Koh Mook... or Koh Muk

20/12/12 to 27/12/12 - After landing in Bangkok, we decided to go straight to Ko San Road, where we would catch a bus which would take us to Koh Mook. Unfortunately (or fortunately), when we asked different agencies if there was a bus to go to Koh Mook, they told us that they didn’t run buses directly to Koh Mook and that we had to go independently by taking an overnight train to Trang and then take a mini bus + boat to reach our destination.

We had done some research beforehand and decided that Koh Mook was a good compromise for what we wanted as a little Christmas break (sometimes you need a holiday, even on holiday).  Koh Mook had nice beaches, good snorkelling, was laid back and relaxing, not too expensive and especially not too developed).

After 20 hours journey altogether through heavy rain, we arrived on Koh Mook.  We felt the real Thailand, with lovely, smiling, friendly people who said ‘hello’ (or ‘sa-wa-di-kaa/khrap’) every time we passed them.  Luckily, the weather got better for the rest of our stay.  It still rained a few times, but mostly at night.  To go to our guesthouse (Garden Resort/Dada Restaurant), we crossed the fishing village, where people were making some crab traps made of bamboo, pounding spices into curry paste or repairing their boats (between snoozing in their hammocks).

Our guesthouse was run by a nice local family and Dada (the cook and host of the guesthouse) was proud to tell us that she was born on the island and therefore, knew every little secret about it (such as where were the best snorkelling spots, were to eat, what to do, etc).  Twice we hired a canoe from her for the day, with all the gear included, to go to Sabai beach, the Emerald cave (were pirates used to hide their treasure) and swam with hundreds of fish of every size, shape and colour.



We probably had the best food in Thailand (from tasty curries to fish and seafood BBQs on the beach) and the best since the beginning of our trip too.  Dada had her own curry recipe too which she called Koh Mook Original Curry, which was gorgeous and different to the usual Thai curries.

On Xmas day, after lazing on the beach and eating at Dada’s fish barbeque, we walked past a small bar made of bamboo overlooking the bay.  We listened to the local live music and were offered a whole grilled fish and "aperitif crackers" to go with our drinks.  We danced, sang and had some fun with the locals with some Job2do songs.