life by visiting a sleepy fishing village and wandering into a family home that tapped and processed rubber for sale on the mainland. Rubber is a large export from the island with entire families being involved in the processing of the material. With less than 2000 people on the 129-square-kilometre island, rubber tapping and fishing are conducted essentially for sustenance. The lack of heavy industry, neon-infused tourist traps and fast food outlets that plague neighbouring islands, means that the country’s fourth-largest island is one of the last few bastions of Thai island tourism where you can still experience something resembling true pastoral life. Despite the wide-ranging ‘hotel’ accommodations (a mix of 50-odd cabin resorts, shacks and homestays) on the island, few backpacking travellers make it out here because of how expensive some of the room nights can be. Without an airport, and the only landing strip being on a separate island 15 minutes away by speedboat, Koh Kood’s unspoiled beauty makes the lack of 21st Century modern conveniences, a blessing in disguise.
Signing off Back at the resort, I head to ‘The View,’ for a rich and delectably wine-paired four-course meal, just in time for an uninterrupted view of sea and sky, and a molten sunset. “We have so many repeat guests mainly because they trust us and we give them complete privacy,” says Alex Jureeratana, the resort manager. “Whether its Hollywood celebrities, business tycoons or sportstars, what they enjoy most is that they are free to do whatever they like here without being pestered. Most of our staff don’t even know who they are, and they like that.” As I turn off the last switch at the villa, I’m plunged into darkness save for slivers of moonlight peeping in through the shutters around my room. After an action-packed day, sleep comes easily. Restless crickets and frogs kick up some jungle sounds outside and distant rumblings start to fill the night sky. The next day, I awake to my villa covered in a carpet of leaves. The wooden walkways are drenched and island snails have made their way out of the woodwork to peep up at the day. As we drive to the jetty where a motorboat will whisk us
away from the island, my butler informs me that a powerful storm had hit the island the night before, causing a few trees to fall around the resort. From the look of the glorious sun on this morning and how soundly I slept, I couldn’t imagine such a violent storm. As we boarded our ferry, dark clouds emerged as if from nowhere and a gusty torrent fell on us from above. It was the perfect farewell from Soneva Kiri – a lashing of temperamental nature, memories of wondrous isolation to relish on the way home, and an umbrella held over me as I took my last photographs of the island. Talk about a holiday in a nutshell.
“Whether its Hollywood celebrities, business tycoons or sportstars, what they enjoy most is that they are free to do whatever they like here without being pestered. Most of our staff don’t even know who they are, and they like that.” Alex Jureeratana, Manager, Soneva Kiri