Hello, my name is Bard.

Stranded on Koh Mak Island

Traveling in a low-carbon style

Sustainable Tourism

Tourism that the world will love you more

We've reached the second episode, and here's a recap from the previous one. We sailed a sailboat, played Disc Golf, and watched the sunset at Ao Phra. >> http://www.bloggang.com/viewdiary.php?id=hyee&month=05-2016&date=10&group=1&gblog=164

First of all, what is low-carbon tourism? Many people may not be familiar with it.

Low-carbon tourism is a type of tourism that focuses on activities that do not increase the release of carbon dioxide or greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. For example, turning on the air conditioner or lights only when necessary, turning them off when not in the room, ordering food menus that are locally sourced, or engaging in activities that rely on clean energy. If tourists are willing to change their values in this way,

Low-carbon tourism destinations are developed through the collaboration of local communities and businesses. They aim to minimize the environmental impact of tourism and promote sustainability. Tourists are encouraged to consume local food and participate in activities that do not increase pollution. Service providers prioritize sourcing local ingredients, reducing imports from distant locations, and minimizing transportation-related energy consumption. Investments in fun activities that utilize clean energy further reduce reliance on fossil fuels and ultimately lower carbon emissions.

Koh Mak is a low-carbon island, one of the first target areas and a model area initiated by the APST, or the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), through the Koh Chang Special Area Management Office and the ISMED, the Institute for the Development of Small and Medium Enterprises. The Koh Mak Low Carbon Destination brand has been launched, and with the joint efforts of the community and entrepreneurs on the island, it is being developed into an island that is ready to become a Low Carbon Destination.
Most of the seafood on this island comes from small-scale fisheries around the island. Many entrepreneurs on the island have turned to solar energy for electricity. The swimming pools of many resorts use solar energy for cleaning. There are no pubs or discos here, and there are no water activities such as scooters or banana boats. In addition, entrepreneurs on the island are ready to organize happy hours, inviting tourists to turn off the air conditioning and lights in the afternoon and go out to explore the island by offering discounts on food, drinks, and activities.

Koh Mak Low Carbon

Unspoiled island

Unspoiled Island

This is my third trip to Koh Mak, participating in activities with the TAT under the Low Carbon Destination project, followed by Low Carbon Holiday, and now... Low Carbon Castaway. Many people are familiar with the term "Castaway," which means being stranded on an island, like the famous movie starring Tom Hanks. This time, I'm here as one of 10 volunteer bloggers for Earth Day. The purpose of the activity is to help promote Koh Mak and raise awareness of the "Koh Mak Low Carbon" brand concept.

Okay, I guess the details of the trip are not as interesting as what good things in this trip can be shared as useful information for those who might be interested in visiting Koh Mak. Let's start.

Day 2: Sunrise at Laem Son Beach

The second day began with an early wake-up call. We gathered at the designated meeting point, ready for our next mission. With the sky just starting to lighten, we hopped on our scooters and set off on a urgent quest to catch the first light of day. Our destination: the Sunrise viewpoint at the end of Laem Son Beach.

Coordinates of Laem Son Beach N11° 49.564' E102° 30.702' https://goo.gl/TpXQtO
This is the easternmost point of Koh Mak. This area is a long beach with a cape shape, with pine trees growing throughout. The beach is over 1 kilometer long, divided into the north and south beaches.

Look at this, the semi-opaque, semi-transparent line of sight like this, you can see the beach, you can see Koh Kradan in the distance, the beach is clean, and you can see the sunrise all year round, except when the sun is hidden behind the clouds.

The clouds were gathering on the horizon, unusually thick for mid-April in Hawaii. This was the impact of global warming, making the weather more unpredictable than ever before. This time, watching the sunrise was a mission that had us all on edge.

The shy sun, like a red egg yolk, barely peeked over the horizon before disappearing into the clouds. The gloomy sky seemed to be threatening rain soon. Luckily, there was a small gap in the clouds, a space between the low horizon and the thick, dark clouds above. That was enough! Enough for us to greet the red egg yolk.

Laem Son is an ideal spot for watching the sunrise on Koh Mak. With its foreground of pine trees, it's a sight you won't find anywhere else on the island.

Sunbathing
Our honorary tour guide, Khun Su, is enjoying nature. That's her, haha. The happiness of Miss Koh Mak, she loves Koh Mak very much.

The atmosphere on the northern beach of Laem Son in the early morning is calm and peaceful. The beach curves gently.

Looking back, you can see the sandy beach stretching to the tip of the cape, with a dense pine forest above the beach. We were just there setting up the camera to capture the sunset.

Looking out from the tip of the cape to the sea, you can see Ko Krada in the distance, with a small island called Ko Nok Nai on the far right. Two islands, Ko Nok Nai and Ko Nok Nok.

At this moment, I'm also very much in love with Koh Mak. The tranquility is truly the charm of this place.

Relax and unwind at Ao Tan

After collecting the morning sun, we headed straight back to Ao Tan to collect more morning light. While the name Ao Tan may not be familiar to many, the name Koh Mak's only resort, Santhiya Koh Mak Resort & Spa, will likely ring a bell. Located on the northeastern side of Koh Mak, not far from Laem Son, our team stayed here and left our breakfast boxes at the resort. See the map above for reference. The resort boasts the longest pier on Koh Mak, stretching far out into the sea. We wondered why it was so long, so we used Google Maps to take a look. It turns out that the sea on this side is very shallow, so the pier had to be extended to the edge of the shallow area to allow boats to dock. The pier, aptly named "Saphan Su Fang" (Bridge to Dreams), is over 460 meters long. In fact, the end of this half-kilometer-long pier could be an excellent spot for sunrise photography. I estimate that the sun would rise through the gap between Koh Mak and Koh Kdad if you plan your timing correctly. Even if you're not staying at the resort, you can still stop by. As far as I know from our guide, the most charming characteristic of Koh Mak is that you can stay at one resort and visit other scenic spots throughout the island without any resort objecting to you not being their guest. Try it! Just walk up and ask, "May I please enter to see the beach view?" and see what happens.

