Longing for Similan
When Rachapreuk, or Golden Shower trees, the national tree of Thailand, come into bloom and flash their bright yellow blossoms everywhere in the country, it means summer has arrived and there is no better place to have fun than a clean beach with immaculate seawater. On the list of dreamiest coastal destinations, Similan Archipelago is near the top– just waiting for visitors who seek serenity. There were only two choices for me: to go there or to just have a look at a stunning postcard from the Tourism Authority of Thailand. You already know what my decision was.
Soon I found myself sitting on a big rented boat with a capacity of about 20 people spending a few hours traveling off the coast of Tublamu Pier in Phang-Nga Province, plowing through the white waves into the Andaman Sea. The destination ahead was Similan Islands National Marine Park.
It was in April, during the peak season for the islands. All the National Park’s bungalows were fully reserved by holidaymakers. Even the provided space for camping tents was almost fully engaged. I made the right decision to rent a sleeping boat with full facilities onboard, the same as a beach bungalow: bedrooms, toilets, living space, a kitchen, and a dining table, all enough to accommodate my group of about 20 people. Relaxing on the boat and letting the sea waves rock us to sleep was the concept of my journey.
The Similan complex of islands is located in the Andaman Sea, 70 kilometers off the mainland of Phang-Nga Province. “Similan” means “nine” in Malay as the archipelago consists of nine islands, but Similan Island is also the name given to the eighth island in the group. All nine islands have official names: Koh Hu Yong, Koh Payang, Koh Payan, Koh Miang, Koh Ha, Koh Bayu, Koh Hin Pousar, Koh Similan, and Koh Ba Ngu accordingly. Instead of the Malay names, most sailors prefer to call these islands by numbers one to nine from south up to north.
It was late in the afternoon as I approached Koh Miang, or Island No.4, where Similan Marine National Park’s headquarters is situated. After our boat anchored, we transferred to a small motorboat to the beachfront of the island.
Often, travelers are disappointed when they reach the actual places after being inspired by pictures from exaggeratedly vivid postcards. They may find the reality is much less attractive than illustrated on computer-generated card paper. But at my first glance, I thought the Similan Archipelago was no different from how it was illustrated in travel postcards, even on a cloudy day. The water is quite crystal-clear in turquoise and blue color vibrations. If it were fresh water instead of seawater, I’m sure Similan would be just like the big swimming pool of a six-star resort. But Similan has many other elements formed by nature to attract visitors. To my bare feet, the first touch of the powdery sand on the beach of Island No.4 was so impressive that this could be one of the reasons that Similan has become one of the most dreamed-of islands in the world.
The formation of different sized granite rocks in disarray covered with thick forest on the top makes the archipelago even more spectacular. Similan has lots of photo opportunities so I was happy to spend the entire afternoon exploring the island.
Koh Miang or Island No.4 is like the downtown of Similan Islands with a visitors’ center to provide tourists with basic facilities. Upon arriving on the island, visitors have to pay an entrance fee and then they can enjoy hopping to every island in the group that is open to the public.
From the main visitor area, I walked onto a small foot trail about 300 meters long that cuts through the abundant forest of the island to reach another beach, Haad Lek, located on the east side of the island. Along the walking route I could feel the density of trees of various sizes that have been standing on the island for ages, giving a sense of trekking into an unknown jungle on a secret island. After walking for a little while, I arrived at Haad Lek, a beautiful long beach, one of the most visited beaches of Similan Islands, located at the other end of the trail. Apart from natural beauty in this area, many peculiar-shaped rocks decorating the end of the beach are a strange attraction to the eyes.
This beach is also the habitat for the rare Hairy Legs Mountain Crab, called by local people ‘Pu Kai’ (Chicken Crab). This name comes from the noise it makes that is similar to the sound of a chick. Normally, the officers of the National Park Service will lead groups of tourists to the forest nearby the beach at around 8 p.m. to find this kind of crab. If you can hear the voice of chicks, they are not chicks but actually crabs.
Our boat moved from the front beach of Miang Island to anchor in front of Haad Lek waiting for us to finish the day’s activities on the beach and get back to the boat in the evening. Dinner onboard was easily prepared but quite impressive. The swaying boat by the waves made the meal more appetizing!
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The next morning, the loud noise of splashing water woke me from a good sleep. It was a few people in the group who couldn’t resist the allure of the crystal clear water as they jumped into the sea and swam like fish. It was to me too early to get wet but I did have the chance to witness a magnificent sunrise.
We were still floating on the east side of the fourth island where some of the most spectacular coral growths are hidden underneath the waves. It’s a very good site for snorkeling. While we had breakfast, the boat departed from where it was anchored to the other islands nearby.
The erosive action of wind and waves for over 65 million years created odd shapes in the islands, making our sea journey into the marvel of the Andaman Sea quite spectacular. As our boat proceeded to Island No.9, the northernmost island of the archipelago, we passed several islands and rocks sticking up from the emerald surface of water, surrounded by beautiful marine lives and corals reefs underneath the water offering fantastic skin diving experiences.
While we were enjoying water activities in front of Island No.9, people at the rear of the boat shouted out “Turtle! Turtle!” when they saw a couple of sea turtles swimming to our boat. They came very close to the boat, bobbing up to the water’s surface to breathe and making spurting noises. The boat crew seemed to know what to do next when the turtles approached the boat. He grabbed some bananas and ran quickly to the rear of the boat, then reached his hand with a peeled banana in it out above the surface of water. Suddenly, the turtle bobbed up to the surface to grab the banana with its mouth. The crew gave us some bananas to try feeding them too. It was a really impressive moment to get up close and personal with such rare ocean creatures. Normally, the turtles living in the Similan area are used to interacting with tourist boats. When any boat arrives, they will swim to the boat asking for bananas. After they have been fed by human hands, they will dive into the deep water and disappear.
We spent the whole morning skin diving and joyfully swimming at Island No.9 until afternoon. Then, the boat took us to Similan Island, or Island No.8, the largest island of the archipelago. During our approach to the beachfront I could see the ‘Sail Rock’, the most popular rock in sailboat shape usually seen on travel postcards as the symbol of Similan Islands. Climbing up to the famous rock is a must for anyone who goes there.
From Kurk Ma (Horseshoe) Bay where our boat was afloat, we were transferred to the beach by a small rubber motorboat. It took about 15 minutes walking on the trail up to the Sail Rock but it was really worth the effort, as the Sail Rock is also the perfect location for stunning sunsets.
Another walking trail leads to the viewpoint of Island No.8 where you can see Island No.9 surrounded by natural wonders. Every angle from every viewpoint on Similan Islands always provides breathtaking sights to the eyes.
The huge red sun gradually descended to the Andaman Sea. Day and night always move so fast when you have the utmost pleasurable time like I had on this island. I was standing on the top of the hill watching many tourist boats arriving at the island and finally realized why numerous sea lovers always long for this group of islands.
Going to Similan
The best way to access the island is to fly to Phuket International Airport. From Phuket, there are plenty of tour agencies that offer tour packages to Similan Islands and you need prepare nothing but your swimsuit.
There is an overnight public bus from Bangkok’s Southern Bus Terminal to Tublamu Pier, the nearest point to the island. It is available daily. From the pier, you may rent a boat or buy an island package from a local tour agent.
Similan National Marine Park is closed during the monsoon season on 16 May to 15 November each year. The best time to visit the islands is during 16 November – 15 May every year.
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