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| Sunset at Andalay Beach on Koh Libong |
Koh Libong is the largest island of the Trang province, in southern Thailand. It is the home of a
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| Map of Koh Libong |
friendly Muslim community. It is also a renown natural refuge for the endangered dugongs, a marine mammal often mistaken for mermaids in the Antiquity. Koh Libong has a few resorts, particularly on the western sunset beach. There are a number of fine beaches, cleaner and deprived of the trash pollution found on other neighboring islands. The local community has installed a
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| Sunst Beach at low tide |
system for collecting plastic refuse in the villages. This type of positive action needs to be advertised widely in order to become a safeguarding rule for the natural environment of the region. The sunset beach resorts have a daily policy of cleaning the beach. Consequently, the sea-water is crystal clear and the golden sand is kept deprived of glass, plastic, or any other form of trash.
Getting to Koh Libong.
The quickest way to reach the island is to fly directly to Trang Airport from Bangkok with Thai Air Asia. It takes about two hours from Krabi to reach the ferry pier and then get to the eastern side of the island.
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| From BKK to KBV |
I chose to fly THAI from Suvarnabhumi Airport to Krabi, and then take the daily shuttle van to the pier via the scenic sight of Pak Meng Beach, down on the coastline.
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| Map of the coastal area |
Once at the Hat Yao Ban Chao Mai Pier, the transfer to Koh Libong is done by long-tail boats.
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| Stilt houses at Baanprow |
Everything is well oiled and easy in Thailand. At the pier, tugged below one of the typical karst rock mountains found in the region, there are a few places to rest, drink and eat. I would recommend the Chinese stilt restaurant with a large shaded terrace and a view over the open sea. Sadly, the locals have set a price (5B) to make use of the restrooms, a practice I find a bit questionable but which has probably been implemented by the afflux of tourists being dispatched to many of the outer islands in the Andaman Sea from here.
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| Hat Yao Ban Chao Mai |
Once aboard a long-tail boat, it takes less than 30' to get to the eastern Koh Libong harbor, called Baanprow.There, local tuk-tuks or open minivans dispatch the visitors across the island. Most people do not take the time to have a look at this small community, almost entirely built on stilts and surrounded by mangroves.
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| Aboard a long-tail boat |
On Koh Libong.
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| Rubber-tree plantation |
The island inner countryside has nothing specific to crave for. The flat part of the island has a few villages. The local economy is based on rubber-trees that seem to be the main asset along with fishing. Tourism is on the rise, so it provides another fresh source of income. There are a couple of fairly high mountains with dense tropical forests.
On the other hand, the coast is truly lovely. A tour of the island can be arranged with the possibility to encounter the marine dugong population.
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View from the lookout
at low tide |
The largest Muslim community is on the south coast at Baan Batuputea. Part of this fishermen village is built on stilts along the bay. This is where there is a long causeway that seems to be a favorite spot among the younger generation. A high tower has been built at its extremity and is advertised as a dugong viewpoint, provided it is not low tide.
There are a few convenience stores here and there and it is never a problem to find a place to eat Thai food or some fresh seafood at a very reasonable price.
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| Seafood platter |
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| Shrimp fried rice with a young coconut |
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Mosque at the Fisherman
village |
I noticed that the islanders speak a dialect close to Bahasa Malayu as many names are clearly of Malay origin. The name of the Fisherman Village for instance has the word Batu, which means 'stone' in the Malay language; the local mosque [jamid] uses the word Pulau ('island'). Some people do not even speak Thai, as I experienced it on a couple of occasions.
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| The Andaman sea at a Koh Libong isolated cove |
The natural environment.
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| Tropical marine flower on a bach |
There are shells and coral on beaches, as well as coconut trees and morning glories; there are Nypa palms in the mangrove areas. Of course, there are many different kinds of birds, a few monkeys and cats all over the place; but no dogs, because this is a Muslim community.
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| A dugong reaching the surface to watch the boat |
The main sea attraction are the dugongs (it will be the topic of a separate article ). I saw that the seafloor channel near the coast, between Baanprow Harbor and Tohkay Bay, is literally full of sea-stars.
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| Water bridge on a secluded beach |
The rock topography of the island – as well as the whole region - is made of karst formed from the dissolution of limestone, dolomite, and gypsum.
Some of the beaches can only be reached by boats, but the main beach facing sunset is absolutely wonderful and sparsely frequented as locals avoid the sun and the tourist population is kept to a minimum.
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| At the Andalay Beach Resort |
Island resorts.
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| Andalay Beach |
Most of the island resorts are on sunset beach near Baan Lang Khao village. I remember that Libong Beach Resort is quite a middle-range pleasant place to have a relaxing time on the beach.
I chose to go for a splurge at Andalay Beach Resort , a fine resort, particularly if you choose their garden bungalows. They offer a free use of a mountain bike, if you are keen to explore the island in this manner.
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| The view from Andalay Beach Resort |
There are many little local restaurants at Baan Lang Khao, where the food is good and really cheap.
My first impression of Koh Libong was not too positive. But I was wrong, because the island is a
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| Sailing on the Andaman |
great place to rest and enjoy, particularly with so many smiling people around. This is not a usual cliché, as I live in Thailand and often find this totally overrated. The islanders are extremely friendly and I hope they will remain this way...as long as not too many tourists come here. Fortunately, Koh Libong still seems to be off the radar of the tourist industry!
Christian Sorand
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| The harmony of an evening on Andalay Beach, Koh Libong. |
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