The sun is scorching hot, summer is knocking on the door. With this kind of weather, I can't help but think of the sea. This year, there is one island (actually, an archipelago) that I have set my sights on after missing it several times. It's called Koh Kam, Laem Son National Park, Kapoe District, Ranong Province. If you've never heard of it, that's not surprising. And if you have heard of it, that's not surprising either. Because this small archipelago has only become widely known in the last few years.


What's so good about the Koh Kam Islands? Let me answer that by saying that this is the Ranong Sea, how about that? Beautiful, peaceful, retains its raw beauty quite a lot, has its own charm. It's a pity that most tourists overlook it and go further south to places like Phang Nga, Krabi, Phuket, Trang, and Satun. Ranong, the first province on the Andaman Sea, is like the neglected stepchild, even though she's actually beautiful and hides a lot of secrets waiting to be discovered. I've been to Ranong three times and I still never get tired of going back.


To avoid missing out on another trip to Koh Kam, I decided to pack my bags and head out. Even though the information said that I would have to rent a boat to get there, there were no buses to Laem Son National Park, and there were no restaurants in the park, I wasn't afraid. Carrying a backpack and facing death like this is fun.


(1)


This trip was in the middle of March 2016. I started my journey in the early evening of Wednesday, March 16th. I took a solo trip from the Southern Bus Terminal, taking theสมบัติทัวร์ bus for 403 baht. The bus winded its way through the streets of Ranong Province, making me a little dizzy. I woke up before dawn and arrived in Mueang District. This bus company goes into the city center. If you prefer to get off at the Bus Terminal on Phetkasem Road, that's also an option.


The morning atmosphere in Ranong city is quite peaceful. It's worth noting that this is the province with the smallest registered population in the country. However, it has the second-largest hidden population of Burmese people, after Samut Sakhon.



They say that when you arrive in Ranong, you must try the roti. There are many shops in Ranong town, but I have a favorite shop called "Roti Bang Nui" in Soi Prapa, near the Provincial Waterworks Authority. Get off the bus behind the market and walk for a bit, and you'll be there. The taste is as delicious as ever. The curry here is a bit sweet and not spicy. But the price has been going up all the time. This set includes a cup of chicken curry, two plain roti, and a hot coffee for 85 baht.


Alright, I'm full and it's time to continue my journey. Koh Kam, Laem Son National Park, or Bang Ben Beach, where I will be staying, is located in Kapong District, about 50 kilometers south of Ranong City. There are two-row passenger vans running from Ranong to Kapong from morning to almost evening. The van terminal in Ranong is located behind the market, in the alley next to Ranong Photo and Krung Thai Bank. If you don't know how to get there, ask someone in the area so you don't get lost. Before you get on the van, take a good look at the sign, because there are a lot of two-row vans running in Ranong.



The songthaew, a type of shared taxi, continued its journey south to Kapong District. Along the way, we passed the Namtok Ngao National Park (which has no water during the dry season). Next to it is the Grass Mountain, another symbol of Ranong Province. Since we were already there, we pressed the bell and jumped off the car at Grass Mountain to take some photos.


Those who have never been there might not be able to imagine it. The Grass Mountains are low, bald hills, three or four of them, located along the Phetkasem Road. There are only a few large trees growing there. Those who travel a long way to see this place as an Unseen Thailand might be as disappointed as I was when I first came here many years ago. It's like, is that all? Especially during the hot season when the sun is blazing, I don't need to tell you how scorching it will be (lol...). But anyway, if you come to Ranong, it's worth stopping by to see it with your own eyes.


After taking photos of the grassy mountains until I was drenched in sweat, I crossed the road and waited for the same bus, Ranong-Kapoe, to go to Laem Son National Park. The bus arrived shortly after. The Phetkasem Road was shady and there were few cars. I enjoyed the cool breeze and the scenery for less than an hour before arriving at the entrance of the national park and Ban Bang Ben. The total bus fare was 40 baht.


Ten kilometers is the distance from the entrance to the park office. There is no public transportation or taxis. In fact, if you have booked a boat trip in advance, you can call them to pick you up. There may be an additional charge, but that's up to you. As for me, a lone traveler, I have to rely on my two feet and two hands. Two feet to walk, two hands to wave for a ride.


