When I dream of Thailand, I think of an isolated white beach with crystalline water and lush palm trees dripping with coconuts. That is also what Alex Garland’s novel “The Beach” famously captured, the quest for the most legendary beach, untouched by mass tourism, a plunge into authentic Thai life that surrounds it.
“You fish, swim, eat, laze around, and everyone’s so friendly. It’s such simple stuff, but… If I could stop the world and restart life, put the clock back, I think I’d restart it like this. For everyone,” he wrote about Thailand. The novel that was adapted to the blockbuster hit chronicles the quest of a young backpacker’s search for a legendary beach untouched by mass tourism and his time there with the small community of backpackers.
Of course, this led to mass tourism to Thailand, specifically the Ko Phi Phi Leh island on the glittering Maya Bay that brought with it thousands of tourists, and what some locals would say the tarnishing of natural beauty. Over the years, the number of tourists increased from less than 1,000 a day to as many as 7,000 or 8,000 visitors a day at its peak. Many were day trippers visiting from nearby Phuket. On average, around 5,000 people entered the bay each day. A distant past from the raw, exclusive natural paradise Garland wrote about enlightening our fantasies of a tropical nirvana.
Mushroom cave
When you consider that Thailand has 1,430 islands, could it be that other islands still hold that pristine raw untouched beauty we dream of finding? And how does one choose? It depends on what you want, but if the spirit of finding something that feels pristine, the remote Ko Kood with its economy centered around fishing, agriculture, and some tourism, today, this island captures the essence of what Garland wrote about. An oasis still pristine and barely adulterated.
The fastest way to get around and get a taste for this bohemian island is on a scooter. Locals smile and wave “S̄wạs̄dī!” As you whiz by. Farmers sell their locally grown fruits along the road, jewel toned longan, salak, passion fruit, tamarind, mango and coconuts are stacked high. Here there are no chain stores, and it’s shockingly uncrowded.
An ecological bungalow hotel called A la Koh Kood is nestled between the Khlong Hin Haad beach and a small lagoon where you can kayak among the mangroves. Its a little taste of an oasis. A man who works the front desk tells us he moved here from Myanmar when the war began, “Its wonderful here, I am so happy to live here. It has everything you could ever want,” he says.
On the Khlong Tin Haad beach, you can hear the sound of coconuts being chopped off the palms with a machete and a smiling woman with a blender and a cooler full of ice will gladly cut a fresh coconut open and blend it into an icy drink as she filets you fresh pieces of coconut that have the texture and viscosity of mortadella. She barely speaks any English, but she knows how to communicate through gesticulation and laughter.
A fisherman on the Gulf of Koh Kood
Inside the Soneva Kiri, a sustainable collection resort of villas that honor the philosophy of the unspoiled island the philosophy of ecological living is luxuriously felt. A man by the name of King Kong greets us as we arrive to the villas. “I am not from here, but I have lived here for years, it’s paradise. And it has the most beautiful untouched beaches,” He says. And so far, I agree. The irony is not lost on me that in Garland’s “The Beach” the protagonist first learned of the secret beach that would drive his quest to find it throughout the book by a character by the alias, “Daffy Duck”. Is it a sign?
It’s afternoon and if you are a bit peckish, stepping inside a large bamboo basket under the palms for high tea might just be what a dream sequence would require. A staff member smiles and says, “are you ready?” And suddenly, we start to float up among the jungle canopy of trees, the view of the ocean begins to shimmer through the leaves. 60 feet into the sky, a macaque that is just a stones throw away on the next tree shows his teeth, is he looking for food or just happy to see me, I wonder. A whizzing sound cuts through, and the staff member zip lines to the table bearing a bevy of sashimi, exotic fruits and tea sandwiches followed by chocolates of every sort and coconut cakes with iced coconut water to stay cool. The macaque continues to peer his head and coos every once in a while, he seems to want to join us in the tree pod.
