa.
BOTTOM RIGHT: Aom ordering our dinner.
LEFT: Al-fresco bathtime wearing a bikini. RIGHT: Aom on a rock.
THURSDAY 26th: GOODBYE KOH KOOD. Civilisation beckons. Finished off packing and had an early 07:30 breakfast. Paid the balance of the bill, mainly dinners; surprisingly, the alcohol bill was small if not tiny; I must try harder next time.
09:15 and it's pick-up time from Shantaa for the 10kms lift to Ao Salat where our ferry/taxi boat awaits.
REFLECTIONS ON KOH KOOD:
YES! I would come here again, most definitely! The island is gorgeous. I've never seen so many coconut palms in any one place; the place is awash with them. The beaches are stunning to say the least; the coral sand is near white and the sea is, on average 30-32ºC and is clear turquoise.
The island has NO nightlife; no late bars, no discos, no night clubs. It's unspoilt, natural and beautiful. The only touristy bits are the secluded resorts. There are no high-rise hotels (highest is 3 storeys I think).
As for our resort, Shantaa, I have mixed feelings. It's flagged as No.1 on Koh Kood according to TripAdvisor and has 5*. Personally I would give it 4* at best.
The Good: Superb food. Said to be the best on the island and, in my opinion it certainly is.
Location is OK and the grounds are well laid out. The service is excellent and place exudes peace and quiet. The suites (or sweets as they call them) are clean and well maintained if not a touch small. NO TV... a big plus.
The Less Good: Shantaa has not got its own sandy beach. One has to venture under or over the hideous concrete pier to get to the long stretch of beautiful beach. All Shantaa has is rocky coves where access to the sea is painful over boulders.
That brings me to the scar and blemish on the beauty of this part of the island; namely the crumbling concrete edifice which stretches out from the edge of Shantaa. It's an absolute eyesore. It's also dangerous as large sections are falling from the underside, so much so that the resort have roped off parts to stop people going beneath.
The pier also attracts boats (of course). However, these are commercial boats with stinking diesel engines. One boat, one of the ferries to Trat, insists on leaving its engine running every morning from 07:00 until it leaves at 09:00, quite an irritation particularly as their diesel exhaust fumes get blown into the resort.
Little niggles about the suite too. There's no tea/coffee making, no kettle. I'm an early riser and often like a brew while I do a crossword or read my book before heading off for breakfast. Similarly, there's no fridge. They supply bottled drinking-water every day but a small fridge to my mind is a must. Drinking water at an ambient 33º is hardly refreshing.
But I am not going to let these niggles spoil the time we both had on Koh Kood because we had a fantastic time. Getting away from the resort and exploring was well worth the effort.
In short, come to Koh Kood, it's absolutely gorgeous.
TOP LEFT: Rent-a-mob. Water-taxi/ferry Koh Kood back to Trat.
TOP RIGHT: Chaos and disorganisation at the mainland ferry terminal.
BOTTOM: Koh Kood car ferry... 2 cars on an old fishing boat.