Hitching a ride into the park wasn't difficult at all. Since the end of the road leads to a village, a beach, and a pier, there were plenty of cars passing by, both coming and going. I walked for about a kilometer and managed to hitch a ride, which shortened my journey by about two kilometers. I walked for another kilometer and managed to hitch another ride, this time on a motorbike that took me straight to the park entrance, as the rider was heading to the pier anyway. It was that easy! I had arrived.




It is important to note that there are no food vendors within Laem Son National Park or Bang Ben Beach. However, there is no need to worry about going hungry, as there are villages and local restaurants just outside the park that sell food. If you have a contact number, you can also ask them to deliver food to you inside the park. The closest restaurant is called Ya Da, owned by Bang Ya Da and Ja Da, my new friends. (Bang means older brother and Ja means older sister.)


The Ya Daan shop has become my haunt. I eat all my meals here, and when I'm free, I come and sit here to escape the heat. I chat with Bang and Ja, and I've learned a lot about Bang Banen from them. I also found out that Bang Yaad is a role model in the community. He is the inventor of the five-star OTOP products, the famous powdered shrimp paste and buried salted fish of Kaper district. TV programs come to film at his house regularly. I've learned a lot from talking to both of them.


Continuing on to the journey, we had lunch cooked by Jada, which was so delicious that we ordered another box to go. Then we went to Bang Ben Beach, where the park headquarters is located. It's quite spacious and shady. We contacted the park about setting up a tent, and it was done in no time. The open space is great, and if you want to camp near the pine trees, you can find a spot. There are plenty of charging points in several locations, and the bathrooms are clean and okay. The only downside is that the shower rooms are a bit far from the tent area. The park is in the process of building a new tent area behind the shower rooms, which should be completed soon.



After setting up the tent, we took a walk around the beach. The beach here is very long and lined with lush pine forests, which is a big plus. However, the downside that makes Bang Ben Beach not so famous is that it's not very beautiful. It's a long walk to the water, and the sand is mixed with silt during high tide. The waves bring the silt up, making the water look murky, and the beach has streaks of gray (similar to Ao Yai on Koh Phayam). In addition, the beach is littered with twigs, leaves, and garbage that has been washed up by the monsoon currents. As a result, it's not very popular.



I wandered around taking pictures until the sun went down. Tonight, I'm sleeping alone in a tent at the park, but there's no need to worry about safety because there are officers on duty.




(2)


The next day, I woke up early and got my things ready. I then walked to Bang Ben Pier. There is a nature trail that cuts through from the office to the pier, which saves a lot of time. I waited there in case any tourists were chartering a boat to Koh Kam so I could join them and share the cost of the boat.


Let me explain a bit about the boat trip. Here, we use the villagers' long-tail boats (there may be resort boats from Kuraburi or other places that use speedboats, but that's their business). The price is fixed at 2,500 baht per boat, which can accommodate up to ten people. If you happen to be a small group with fewer people, you can negotiate the price directly with the boatman.

The boat will take us to four points: Khang Khao Beach, Khang Khao Island for snorkeling, Koh Kamtok (Ao Khao Kwai), and Koh Yipun. We can spend the morning and afternoon as we please, stopping at each point for as long as we like. There is no fixed schedule, but it will depend on the waves and wind on the day.


The first person I met at the pier was Bang Lam. He was also in a group of tour boats, but today he wasn't going to Koh Kam because he had to take customers to Koh Phayam. I asked him about the price of a boat ride from Bang Ben Pier to Koh Phayam Pier, and he said it was 1,500 baht for a one-way trip. If you want to go to other beaches or take a boat tour around Koh Phayam, you can negotiate the price. You can also hire a boat to visit other islands, and the price will depend on the type of tour you want. All the boatmen here are from Bang Ben village.


Although Bang Lam didn't go to Koh Kam, when he found out that I was traveling alone, he immediately contacted another boat for me. That day, one of his group's boats was going out with three tourists. However, when I asked the owner of the group charter, he was not comfortable with me joining them, which is understandable as it was a private charter.


