Thailand Geography – Thai Islands

Thai Islands

two oceans/seas: Pacific and Indian; Thai word for the island: ko, koh

Thailand, Andaman Sea

  • north islands: Ko Surin and Similans; small, not very populated, tourist base for divers. Similans ranked in top 10 diving sites of the world; Burmese Megui Archipelago on the north, wild paradise
  • near Phuket: Phuket is the biggest, surrounded by hundreds smaller islands: Phang Nga Bay, Krabi region: Ko Lanta Yai, Ko Tapu; Phuket is the richest, after Bangkok in Thailand; population 300.000, 3 millions of tourists every year; entertainment center: Patong Beach; famous James Bond Island in the Phang Nga Bay; Phi-Phi, the most beautiful? Ko Lanta more quite, a place for families with children
  • south islands: near Malaysia less known islands: Ko Sarai, Ko Tarutao, Ko Lipe; limited hotel base, wild, big, deserted beaches


The Gulf of Thailand

  • Ko Samui and Ko Phangan near Surat Thani; Ko Phangan: full moon parties, up to 10 thousand people, techno, alcohol, drugs, sex; new moon parties in the jungle, relaxed atmosphere, chillout; Koh Samui: the second tourist base in Thai islands, beaches: Chaweng, Lamai; Koh Tao: Hollywood movie with Leonardo di Caprio, The Beach
  • near Pattaya: Ko Si Chang, Ko Lan, a lot of tourists, nothing interesting
  • near Trat: big islands: Ko Kut, Ko Chang, Ko Rang: Ko Mak, not very popular, lower prices, more backpackers, night parties there; a sea national park; Koh Kut covered in 70% by a tropical forest

Phuket Geography

  • Phuket means: name of an island, an administrative region, a town; the word comes from Malay meaning a hill
  • on the Indian Ocean side, on the Andaman Sea, half way from Burma to Malaysia; the biggest mountain: Mai Thao Sip Song, 529 m.; 50kms length from north to south, 20kms width; no any bigger rivers
  • jungle, plantations of oil palm, gum tree cover 60% of the island; the entire economy oriented on tourism
  • biggest city: Phuket Town; Patong Beach is the tourist center
  • religion: mostly Buddhists, Muslim minority also people with Chinese or Malayan roots; many westerners
  • west coast: beautiful beaches, white sand, always hot water; less tourists on the north, beaches become wilder; any sand beaches in the east

Phuket Climate

  • monsoons: dry and cool from north-east, a wet and hot from south-west
  • three seasons: cold: November to March, hot: April to June, rainy: July to October
  • temperatures: from 23oC to 33oC, stable all year round, the hottest: March, April, May
  • rainfalls: From May to October rainfalls are 10 times higher: 20mm in February to 400mm in September
  • May: many storms every second day, agitated sea, short rains
  • September and October: strong long-lasting rainfalls
  • water temperature: never falls down below 20oC, between 27oC – 30oC usually

Tsunami 2004

  • source: underwater earthquake, or volcanic eruption
  • Thailand shores: high risk zone, proximity of joint of two tectonic plates near Sumatra
  • tsunami 2004: only 2 earthquakes in XX century were stronger; liberated energy: 370 times bigger than used in USA in 2005
  • the wave: until 30m high, Indonesia shores 15min after, Somalia 7 hours
  • deaths in Thailand: over 5.000, many unknown, particularly Burmese workers on Phuket
  • destroyed towns on Phuket: Kamala, Patong Beach, Kata, Karon
  • today situation: a system installed by USA on Andaman Sea sending signals about the danger, its technical state is unknown, (lack of free media in Thailand)