The Best Kept Travel Secret in Thailand

As a tourist destination, Thailand has changed much since it passed its first travel development legislation in 1979. We know from first hand expats here how much change they have seen. Most of it, has meant tat an area once pristine, gentle, safe, and preserved has changed to benefit and grow in the ways Thais and investors believe western tourists want. This has only begun in the last 5-10 years on the eastern frontier border of Cambodia, near Trat, the capital of Pran province.

We have spent a little more than two weeks exploring the town of Trat, its temples, markets, festivals (Chinese New Year), and surrounds. Most of this time was spent in an archipelago of almost 70 tropical, mountainous, and coral reef ringed islands. While we gawked and wondered as we passed so many of these, our time was spent on Ko Mak and Ko Koot. These islands are the two largest after already fully developed Ko Chang and lie on Thailands furthest southeast border.

We were encouraged by our host to visit Ko Mak and see how development was changing these islands. We stayed at Island Hut on the furthest eastern side of the island. While nearby resorts had beach huts which started at 3,000 baht ($100 U.S) per night. Our lovely waterfront cabin cost 450 baht and there were huts just behind us for 200-300. Nearby, up the hill, was a town center, schools, and a cooking school where we had some of our best meals in Thailand (Pad Mee w/ seafood 40 baht!).

After four days, we caught a speed boat to Ko Koot and arrived in Au Bang Nau (Au means bay in Thai). While this lovely white sand beach also sports even more expensive resorts, our host is developing in collaboration with a Thai partner (whose family owns the last islander property with water access left on this island roughly the same size as my own home island back in the USA Martha's Vineyard). Eco Bandin is run by Mr. Moo and his family. It is also under a planned ecoresort development that aims to provide high quality green homes that are built from sustainable locally produced natural materials, that preserve most of the nature 'park' atmosphere so dutifully maintained and nurtured by Mr. Moo.

Building on islands is not an easy or inexpensive task. Materials are brought by boat. Soils are rough and sandy or silty in the tropics. Energy is produced by generators. Water is scarce and untreated. Part of the reason I wanted to see the eco development was it is a friend I have known and admired a long time as the western 'lead.' But we are very interested in service opportunities and sought to be effective proponents of not only sustainable, zero emission construction techniques, but also we are interested in community engagement and participation, local control, positive cultural exchange. We are blogging, and have recently linked to Lonely Planet blogsherpa which connects travel encounters, ideas, and community dialog. [Any proceeds received from the blog will be reinvested into our service efforts.] As we have noted, our aspiration is not to shape and change the lives of people we are visiting, this is a nice happenstance, but more to shape the lives of other travelers and those from our communities and peer groups at home.

Moo's place Eco Bandin is already one of the best kept secrets in Thailand. [Bandin Eco, Moo, Bangbao, Koh Kood, Tel. (066) 086-0522929, Bandinkokood@gmail.com ]. He is the kindest host, chef, gardener, and thinker. He can wax eloquently, though a soft-spoken guy, on the history of the islands, the impacts of development, stewardship of the oceans and island nature, trees, birds, and island animals, flowers, children, family, international travel, photography, Thai food, and so much more. Every day Moo spends his time baby sitting (he has three beautiful children 5, 2, and 8 months) and maintaining the properties gardens, forest, rubber plantation, and building and repairing the structures that make up Eco Bandin. The place is rustic. Some of his bridges are a little disorientating and thus awkward to cross the first time. But between Moo's kindness, the amazing Thai cooking of his wife, his sister-in-law, and himself, his knowledge and connections on the island, and his beautiful location and lush tropical gardens - it was a fantastic find for us to have so many interests interwoven by the best kept secret in Thailand. Of course, in writing this blog, I am actively trying to encourage more people to find out about this best kept secret and to keep it going. When we chose to not support places like Moo's Eco Bandin we support an opposite course of events and poor environmental planning. Everywhere else we visited, forests were bulldozed, burned, heaped up in piles, lands entirely cleared, houses built unsoundly and without proper environmental, structural, or green engineering. Ancient trees were replaced with new species imported at great cost from the mainland.

Moo told me stories of the property that surrounded Eco Bandin. It is especially sad because it speaks about what an even better best kept secret in Thailand these islands could have been and used to be (very recently). The small monkeys which are indigenous to the island have been nearly completely wiped out. Also, the tiny indigenous island pig, numerous rare birds and snakes, giant brackish river fish, hugely diverse and prolific lobster, crab, and shrimp populations, and many indigenous trees and plants are disappeared, going extinct, and being eaten up. And this has happened to Ko Koot for the most part in the last five years!

Here are Ko Koot's nearly extinct wild pigs being fattened up for holiday feast

What can we do as tourists, naturalists, and volunteers, to assure that properties we visit are environmentally 'greener', locals are treated fairly and respectfully, and governments enforce laws of stewardship?

Staying at Eco Bandin was such a pleasure. Visiting and learning about the production of rubber from the rubber plantation and micro-factory, studying the birds, plants, trees, and natural environs, swimming and exploring the adjacent white sand beaches (totally empty of people), hiking the forest, eating and visiting and pondering our human fate, star gazing into skies not ruined by electric lights, fishing, snorklling, squidding, rowing the boat out for sunset/moonrise on Chinese New Year. And endless volunteer and educational opportunities to help maintain the forest, rivers, waterfalls,, beaches, and ecosystems on the precious natural outpost, guarding and stewarding and investing in its unique and critical future.

It was for us the best kept secret in Thailand, but, it is a secret worth sharing. If we support good stewardship and sustainable, respectful forms of tourism in Thailand we can all put out money where out mouths are and heal the planet as we heal ourselves.

Moo's place is not expensive - about $15 U.S. per day for a private beautiful rustic cabin with private bath and all meals included. Moo also saves you money by getting you the best prices for scuba, bike or moped rental, boats and ferries etc without a commission.

Bandin Eco, Moo, Bangbao, Koh Kood, Thailand
Tel. (066) 086-0522929, Bandinkokood@gmail.com