Ko Mak: a small, peaceful island far from the crowds

Once we have our map in hand, the objective is simple, go on all available roadsThis objective can be achieved in just over half a day, but if you spend a little more time at each location, it can easily fill the entire day.

Ao Nid and Koh Mak Temple

We started this day by going to the only temple on the islandSimply called Koh Mak Temple, it's located not far from the pier where we arrived the day before, Ao Nid. The place is very peaceful, with very few monks present. From a platform on which sits a golden standing Buddha, there's a beautiful view of the bay, and you can see Ko Kood in the distance further south.

I would only find out much later, but this temple was built by the family, devout Buddhists, who had bought the island and its plantation at the end of the 19th century (for the modest sum of 24,000 baht at the time!).

In the photo just before, you can see a wooden house sticking out (then painted white). This would be the original family home (therefore a hundred years old, but not the one we would look for later that same day), since renovated and housing a small museum, right next to the Koh Mak Seafood.

→ If you're interested in the island's history, it's in English, but you have a good summary here

We were there primarily to make a donation. Once done and after chatting a bit with the monks and playing with the puppies present, we got back on our machine. Direction the east coast.

Directed by Laem Son

Before reaching Laem Son Cape, we will stop not far from Baan Luang, after taking a path through a rubber tree plantation.

Moreover, the island is covered with them, and while originally it was coconut plantations that dominated and sustained the island, since their introduction to the country, rubber trees, the Hevea tree, occupy a large part of the island.

I then set off on foot towards Kradun headland, which borders Ao Pai, a small bay without a proper beach but the view is nice. It's a bit treacherous to move around in this area, as you can see black rock (I imagine volcanic) littering the ground.

As we approached Laem Son, the road—or rather, the track—was closed. But a detour led us through another rubber plantation. I appreciated being in the shade, in addition to this... feeling of total freedom.

And arriving at Laem Son, after passing 2 houses in the middle of the coconut trees, we were won over. Apart from a family swimming there, there is no one and the beach is beautiful, bordered by a row of large fir trees, with the island of Ko Kradat facing us.

It is there, in the shade of the fir trees, that you will find this little cabin, run by a woman. A cabin that serves as both a bar since you can drink various beverages there (beer included ;-), and also a restaurant). We will learn here that there is the possibility to go to the island of Ko Kradat, where there is a herd of deer roaming freely.

With this information, we made plans to return the day after tomorrow since Ko Kradat is one of the nice excursions to see from Ko Mak (in addition to the small private island of Ko Kham north of Ao Suan).

Passing through Ao Tan and Ao Talong

We then continued our walk, this time going to the north coast, next to Ao Tan, bordered by mangroves, but still very pretty.

I don't even know if the name is the same as the neighboring Ao Tan beach, because this area is divided into two parts. The one we landed on that day is isolated at the far end, where the Green View Resort is located. It's separate from the main area, accessible by another path, where the Cinnamon, a "historic" (meaning, long-established) hotel in Ko Mak, is located.

Further on, heading back west, we followed another path, ending up in the small bay of Ao Talong. It's still mostly mangroves, but there's a small fishing village that apparently also makes a living from the rubber trade, as evidenced by the strips drying in a shelter.

It wasn't a very clean area, I won't lie to you, but it's definitely local! We came across some locals, lost in thought on the seaside, which faces Ko Chang, which can be seen far away.

Somchai Love Garden and Ao Suan Yai

Next, the goal was to reach the large bay of Ao Suan Yai (or Ao Soun), which makes facing the small island of Ko Kham. At the time, a brand new resort had been built there, but the area was protected, there was a dispute and it has since had to close.

But before that, wanting to see as much as possible while we had our means of transport, we were looking to get to the oldest house on the island (a hundred years old).

We stopped at the passage towards " Somchai's Artistic Kingdom » (now called Somchai's Love Garden or Love Temple), beckoned by 2 statues of women, inviting us curious souls to go and take a look.

It's a completely unusual place, centered around a rustic, elevated cabin. The access path is basically a narrow, rounded shape, leading to a turtle-shaped slab and the artist's open-air living space.

There we discovered several statues of women, most of them naked, and one simply "dressed" in a real bra... we also saw this monkey with a long member holding a bucket... The whole thing gives a completely wacky and "so Thai" feel!

I don't know if he was still alive when we were there, but we didn't see anyone. All we know is that he was self-taught, and a sign there explained this to us:

With extraordinary ambition and an inspiration imbued with affection, the sculptures of nude women by Mon artist Somchai, adorning his home, reflect his conception of affection in art and individual freedom. Financed entirely with his own money, these ongoing works arose from his personal inspiration and profound imagination, without drawing on any renowned artistic school.

