The Blog of Michael Desrosiers: The Hong Islands

On a cloudy morning in the south of Thailand, Pinky and I hired a long-tail boat to take us on a private half-day tour to the Hong Islands, an adventure that started at Koh Hong, nearly an hour outside of Railay.

The sky was a bit dark, but we were hopeful that it wouldn't rain. Our little long-tail boat zipped out of the bay, bumping up and down as it hit the waves. The whole boat shook from the over-powered motor, and it was too noisy to speak. Instead, we enjoyed the fun ride and incredible scenery of the Andaman Sea.

Koh Hong

Koh Hong loomed out of the mist ahead of us, a jutting collection of limestone karsts sticking out of the sea at impossible angles. The karsts were carpeted in a thick jungle, and the remote island looked as if it were inviting us to adventure.

Koh Hong (Hong Island)

When we landed on the beach, the national park employee welcomed us, punched a hole in our national park entry ticket, and flipped a simple soccer-style scoreboard from "001" to "004". Besides the park ranger himself, Pinky, me, and our boat pilot were the only other humans on this quiet tropical island.

Pinky and me, our boat driver, and the national park employee were the only 4 people on the island.

We had arrived at the most famous location in Thanboke Khoranee National Park, and today, we were all about snorkeling! Neither Pinky nor I are a diver (yet!), but you don't have to go deep to see the beautiful and playful tropical fish that live off the coast of Thailand.

We disembarked from our boat and crossed the floating bridge to the island. the bridge bobbed and wobbled as we walked towards dry land. At one point, I stuck my waterproof camera off the side of the bridge and into the water for a few seconds, just to see what I could see. When I looked at the photos later, I was surprised!

walking to Koh Hong

There sure were fish, alright! Hundreds and hundreds of them, right off the bridge where we were walking!

fish!

We were going to have no trouble seeing sea life today.

and more fish

There's a little nature trail on the island. I was interested, but since both of us were only wearing beach-appropriate sandals, we didn't think it was a great idea. The island was beautiful; much more remote and wild than Koh Poda which we had visited on our last excursion just a few days before. While Koh Poda had offered shops, snacks, and places to stay, Koh Hong seemed totally wild and remote.

Koh Hong's nature trail

We hit the beach and snorkeled for a while. The sky was still a bit dark, but it was rapidly becoming sunnier and clearer.

the beach on Koh Hong

By the time we left Koh Hong, a few other visitors were starting to arrive. I feel like we got really lucky to have the island entirely to ourselves for a few hours!

our boat driver and guide

Hong Lagoon

we were the only people in the lagoon

We didn't go far, though. The boat turned sharply, cutting between two steep cliffs through the tiniest of gaps, so narrow that even the long-tail could barely squeeze through.

cruising into the lagoon

An emerald green lagoon encircled us, surrounded on every side by sharp cliff faces and dense jungles. The water was still as glass, and seemed to glow from the reflected light of the sun overhead. The most amazing part? Again, we were the only ones there. This hidden lagoon, normally a popular destination for tourists was not filled with the dozens of boats that would normally clog up the swimming area. Instead, our boat sat alone, surrounded on all sides by the tropical island and nothing but wild nature.

panoramic of Hong Lagoon

We swam for a bit in the lagoon. The water was perfectly still. All around, a beautiful and unforgettable experience.

in the quiet lagoon

Koh Daeng

Our final stop of the day, which took us on a 40-minute ride back towards Railay, was Koh Daeng.

cruising to Koh Daeng

The name means "red island", which is an appropriate name for the bright red rock which sticks out of the water looking totally unique from the limestone cliffs and karsts that are typical to the Andaman Sea.

Koh Daeng means "Red Island"

We had seen some fish already at Koh Hong, but Koh Daeng was supposed to be the best spot for diving and snorkeling in the area. The driver stopped the boat - again, we were the only ones for miles.

the island is one of the most popular diving spots in the area

Pinky and I donned our snorkels and masks and jumped into the crystal clear water off of Koh Daeng.

There were so many beautiful tropical fish, swimming like colorful jewels through the clear blue water! It was hard to photograph them - they were just swimming around too quickly - but I was able to capture a few with my camera.

underneath the water

We returned to Railay in mid-afternoon, tired from an exhausting day of swimming and adventure. While we benefited greatly from the lack of tourists, it was still a strange feeling. On one hand, it was a wonderful thing to have what felt like the entire Andaman Sea to ourselves. On the other hand, tourism in the south makes up the majority of the economy, and the local people are really hurting. The Thai government is really trying to encourage local domestic tourism while the borders are still closed. Hopefully that means that we can take another trip before the year is out.