Thailand: Island Koh Kood and Erawan National Park

First of all: this blog will be quite short, as I only visited Thailand for a diving course. Please don't get me wrong! Thailand is a fantastic holiday destination, but I have been there twice before, most recently last December/January!

On November 21st, I arrived at Don Mueang Airport in Bangkok at 4am. Unfortunately, I couldn't check into my accommodation near the famous Khao San Road until 11am as it was still occupied. So I rested in the hostel courtyard in the morning and took a walk in the city in the morning. After finally checking in, I rested and didn't have time for another city stroll in the afternoon. But no worries! I actually know the city quite well. The next morning, I took a five-hour bus ride from Bangkok and a one-hour ride on a fast catamaran to the island of Koh Kood on the border with Cambodia. I already spent a week on Koh Kood in early January and since then this island has been one of the best places in the world for me. Koh Kood is the fourth largest island in Thailand, but there are no proper hotels here, only bungalow resorts. There are also no private cars, only shared taxis and rental scooters. The island is mostly covered in jungle, with palm plantations scattered around. There are some fantastic sandy beaches with crystal clear water, often lined with palm trees. After a challenging month in India, I wanted to return there to relax and to earn another diving qualification, the Rescue Diver. I also knew the dive center 'Koh Kood Divers' from last January! I stayed in the same accommodation, the Pink Kangaroo Resort, which is owned by an Australian and a Thai woman and consists of only four bungalows! On November 23rd, we started with a first aid course in the morning, and the next day I had to complete various exercises to rescue injured divers and swimmers in a bay. On the 25th and 26th, I had to demonstrate these skills during real dives. The course ended with a written exam. Overall, the practical exams were quite challenging, but the Rescue Diver is the highest non-professional diving qualification. I passed the exams and would like to express my sincere thanks to Jordi, my Catalan diving instructor!

On the following two days, I explored the island with a rental scooter. I went swimming at six different beaches, all of which were beautiful, and visited two waterfalls in the interior of the island. The trip to the fishing village of Ao Yai on stilts is also worthwhile!

In conclusion, I can only wish the people of Koh Kood to continue keeping mass tourism away from the island and to preserve the paradise as it is! I will come back!

On November 29th, I took the catamaran to the mainland and then the bus back to Bangkok. Originally, I had planned a day in Bangkok for November 30th, but I didn't feel like going to the big city. So I took an organized trip to Kanchanaburi and the Erawan National Park. In Kanchanaburi, we only made a short stop to visit the famous Bridge over the River Kwai. The construction of this bridge by the Japanese in 1942 was depicted in the 1957 film 'The Bridge on the River Kwai'. During the construction of the bridge and the entire railway line from Burma to Thailand, thousands of forced laborers died. On the other hand, the Erawan National Park consists of seven large and countless small waterfalls along a two-kilometer stretch. There are frequent opportunities for swimming, unfortunately only with a life jacket! Surely, this national park is one of the highlights of Thailand in terms of landscape! After 4 hours there, we drove back to Bangkok. From there, I continued my journey to Indonesia on December 1st.