It’s hard to imagine that there are crowd-free beaches on the Andaman coast or the Gulf of Thailand when Phuket and Pattaya attract hordes of partygoers and legions of backpackers that jostle for beachfront real estate. But if you are ready to call thatched-roof bungalows home for a few days, endure cold showers, sleep with your windows open and tuck yourself in a mosquito net, there are islands that are light-years away in all forms of pollution from Thai party central and will offer you just the space you need for a really relaxing getaway.
1) Koh Siboya
If crabs playing hide from hunting monkeys is your definition of holiday, then this island is heaven. Koh Siboya, 20 kilometers south of Krabi, is as rural and detached from the hustle and bustle of modern life as it is lacking in tourist facilities. The beach is not exactly what you would call achingly beautiful – technically mud flats instead of “beaches” – but this does not dissuade equally off-grid travelers from coming back. Resorts – three as of last count – and cafes – someone else’s front porch – or the lack thereof, make up Koh Siboya’s tourist infrastructure. There are even no proper roads to make transport easier (you would have to explore this speck of an island on foot or, if you are lucky to rent from someone, by motorcycle) and there are only a few stalls selling basic commodities to the 1,000 or so people living in the island earning their day’s pay from the sea or from rubber trees.
2) Ko Bulon Lae
A tiny island in south Andaman reachable by a 45-minute speedboat ride from Pak Bara, Ko Bulon Lae is delectably laid back even during high season. The absence of roads means there are no motorized vehicles to contribute to sound or air pollution, and this undiluted atmosphere applies to lack of influences from the mainland.
3) Ko Sukorn
If you are looking for white sand beaches, then Ko Sukorn will frustrate. But if you don’t mind black sand, miles and miles and miles of desolate beaches, hard coral reefs, buffalo herds outnumbering locals and locals outnumbering tourists, rubber trees that dominate the landscape, a pastoral atmosphere, concrete roads big enough for bikes, ridiculously cheap accommodation, and “unplugged” way of life (no ATMs here), then Ko Sukorn fits the bill.
4) Ko Chang Noi
Rugged, “reggaed” and really out of the way, Ko Chang Noi is the definition of “unplugged” yet artsy laidback island off the coast of Burma in the Andaman Sea. So unplugged is the island that there are no televisions, hot showers or fans even during limited hours of the day when electricity is on, and cellphone and Internet signal are unstable at best. Largely uninhabited on land, Ko Chang Noi is home to a constellation of life underwater.
5) Ko Kut
What Koh Siboya lacks in amenities, Ko Kut makes up for luxuries. Equally off-the-beaten path like Koh Siboya, Koh Kood (as it is also known) nonetheless affords creature comforts like delicious spas, giant LED screens and exquisite Thai feasts if you are willing to part ways with precious dollars. But the “palm sun day” scenery and the chorus of jungle sounds make Ko Kut an ideal escape for travelers yearning for deep introspection and communion with nature.