As for the old house (marked as such on our map), we won't calculate its location, because we didn't imagine it like that! We'll see it in the distance, and while we pictured a "classic" house on stilts, it's actually a large, two-story wooden building (recently repainted blue), located in the gardens of a resort, the Happy Days Resort.

After wandering around a bit looking for this house, we finally reached the main bay of Ao Suan Yai, and wow! There it was, that dreamy white sand beach! It was clean, the water is clear and turquoise. 

We were facing a large beach lined with coconut palms and trees, the kind of picture-postcard setting. And the best part was, there was nobody there, not even sunbathers enjoying the sunshine. Admittedly, it was far too hot for that, but as far as we were concerned, it was decided: this was where we would come for a swim at the end of the day!

But before that, we'll have our lunch break, grabbing a snack from a street vendor in the parking lot. Once we'd eaten, we'll continue our tour of Ko Mak, this time heading towards the west coast, which is wilder.

We passed through the center of the island and stopped at the passage Vista Lookout In order to admire the view, we thought we would gladly come back there to enjoy a coffee, but for the moment, it was not possible.

Later note: By the way, I know that the Vista Lookout hotel had to close after Covid, so I don't know what's happened to it since then…

The west of the island

So we continued our journey westward. We first passed nearAo Pra, then I went a little further along a path, interspersed with a bit of concrete.

Basically, this leads to " Little bay"But first I wanted to follow a more chaotic path, leading towards the small isolated bay of Ao LomAfter a short while, I came to a steep, rocky slope. I was sensible and decided to give up.

We could have tried to continue on foot, but with the heat, we were a bit too lazy to go any further. No big deal, I could see a beautiful partial view of Ao Kao beach from there, and Ko Rayang Nai island visible opposite.

Further back towards the main path, we were landing near Cape Laem Tukata, where we had arrived on foot the day before, taking our walk from the hotel. The loop was complete!

Having completed the tour of the island, it was just after 15 p.m. This gave us time to change at the hotel and then stroll to Ao Suan Yai to enjoy the late afternoon swimming in this beautiful bay.

We ended the day with a meal in the restaurant located at the foot of the Ao Kao pier. I was able to taste a delicious burger there au Pivo and GrILLYes, sometimes it's a nice change from rice!

Day 2: Snorkeling day around Ko Mak

This second day was essentially dedicated to snorkelingScheduled the day before with our hotel, the full article dedicated to this day can be seen below:

→ Snorkeling in Ko Rang

Otherwise, we simply had dinner that evening at the restaurant of theIslanda Hotel, next to the Vista Lookout cafe. A good choice since you can eat well, for a reasonable price and the view to go with it!

Day 3: Excursion to Ko Kradat and relaxation in Ao Tan

For this last day in Ko Mak, Jitima wanted to go to Ko Kradat. Since it's on the other side of Ko Mak, and to keep things simple, we decided to rent a scooter again, this time from the street for 200 baht.

Since Jitima is easily moved by puppies, she insisted that we first go back to the temple to make another donation (originally, I also wanted to take photos of the view at sunrise, but we had slept badly the night before because of a group of partygoers…).

Before heading to Laem Son beach, we stopped grab a coffee at Vista Lookout Point...just to start the day off with a bang!

Next, we headed towards Laem Son, taking a slightly different route, mostly sandy and winding through coconut palms – I absolutely loved it. As planned, we boarded a small local boat to spend some time on Deer Island.

→ Read the dedicated article on Ko Kradat

To end this day, we were first going to sit down at the hotel restaurant The Cinnamon Art Resort and Spa, which also has a good reputation for offering a nice setting for taking photos.

Which is quite true! Here we have a view of Ko Chang opposite, Ko Kradat visible to the right, and this long jetty that begins in the mangrove, called Cinnamon Boardwalk.

The hotel is quite stylish too, although opinions seem to vary a bit. I can imagine some people complaining that the beach isn't suitable for swimming there. The water is shallow. We each had a drink after the photo shoot and then decided to spend our last evening on the... Ao Suan Yai Bay.

→ Note that now, for visitors not staying at the hotel, they require a Entrance fee of 50 baht to access the pontoon.

When we arrived at the large beach of Ao Suan Yai (sometimes spelled Ao Soun), still deserted in the early evening, we witnessed the last rays of daylight, the red sun sinking behind the coconut palms. Fittingly, this beach is also nicknamed "Long Sunset Beach"!

Before our delicious evening meal, we sipped cocktails during happy hour. And we were right to do so, as we were about to attend a small show of jugglers and fire eaters (presumably coming from Cambodia, not far from there).

This has become very common on the beaches of Thailand in recent years, but it adds a little something extra, especially here in Ko Mak where there is ultimately very little activity.

That concluded this perfect stay on the island of Ko Mak, a little paradise, which I hope will remain so for a long time!

The next day, we returned to Bangkok, but not before stopping to visit the coast around Trat.

→ Overview of the Trat coast