SE Asia VII - It's a Thailand Trang

I decided to make Trang my first stop in Thailand only because Hat Yai wasn't meant to be nice and I didn't fancy landing straight in tourism central in Krabi. I didn't know that Trang has a great deal to offer in its own right. The islands haven't been overrun by Western tourism and it is still possible to find locals living traditional lives. On Koh Libong and Koh Sukorn I was made to feel like a guest rather than a visitor, and an honoured guest at that.

Trang hasn't been overrun by tourism. It means that the people welcome Westerners and see them as something of a novelty. I seemed to provide great hilarity wherever I went. I would walk down the street in Trang and be greeted with waves and hellos. Most people do not speak English in Trang, a few speak some words, and a handful speak somewhat fluently. The road and shop signs are all in Thai. It can make things a bit awkward when trying to find something. The Thai alphabet appears to be written upside down and back to front. I have also discovered that the English translation is not consistent. A Thai street can be written in one way on one map and another one on a different map. You are then faced with the problem of correctly pronouncing the name of the street to locals to see if they can point you in the right direction. In general I am struggling with pronunciation in South-East Asia. In Singapore I came up with a multiple of ways of pronouncing Bugis (only 2 syllables) all apparently incorrect. My English pronunciation also leaves alot to be desired according Malaysians. I went into a shop to buy a bottle of water. I couldn't find the water so I asked a shop assistant. He looked at me dumbfounded. I repeated "water", he said back to me "Watta?", I said "Yes, Water", he said "Watta?", I pulled out a bottle of water from my bag and his eyes lighted up, "Oh, Water". When I left the minibus office in Hat Yai for Trang the women in the office found it hilarious to repeat my pronunciation of Trang (one syllable) loudly and gregariously.

My Lonely Plant guidebook only gives a brief mention to Trang and doesn't mention the existence of islands along the coast here. I was pleasantly surprised to find a bustling town and even more surprised to discover a myriad of islands existing off the coast. I might be stretching the point to suggest that Trang and its islands are undiscovered. In all the restaurants I ate it in Trang whilst the waiter or waitress couldn't speak English they all had English translations of their menu. There are local travel agents geared up to getting you out to the islands, although again communication can be tricky.

The main islands off the Trang province coastline are Koh Libong, Koh Sukorn, Koh Ngai (or Koh Hai), Koh Mook (or Koh Muk) and Koh Kradan. I visited Koh Libong and Koh Sukorn. The great thing about Koh Libong and Koh Sukorn is that they have large local populations. There are a number of long boats running to and from the islands all day. It makes it a lot cheaper to reach them. If you want to visit Koh Ngai, Koh Mook, or Koh Kradan you have to charter a boat or go through a travel agency. Travelling to the islands with the locals means you are straight into local life and get a local perspective on the island. There isn't a barrier of us and them.

The first island I visited was Koh Libong. Koh Libong is the largest island in the area and is home to muslim fishing villages. There are three separate villages on the island. I caught a local minibus from Trang to Hao Mei pier to catch a boat to the island. The boat in question was a longboat. A long boat is a wooden boat with an engine mounted on the stern with a long pole attached to the drive shaft and a propeller on the end of the pole. The skipper stands on the stern. The long boat is steered by moving the engine on its pivot which in turn moves the propeller. Before we departed the passengers climbed aboard (I was the only Farang), we were seated on wooden planks under a tarpaulin. The front uncovered section was filled with various supplies and then more passengers jumped on top of the supplies. Life vests are not included. Once we left the river estuary the sea spray picked up so another piece of tarpaulin was pulled over the front of the covered section and the guys sitting in the front got soaked.

On Koh Libong I felt like the Queen. On Koh Libong wherever I went everyone wanted to say hello and wave to me. The people of Trang were friendly but nowhere near as friendly as the people of Koh Libong. There are 3 bungalow 'resorts' on the island. I stayed at the Libong Nature Beach Resort. It is a very pleasant place designed by Scandinavians as an Ecotourism venture to put money back into the local community. The local population is pretty big so they haven't become jaded by westerners. Alot of the Koh Libong tourists seem to spend their time on the beach outside their bungalows. They don't go into the interior of the island. I wandered over to a fishing village on the other side of the island and was made to feel like an honoured guest. When I left the village for the hour return walk a local guy offered me a lift back to the other side of the island. When we arrived I offered him money and he refused. I met an American retiree couple and we managed to invite ourselves to a wedding reception. We were looking for somewhere to eat and saw an awning with tables and chairs. We walked up and asked if they were still cooking. They didn't speak English and they seemed surprised to see us. Slowly but surely more locals surrounded us in curiosity at what we could want. We came to the conclusion that they must have stopped cooking for the night so we walked off, they called us back and then got us to sit down. They brought out the food, which was very nice. A guy then emerged who spoke a little bit of English, he said he was on the island for a friend's wedding. He invited us to a BBQ on the beach. We went to pay for our meal and they wouldn't accept any money. We then realised that we had somehow invited ourselves to the remnants of a wedding reception. The next day the awning and all the tables and chairs disappeared.

I went back to Trang after Koh Libong and then went to Koh Sukorn. Koh Sukorn is the main destination sold by the travel agents in Trang. It is a bit more civilised than Koh Libong. There is a concrete road running round the island, whereas on Koh Libong the roads are nearly all dirt tracks which are heavily pot holed. I stayed at Sukorn Beach Bungalows, which are very nice but expensive and a much cheaper (and still a nice place) is Cabana Bungalows. I went cycling around the island and ended up sitting in a shop in the village on the island chatting to the locals. When I passed through the village everyone waved at me and said hello. They were again genuinely pleased to see me.

While I was in Trang I stayed at Yamawa. It is the best value accommodation I have stayed in in Thailand. It was 200B a room. I had a TV, ensuite (cold shower), double bed and the room had a bit of character to it. On Koh Libong I paid 600B at Libong Nature Beach Resort and on Koh Sukorn I paid 800B at Sukorn Beach Bungalows. The people of Trang are very helpful, a particular travel agency went beyond even the high levels of Trang helpfulness. They ran through a whole heap of information with me without hard selling anything to me. One of them even came with me to a mobile phone shop to help me buy a SIM card (1-2-Call) because I had no idea on what I should buy. Unfortunately I can't remember the name of the travel agency (it is probably in Thai anyway) but if you want tot find it walk from the station towards the clock tower, it is the second travel agency on the right handside with a sliding door.