It’s been a bit grey and damp here so I had a few days away in the big city but before that I took a few photos around the south east of the island.  A  friend visited from Bangkok and as she had never been in a kayak before I thought it’d be fun to paddle over to Koh Ngam.

The weather was good when we set off but the wind slowly picked up as we headed round the island and I had time to take a few pics of the oncoming storm. The sky was the blackest I had seen it for a long time and it was easy to see the wind and rain moving our way and being out in the sea on a little boat didn’t seem like the best position to be in, so we paddled like crazy to get back to land and made it with about 10 seconds to spare, getting out of the kayak when the wind and rain hit and then spending the next half hour sheltering in a closed restaurant which didn’t really provide much protection from the gale force wind and freezing* driving rain. ( * freezing is relative – under 20C for sure which is icy in these parts.)

Analay Resort on Koh Ngam has a colourful history.  The island was bought by a Thai businessman, the National Park then claimed it as theirs and took it off him.  They built a pier, office buildings and later a resort on the island but it never opened as in the mean time the previous owner took the National Park to court and after a few years won the case, getting his island plus the newly built resort back.  It could be a very nice resort but needs some sprucing up, as you won’t really see from the photos below as I just took a few of the beach and a couple of buildings like the penis shrine. ( Superstition has it that having a couple of extra large wooden dildos on display outside your business guarantees prosperity.)

Nearby, on the mainland, this resort has been under construction and seemingly ready to open for a year or two.  However, it should now open for the 2010-11 High Season. The owners, CP Group, don’t appear to be in any hurry and the place is usually locked up.  This time I passed it wasn’t and went to take a look around. Great views from all the bungalows.  One neat feature is that the rooms have a clear perspex area in the floor allowing guests to look at the sea, or mud & rocks depending on the tide, beneath them whilst in the room.

More photos of Koh Ngam and this resort in the ‘Far South East’ Photogallery

An apology to the people of the Ukraine and Russia.  The text on this sticker, which appeared to indicate ‘No blow jobs’, isn’t in Russian.  It is Ukrainian language.  So apologies to any Russian readers who took offence and apologies to Ukrainians who may have felt that Russian’s were getting credit for their sense of  ‘humour’.

And then yesterday, I spent time having my toes licked and sometimes chewed, by a wild piglet. No idea why he took a shine to me, my animal magnetism I guess.

If you liked this page then you might also be interested in:

1. June 21
2. June 23
3. Koh Chang Weather For June 2011