Whilst my parents left us to
spend five nights on Phuket, Ric and I took a one hour flight to Hat Yai, on
the Thai side of the Malaysia-Thailand border. As we left Kuala
Lumpur we unknowingly bid farewell to the sun, as horizontal rain
greeted us upon landing back in Thailand
From Hat Yai we travelled
three hours west to the port town of Pakbara
As the rain persisted the
next day we boarded a speed boat to Koh Bulon Leh, a tiny island off the west
coast of southern Thailand
I believe Koh Bulon Leh is
one of the few Thai islands that have not been completely spoiled by tourism;
there are no roads, no vehicles and electricity is supplied for just two hours
a day from a generator. Fishing remains to be a major source of income for the
inhabitants of this paradise island and the tourist accommodation is unimposing
on the stunning landscape. You can walk from one end of the island to the other
in just 20 minutes, along a narrow path through thick jungle.
We stayed at the School
Bungalows, located as the name suggests, at the local primary school, just on
the edge of the playing fields, 5m away from the beach.
The main beach is a long
stretch of soft white sand that leads down to turquoise clear water, full of
colourful fish and big crabs. There was plenty of room for the scattering of
tourists to sunbathe without the beach feeling crowded.
On our final night before
leaving the island we were drifting off to sleep in our rustic hut when
somebody climbed onto our veranda and illuminated the room with a torch. The
intruder turned out to be a middle aged German man with no concept of manners –
he was sizing up our balcony for hanging his hammock the next morning. Banging
on the wall and telling him we were sleeping didn’t put him off his inspection
and Ric had to get out of bed, go outside and tell him to clear off.
Unbelievably, the next day he turned up again at the crack of dawn and once
again started inspecting our bungalow whilst we were still inside! My sarcastic
comments of “you’re certainly concerned
about this hammock” fell completely on deaf ears and he continued to lean
over onto our veranda snooping around. Finally, when he asked if he could come
inside and look at the table I lost my temper and told him to clear off. He’s a
clear winner for the Weirdest Weirdo Award!
We Stayed At…
School Bungalows: 500baht
(£10) per night, great location but overpriced considering the extent of their rustic charm.
How To Get To…
Koh Bulon Leh: Speed boat
from Pakbara costs 400baht (£8) and takes 20-minutes. The speed boat stops
offshore and you must take a longtail boat to the beach 50baht (£1) per person.