The charm of Ao Tan lies in its gnarled, lonely trees scattered across the bay, the long, dreamlike bridge, and the sunken shipwreck that serves as a dreamy landmark. When the tide is low, you can walk down and play. The sandy bottom is firm and doesn't sink or slip, so you can walk around comfortably. It's a pity that the wreck is being dismantled bit by bit. If you have the chance to come here now, you might still be able to see it. But don't worry, if you don't make it, I have a link to an album of the wreck that I took when it was still intact, which is very classic in my opinion and I believe in the opinion of many others.
Link: https://goo.gl/d1GNqM

Escape the midday sun and enjoy delicious cakes at
Sweet Cake
Location: https://goo.gl/KYfelh
This cake shop is located in Ao Nid, on the curve of the hill leading up from the pier. It's a small, compact cafe that's almost lifted up to become an observation tower. The view is over 180 degrees. I tried the cake and drinks, and I can tell you that it's worth a try. You won't regret spending your money.

Half a day has passed because of the heavy rain on the other side of the island. Many blogger teams were caught in the rain while on their mission, while our light-hunting team was stuck in the blazing sun, keeping an eye on the rain shadow. This is because our next mission is to go out on a boat.

It's past noon now, and I'm sure it won't rain anymore, so let's continue our journey, brothers and sisters.

Returning to Laem Son, we will sail to that point, pointing to a distant island, next to Ko Krada. The team's guide said he would take us to see a strange tree. It stands alone in the middle of the sea. Let's go, let's go. I want to see it.

A small boat floating on the sea, one can hold 3-4 people. The boat with a roof is full quickly. I volunteered to float on a small boat, basking in the sun and wind, imagining myself as a little frog floating on a dry leaf in the middle of the sea.

The boat sailed past Koh Kradan. Looking up, the coconut trees were tall and slender. I haven't had the chance to visit Koh Kradan yet.

We have arrived at Nok Nok Island, about 4 kilometers by boat. The unseen tree is around here.

To the unseen tree
A lonely tree in the middle of the sea
GPS coordinates: N11° 51.515' E102° 31.350'

The official call sign is not yet available. It looks strange. The boat cannot turn around the tree because it is too shallow.

Mistress Island
Island GPS coordinates: 11.858365, 102.528994
Then our boat took us around the north of Koh Kdad to another small island, Koh Chu.
Koh Chu is a very small island with large birds nesting on it. I was going to set up camp to take some photos, but I couldn't get the shutter to release in time. While I was trying to tell the boat to stay still, Khun Su, our tour guide, jumped into the water and started playing in the waves. So I gave up on taking pictures of the birds and turned to take pictures of this water nymph instead. Then we went around Koh Kdad back to the shore at Laem Son, the same spot.

The boat route map to see the unseen trees, a distance of 10 kilometers, takes about an hour.

Let's continue, but wait!! How can you miss taking a picture with the coconut grove view while you're in Koh Mak? Let's do it, two clicks.

Doll Point

GPS coordinates: 11.807678, 102.448094

As dusk settled and time flew by, our mission became clear: to find a spot to capture the sunset as it dipped below the horizon. After some discussion, we decided to zoom off to the westernmost point of the island, Doll Point.

I apologize, but this location is better suited for admiring the unique scenery of Laem Tuk Ta than for sunset viewing. The opportunity to see the sunset through the gap in the rocks here is something that needs to be calculated well in advance. I will review the day calculation for you again in the next episode.

The name Laem Tukta originates from the image of a rock formation that, when viewed from the sea, resembles a woman doll sitting down, with the appearance of a diagonally draped shawl (although the shawl no longer looks like a shawl today). From this angle, however, it looks more like a large rock.

Map showing the location of Laem Tukkata and Ao Ban Yai, the bay that I recommend as a spot to watch the sunset.

Big Bay
The Last Light Spot
Actually, it's more appropriate to call it the last light spot than the sunset spot because it has this .... The corner of the tall coconut trees bends straight towards the sea and then elbows up to the sky. The twilight light is cast (if you look closely, you can see the Doll Point in the distance behind. But if you want to see a beautiful sunset over the water, I recommend going to Ao Phra. There is a ghost island as a beautiful backdrop (near Coco Cape Resort // reviewed in the previous episode, follow the link above).

Coco Cape Bridge
This is the place to watch the sunset. This spot is perfect for this evening, the sun has already set, leaving only the full moon of the 15th night to watch instead.

The next episode will take you to Laem Kradun, Ao Thonglang, Ko Rayang Nok, and Ko Rang.

If you are going to fall in love with an island

Embracing Low-Carbon Tourism: Traveling Without Leaving a Trace on Nature

Koh Mak is ready to make you fall in love and love you back.

Many thanks to the TAT (Tourism Authority of Thailand), the Special Area Development Authority for Sustainable Tourism (APST), and ISMED, the main organizers of this trip. We would also like to thank everyone who participated, especially the staff team, our fellow team members, and Mr. Su, our tour guide who went above and beyond throughout the trip.

And thank you to all readers, love readers, love likes, like everyone who shares the post.

Stay tuned for the bloggers' island adventure on the Low Carbon Chang Mak Kood page >> https://www.facebook.com/lcd.chang.mak.kood/

For more information, please contact Page: Namfa Pakhao https://www.facebook.com/Namfapakhao/ We are happy to be a medium to answer questions and help find information.