A travel gem in the Andaman Sea - Koh Mook

If you have to define a paradise I don't think there is just one right answer. For me it's a small place with fine white sand on a beautiful beach, palm trees and sunshine and it's somewhere secluded and not too touristy. When our ferry took us to Koh Mook I instantly felt like I could stay there for a longer time even before we got to our bungalow and that this place fits my definition of a paradise perfectly. There were small restaurants and travel agencies next to the pier but you could instantly tell that tourism hasn't affected the infrastructure too much yet.

Arriving to the tropical paradise

Quiet streets of Koh Mook

Everything is basically within walking distance in Koh Mook. When you arrive to the pier there is a taxi service (motorbikes with carts) which costs 50thb per person and takes you anywhere on the island. We opted to walk and see the area as we go. Thailand is called the land of smiles and in Koh Mook it really holds true. Local people were always smiling and greeting regardless if you ate at the restaurant next to theirs and they were being nice and helpful without trying to sell anything or benefit some other way. When we were in Phuket and Phi Phi it could get annoying when there's constantly someone trying to sell you something, probably even talking your own language a bit ("Terve, mitä kuuluu?!"). There those famous smiles feel sometimes forced.

On the first day we went to look around after checking in to Village Garden Bungalows. We bumped into a nice bar on the beach (De Tara Beach Resort's bar) and had the place entirely to ourselves if you don't count the little snake that we saw a moment earlier. After some refreshments we made our way to Farang Beach on the other side of the island to have some late lunch. On the way we saw an adorable (and the only?) village and the nature was beautiful as well. Enjoying a good and cheap meal while the sun was getting down and the waves were hitting the beach gently was just perfect and one of those moments you look back to many times in the future. It can't get much better than this but our dinner in Yummy Restaurant later on made it a bit better still. A seafood hotplate served in a flavorful coconutty sauce was a wonderful way to end our first day in Mook.

De Tara's bar

Views from the road to Farang Beach 

Beautiful nature of Koh Mook

Farang Beach sunset

On the second day we did a snorkeling trip around the island including a visit to the Emerald Cave. Basically there's only a small opening and you swim through it and after a little less than 100 meters in the darkness the daylight starts to show and you arrive on this small beach. Our guide had a small flashlight with him but the cave is still really dark. Steep rock walls surround the beach and the story goes that pirates hid their treasures there a long time ago... The cave was definitely worth a visit and we saw lots of different fish while snorkeling so I really recommend doing the trip. We stopped in various locations and the guide was snorkeling with us and showing us best places to spot fish. The whole trip took us 3 hours and it was 1200thb for the boat regardless of how many people attended.

Next day we found a great place to eat breakfast (Sugar's Coffee & Restaurant) right next to a quiet beach with some beautiful scenery. We could have just sat there for hours. Later we headed to De Tara's bar for drinks and from there we took a walk on the beach around the sharp peninsula. There's an expensive resort there but the beach is free to wander around. Other than that we were just chilling the rest of the day, just as you should once in paradise :)

Getting to Koh Mook 

You can get to Koh Mook and the neighboring islands Koh Ngai and Koh Kradan either from Koh Lanta or from the mainland through Trang. Many travel agencies sell the ferry or speedboat tickets and they should also include the transport from the hotel to the pier. Our tickets from Koh Lanta cost us 600tbh per person and we bought them straight from our own hotel's travel agent.

Also remember to bring cash, there are no ATMs on the island. Some places change money though. 

The entrance to the Emerald Cave 

On the other side of the cave

Plenty of life under the surface 

A starfish

Breakfast at Sugar's Coffee 

Bumpy ride to Koh Lipe with Sunburn Express 

You can get from Koh Mook to Koh Lipe either by a speedboat or with a ferry. The high season in Thailand is just getting started so right now there's only the speedboat option. So we got the tickets for it (1300tbh per person) the previous day and woke up early so we had time to go to Sugar's Coffee again. We had a pick up at 10 am and the motorbike taxi took us to the pier. The speedboat was supposed to leave at 11.00. We waited. And waited. And then... we waited some more. This is quite common in Southeast Asia and you should try to just stay calm, because the conception of time is, umm, somewhat different here than in many western countries. Luckily our speedboat was only one hour behind the schedule and at noon we left Koh Mook behind us. I would definitely like to get back there and visit Koh Ngai and Koh Kradan also  someday. There were seats inside but we stayed in the front enjoying the sun. Our plan was to stay there for half an hour or so and after that get in the shade. But as the boat flew through the waves and the wind cooled us down we kind of forgot our plan.. And got, unsurprisingly, little sunburned. The ride was bumpy and fun though. 

We stayed in Koh Lipe for two nights but there's not much to tell about it. There should be some nice snorkeling and diving opportunities but we didn't take any trips there. Other than that it felt similar to Koh Phi Phi, tourists filling the walking street and restaurants selling western dishes and playing western music (if you do stay here try pizza or burgers at Elephant). All in all an ok place to visit but I would not want to stay there longer.

- Matias 

Waiting for the speedboat 

Our route so far