Welcome back to my recap of last year’s trip to Thailand!
So…where was I?
Oh yeah, we were just about to leave for Koh Mak! At 6 am sharp, we headed for the bus station and purchased two tickets to Trat, the closest town to our final destination, Koh Mak. At less than $8 per person, we opted to take the bus instead of fly or go with a private car. The journey was long (I think about 5 hours in all? Longer on the way home because we arrived in Bangkok at rush hour ☹️), but comfortable, with an air-conditioned bus, reclining seats, and even a bathroom on board (we also stopped once at a halfway point for gas). Once in Trat, we made our way to the dock, and a small speedboat picked us up en route to Koh Mak.
After 45 minutes, we arrived!
To a literal paradise. It was so beautiful. I forgot how gorgeous Thai islands are!
Measuring 7.5 km on its longest side, the island is super small! Despite it’s diminutive size, the island is not crowded with tourists, even at its peak seasons. To us, it felt like our own private island sometimes, which we loved!
Lots of loooong, empty beaches with crystal blue water and lazy palm trees, warm sunshine with a light breeze…just the antidote to a bleak Swedish winter ❄️
We spent the next four days doing whatever we damn pleased, and it was GLO-RI-OUS. We swam in the ocean, snoozed on the beach, read under umbrellas, happily abused our hotel’s ‘Happy Hour‘ deal (ha! see what I did there?), and tried to eat at a new place on the island for every meal.
One day, we rented a scooter and spent the whole day driving around the island.
We spent many lovely sunsets on the beach…
…and on our last night, we went to a beautiful bar on the other side of the island and basked in one more gorgeous sun-down before our departure the next day.
We had such a fun time on Koh Mak, and we would definitely go back again. It’s small and privately-owned, so it is very un-touristy for a Thai island (for example, there are no working ATMs on the island, no 7/11s, hardly any cars, etc.). It’s also very quiet, so if you are looking for one of those islands with clubs and lots of tourists, Koh Mak is not for you. Next time, we would definitely spend more time exploring the nearby islands, and maybe even doing a day-trip to neighboring Cambodia (!), but for this trip, Koh Mak was exactly what we were looking for – a beautiful, quiet, and relaxing refuge from the world.
The following day, we started the long journey back to Bangkok.
Next week: Bangkok, part deux!
xxLéna
lately léna 
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