Thai holiday part six : Koh Mook island, Farang and Charlie beach

Short version :

Charlie beach, Friday Saturday.

Long version :

Today Friday I change hotels. And yes heaven has a price, I stayed only two nights :). So I arrive in the afternoon in another part of the island, on Farang beach, also called Charlie Beach. There is a little more wind here, so much the better. I meet a lot of young people, it seems to move, and I am happy because I will meet people.

I am in a bamboo hut in the Charlie Beach Resort Koh Mook and it is true that the difference is felt compared to the previous luxury hotel! There are also about ten stray dogs outside. It's less cool but I'll have to deal with it.

I try to caress one but he barks at me. Ok ok I do not insist.

Charlie beach

I'm going to swim and take a nap because the sun does makes me tired (no, but do you hear this girl ahahah). There are constantly scooters that pass in front of the rooms, these are the people from the village. When I wake up I take a shower with the ants and I keep the spray at hand to target the mosquitoes who have invited themselves. I prefer lizards. I go out and there, no more flip flops. It's not possible ! I take a quick tour telling me that it may be the dogs who played with them but no I do not find them ... Somebody would have stolen my stuff? But why ? Good...

It's getting dark, I'll go to the village tomorrow morning. At sunset the critters are out. But en masse! And all at once! I sprinkled myself with mosquito repellent but walking to find a restaurant a cloud of bugs accompanies me (I do not exaggerate). I wag the arms in all directions, I slap to slam them, the feeling is horrible! Besides, I'm not the only one, for the others around me it's the same thing. From the outside it must be funny to see but I'm not kidding too much;). I will be told later that they are termites.

Special holidays in Thailand

With all that I did not have time to explore the area so I go to the first restaurant out of the hotel. I take a papaya salad (spicy as always!) Which is good and around 20h there are fewer critters. Phew, it's better now. On my way back to my hut I hear a bar a little further down the beach with loud music. How to go there? It is all black, I do not know if there is a way. I take a flashlight and go there. There are plenty of hermit crabs everywhere on the beach, when I walk near them they run away it's funny.

The bar is very nice, there are sun loungers on the sand, small lights, quirky stuff. I also see a tent high, I guess someone has to sleep on the spot to keep the stocks, and yes everything is open. The manager settles me at the table of a guy who turns out to be French. It's Gerard, 58 years old, here since already two and a half months. He was a photographer and lives at the house of Mong's dad, the bar manager.

It's been 20 years since he came to Thailand, he knows everything! I'm so happy I'm going to learn a lot of things.

He tells me about all islands, he has almost done them all since he arrived, he explains to me how everything has changed. The manager of the bar lived before at exactly the same place in Koh Mook but it was the jungle back then, there was nothing, no hotel, people lived from fishing. Then the tourists began to come more and more numerous.

Tourism in Thailand

Hotels developed and he eventually opened his bar. When I ask him for the children, he is mixed, some see themselves actually leaving the island but most want to stay, life is simple here. But as it is very small there are clans and stories on each side of the island, everything is very important because there are fewer people. And of course everybody knows each other!

I see a lot of children working, there are tuktuk, some waiters. I have already seen a child of 5-6 years driving a big scooter alone!

A little later a German joins us. He tells us about his journey, he has been traveling for a month and a half and is going from island to island according to his desires. He speaks of the Chinese, horrible tourists according to him who do not bathe and do not like the sun. They just come to take pictures. And no pictures like us, with the perfect frame, if possible no one on the horizon, the right light, no. They all take group pictures in different places and then leave, without doing anything else.

Once he crossed a boat filled with Chinese tourists. The guide said that on the right was a shark, or whatever, and all the tourists rushed like one man on the right side to take pictures! The boat almost faltered and turned around!

I explain to them at a moment the disappearance of my flip flops, I do not understand why they were stolen. Gerard laughs. What ? In fact it happens sometimes here. Someone has forgotten this or that and he is using it, it's like that.

I also learn that the hotel will close in a few weeks. I thought that the green-colored pool-do-not-bathe-especially-it was weird. In addition the second row of bamboo bungalows is not rented.

Koh mook

It is a decision of the authorities because the hotel is in the national park. But it is likely that a new hotel will open later for a substantial sum of money ... Ah money.

At night I fall asleep with the sound of the waves is very nice.

On Saturday morning I get up with the sound of birds .. and scooters and dogs barking. Hm. I'm going to see what is on offer at breakfast but all the food bins have their lids removed and there are plenty of flies everywhere.

I decide to go to the village to buy flip flops. I find my size but it misses the right foot. You do not have others in this size? No no. Can you tell me where to go to find them? No no. And the lady goes back to sleep in her hammock. The shop after only has some kind of slippers to go in the water. And then at the end of the island, victory! I finally find a small store that has, as it is not so obvious to find flip flops (with right size!) On an island. I've walked so much and it's so hot, I stop somewhere to have a cold beer and watch passers-by.

Store on charly beach

There is continuous movement. I return to Charlie Beach by taxi (the tuktuk side-car, here I saw only one car) because it is past noon and it is much too hot. I notice that like other scooters, it has the counter blocked. Impossible to know how fast he drives. Moreover, when I asked Gérard he confirmed that Thailand is in the top 3 world countries with the highest accident rate.

I bathe all afternoon. There are often boats that drop tourists and their  luggage   directly onto the beach.

I look at the beautiful sunset just like last night. I have never seen so beautiful. As the sky changes color it is beautiful.

I then post on my terrace in observation mode. These pesky creatures will not have me twice! But tonight they do not come and it's German who arrives instead of them. He wants to take me to taste the best cuisine of the island according to him. On the way we cross a kind of huge drone with very large wings. His body is the size of a good apricot I would say. And this thing is starting to fly around me.

Ko mook

Seeing my unconsidered love for critters I start to be afraid and of course ... it ends up getting stuck in my hair! Ahhh I scream HELP ME HELP MEEE, the anxiety is total, PLEASEEE !! If you do not have long hair you may be hard to understand the feeling of total panic that I had. German ends up clearing it, he gets stung in return.

At the restaurant he tells me about Schnitzel (breaded pork cutlet, which can be found in the shape of skewers). From now on it will be his nickname because it reminds me of a cartoon that made me laugh.

We eat spring rolls with quite delicious vegetables and I taste Tom Kha which is a slightly spicy coconut milk soup, with tomatoes, mushrooms, shrimps, a kind of potato and other vegetables that the we eat with rice.

As it took more than an hour and a half to be served, the Mong bar on the beach must be closed so we go to the reception of his hotel, which is like everywhere here outdoors, and I meet very nice French people from Toulouse.

Back in my bamboo hut I arm myself with a broom because there are cockroaches brrr. They are so big, it makes me think of Oggy and cockroaches. I quickly sweep Dee-Dee outside but Marky goes too fast. He is hiding under the fridge oh noooon. It's impossible to reach him and he seems to have decided to stay there for the moment. I go to bed and barricade myself as best I can with the mosquito net, I hope it will be gone tomorrow morning.

Frequently Asked Questions

What distinguishes Farang and Charlie Beach on Koh Mook Island, and what experiences can visitors look forward to at these beaches?

Farang and Charlie Beach on Koh Mook are distinguished by their pristine natural beauty, crystal-clear waters, and tranquil atmospheres. Visitors can look forward to relaxing beach days, snorkeling in the coral reefs, and enjoying the island's natural scenery.