away from the bright lights and noise of Krabi’s vacationer strip, the secluded island of Koh Klang is a refuge of culture and quiet. Its focus on eco-tourism allows its few inquisitive visitors a perspective of Thailand that a lot of tourists never get to see.
As the long-tail boat pulls away from Khong Kha Pier and its famous gigantic crab statue, the mangrove looms closer – mysterious and somehow a lot more tropical than the palm trees lining the beachside resort town of Ao Nang.
We’re heading for Koh Klang – literally ‘island in the middle’. This large island is ideal in the centre of the mangrove forest, facing Ao Nang across the broad opening to the Krabi River.
And like two sides of a coin, they couldn’t be a lot more different.
Here’s our video of our time on Koh Klang:
Click here to enjoy this video on YouTube.
Very few travellers make it to Koh Klang, which is the way the locals like it. Their focus is on eco-tourism and culture, and they’re delighted to leave the partying and hedonism to the mainland.
Indeed, the 98% Muslim community here – something unsurprising the additionally south you travel in Thailand – indicates alcohol is not allowed, neither is pork nor improper or immodest dress.
And as we pull up to the rickety wooden wharf, we meet our motorist on Koh Klang and our ride – a tuktuk sidecar motorbike. There are no cars on the island’s narrow little roads.
We’re soon zooming through the lanes that cross flat farmland and dense jungle; the occasional water buffalo moping at us from its field or the even a lot more occasional house sprouting from the trees.
Things to do on Koh Klang
English is not widely spoken on Koh Klang, but visitors seem to get by. Locals are welcoming and patient, and they’re keen to show visitors around.
They’re pleased of their culture and heritage, and have worked hard at the eco-tourism approach.
Batik painting
This wax and dye art form is found all over the world, from Egypt to China and goes back thousands of years.
We’ve tried this before in Borneo – it’s very satisfying enjoying the dye bleed across the surface of the fabric to the edges of the wax.
But sitting the sunshine on this peaceful little island, the citizen water buffalo keeping an eye on us makes this batik experience even a lot more memorable.
This is also a workshop for professional artists, and you can see their work in the main building. There’s also a shop where you can get their finished pieces and you get to keep your work too as part of the experience.
Sponsored by the world Vision foundation of Thailand, the Batik Patek Housewife group is locally run so that all the money they earn here stays with the workers.
Tie dye
Further down the road, we pull over again by a village of sorts. A basic collection of buildings, lots of with open walls and dirt floors, others with woven wicker and bare concrete.
The people here have set up a service similar to the batik group, though a lot more rustic.
Here you learn to make tie dye – a standard technique of the area. The women here use natural dye as well: tree bark, berries, roots, whatever they can forage from the local area.
By tying pieces of wood to folded fabric, boiling it in dye then soaking it in water to fix the colour, we make some beautiful patterns in the cloth.
You can also get pieces from the racks – anything from tee shirts and scarves to tote bags.
Wooden handicraft
This workshop and community store sells exceptionally complex model boats that the owner has made. They’re historic miniatures of the prawning boats his daddy once built, though these days modern motorboats are a lot more common.
He also makes wooden muskets that fire balls of baked clay. I’m really shocked at how powerful and accurate these guns are.
This homemade ‘slingshot gun’ was surprisingly accurate – Christina nearly hit a man walking past. You can see it in our video.
Traditional rice production
We also stop in at a place that sells the rice from the island. The rice here is multicoloured – ranging from white to red – and is special to the world.
You can also have a go at using standard machines that de-husk and pound rice grains.
Fruit trees
Do you know where cashews come from? We stop in at our driver’s friend’s place where there are three or four huge cashew trees in the garden.
I’m fascinated to learn that the nuts grow underneath a kind of pear-shaped fruit that are exceptionally juicy and tasty. When they’re ripe the fruit turn bright red and are even sweeter than when they’re yellow.
The cashew nuts grow inside thick shells that are nearly impossible to crack.
The reason I look so ecstatic is because I’ve been talking about how cashews grow forever – and it really annoys Christina!
Locals allow the cashews to bake on metal grills before they crack the thick shells.
Back at the wharf, we board our boat with the voice of the call to prayer from one of the island’s four mosques resonating to the water’s edge. It’s been an unforgettable experience.
Getting to Koh Klang
From Khong Kha Pier, it’s only a 10-minute boat ride to the nearest point on the island. Longtail boats hold up to eight people and it costs TBH300 for a return trip.
You can hire a boat for longer if you want to explore a lot more of the mangrove forest. This will cost around TBH600-800 depending on how long you want to sail for.
For a lot more stories on Thailand, check out our guide to Ayutthaya – Thailand’s forgotten capital, 11 reasons to visit Chiang Mai and our romantic honeymoon travel plan in Thailand.
You can also find our other stories on the Land of Smiles here in our Thailand library.
This region of southern Thailand started out as a vacationer destination a couple of decades ago when regulars had had enough of over-tourism of Phuket across the bay.
They went in search of a new paradise and what they found was an untouched province surrounded by those dramatic karst islands and spectacular beaches Krabi is known for.
Of course Krabi – or a lot more specifically Ao Nang – is now suffering at the same hands that shaped modern-day Phuket.
Koh Klang and its unchanged aesthetic are a subtle tip that true authentic Thai experiences are never too far away, but also how different the area is now.
To think that this whole region once looked like Koh Klang is somewhat bitter sweet. It’s crucial that places like this still exist.
We travelled to Koh Klang with outstanding Thailand – the national tourism board.