The resort has a philosophy of being as comfortable as possible, every amenity and desire met. This is encouraged to have everyone walk barefoot to ensure the layed back comfort that the entire island embodies reigns supreme.
It’s low tide, the water is calm and after a long swim in the sea, which is flecked with schools of tropical fish, soon it is time for dinner at the Kruua Mae Tuk.
Set on wooden stilts amidst mangroves in a lagoon, a place that during the day you can kayak through, by night the restaurant glows with candlelights. The scent of ginger, shrimp and garlic waft in the air. This restaurant’s ethos honors traditional Thai food that is inspired by the ingredients grown on Koh Kood and Koh Chang. The seafood all caught by the local fishermen, one of the cornerstones of the local economy. The meal begins with Miang Kham, a south East Asian delicacy that translates to food wrapped in leaves. The platter is a feast for the eyes, wild betel leaves are surrounded by peanuts and cashews, green and red chili peppers, ginger, key lime, dried shrimp and roasted coconut shavings and a sweet and sour sauce to drizzle on top. You assemble it to your preference, adding as much or as little as you want inside of the betel leaf. This amuse-bouche of local flavor was first introduced to the Siamese court of King Rama V by Princess Dara Rasmi. Prawns poached in coconut milk and lemon grass with chilis are warming, pad thai with copious amounts of mint and ginger are a delight. And the surprise of Thai wine accompanies it all perfectly.
Thailand being a tropical country outside of the traditional geography for cultivating grapes for winemaking has developed viticulture techniques that have allowed for some successful Thai wines. Grapes were initially introduced to Thailand by Louis XIV to King Narai, presenting him with species of White Malaga grapes. Grapes were used only as fruit until the twentieth century. For the past 3 decades, the country has been producing wines from harvest, becoming one of the countries to lead the way in producing wines considered ‘New Latitude’ wines a term that was created to describe wine grown in regions that were never thought possible for viticulture.
There is also fusion-inspired dining as well. At the Nikkei restaurant, a Peruvian-Japanese gastronomic laboratory faces the Gulf of Thailand. It’s scenic and captures a rustic elegant ambience. Chef Christophe blends the finesse and simplicity of Japanese culinary traditions with the bright flavors of Peru. This is a gourmet experience of dishes like cod smoked under a glass cloche and fresh sushi that uses Peruvian fruits and herbs to add a tropical bite. The dishes are a Pantone pallet of colors from the deep orange salmon salad with flecks of flower petals that grow on premise.
Inside of a mushroom cave
Miang Kham, traditional Thai snack with
Thailand may not be the first place you think of when imagining mushrooms, but its present in many dishes. Within the Soneva Kiri, a mushroom cave lunch uses dozens of varietals of mushrooms grown just meters from the cave. Shiitake, oyster, enoki and wood ear mushrooms are just some of the mushrooms that grow and are used within the dishes. The menu can be either western or traditional Thai. The chef concocted delicacies like miang kham with crispy shiitakes, a delectably creamy mushroom soup from the western menu, a coconut cream cod steamed fish with rice and enoki. The most soothing enoki vegetable broth soup that felt almost healing. The dessert even had a caramelized mushroom crumble onto of the coconut cream.
One of the most exciting experiences that makes you feel like a local is going fishing in the Thai gulf with expert fishermen. In these waters you can fish like yellow fin, sea bass and even barracuda can be caught in the sea. The expert fishermen cast with ease and show you the tricks to nab a few extra fish. “What you catch you can have the restaurant cook for you,” says the fishermen. Fishermen have a good sense of what to make with what fish, its also their life’s work. “With the yellowfin, I love to eat it raw like sashimi. It’s how you can best taste the sea. That’s how I suggest you eat this,” he says. its a wonderful service that you can opt to take part in if you want to try your hand at being a fisherman for the day and taste what you catch. When returning to the resort, the chef will concoct a dish, inspired by the fish you caught yourself.
Koh Kood harkens a time of how you dream of Thailand, its the romantic notion of the island, how you want it to be and how you want it to stay.