I wandered around the pier until half past ten. I realized that I wouldn't be able to catch the boat today, so I went for a walk and took photos along Bang Ben Beach instead. I explored the long stretch of beach, taking my time. Around noon, I went to sit down and have lunch with Jada at a restaurant. Jada said that there would probably be more boats leaving tomorrow, Saturday, and that she would help me find one.


I killed time until the late afternoon, then went to wait for the sunset. After that, I went back to Yada's shop to chat with my friends. I told you that this is my favorite place to hang out (lol...)



(3)


The next day, I woke up late as usual. I walked out to get the lunchbox that Ja Da had prepared for me and went to wait at the pier. I saw Bang Lam again. He told me that he had a boat going out today, but it was already full. I found out later that it was a large group from a famous Facebook page, "Backpackers, Cool All Over Thailand." They came in full force, two boats with 20 people.


I waited for news about whether there would be a boat to go with for a while. Bang Lam smiled and came to me and said that he had found a boat. It was the boat of his wife's younger brother named Bang Eib, who had three customers. But he whispered that I wasn't going as a joy group person. Let's go as a friend of Bang Eib. He was afraid that it would be like yesterday. He insisted that this would not be a problem. As for me, I was looking for information about the boat people to write a piece of work. So I talked to Bang Eib and asked if I could use his story and pictures and that I would help promote his boat. Okay, no problem. I gave Bang Eib some money, but I won't say how much.


Alright, the boat has left, my heart is pounding. Finally, my dream has come true. I stand at the stern of the boat, asking Bang Eib for information, not bothering the group owner to be polite. About half an hour later, we arrived at the first destination, Bat Island. The water is clear and refreshing. There is a small problem with the debris of branches and leaves scattered all over the beach. However, looking at it another way, it is considered beautiful and raw according to the atmosphere of the island in the national park. The sand is so soft that my feet almost sink up to my ankles.



While on Bat Island, Jada called to ask where I was. "I'm on the island already, Jada," I said. That meant Jada had called to tell me she had found a boat for me. The boat was scheduled to leave at eleven o'clock, but I had already secured a boat, so it was all good.


After playing in the water at Bat Island for a while, we continued our journey. Actually, there is a snorkeling spot to see coral reefs on this island. It just so happened that the group I was with didn't want to go snorkeling, and I was just a fellow traveler, so I missed the chance to see how much coral there was. It's okay, because from the beauty of this place, I believe I will definitely come back again.

Since we weren't diving, we headed straight to Koh Kamtok, or Ao Khao Kwai, a landmark of the Koh Kam group. It took a while to sail there from Koh Khang Khao.


Koh Kamtok is home to the park ranger unit. The first thing I did when I arrived was to walk up to the viewpoint. At first, the officer didn't want me to go up because the climbing path wasn't very good, or he asked another officer to take me up. But Bang-eun, who happened to be a friend of the officer from Bang Ben, said it was okay, I could go up easily. With Bang-eun's help pushing me from behind, I made it up easily.


The path wasn't very high, but it was steep enough that we had to climb and use ropes. The pictures I took were from a section that wasn't too difficult, because during the harder parts I had to put the camera away and focus on climbing. But in the end, it wasn't beyond my abilities. And when I reached the top, I was rewarded with this amazing view.




The unique charm of Ao Khao Kwai, Koh Kamtok, is that it has beaches on both sides of a sandbar, as seen in the aerial photo. One side is a long, white sandy beach facing the open sea.




The other side is a curved bay shaped like a buffalo horn, as its name suggests. This side has a lot of rocky cliffs, which are beautiful in a different way.



At the end of the bay on one side, there is a low viewpoint called Pha Tawan Tok.



Normally, tourists are not allowed to stay overnight on this island because there are no freshwater sources. The park is concerned that visitors will have a difficult time staying here, so they have规定 that visitors can only visit on a day-trip basis. Plus, the island is very small, so you can walk around it in just a short time.


I had a good amount of time at Ao Khao Kwai, enough for me to walk around taking photos, sit down for lunch and chat with Bang Eib, and then walk around taking more photos again without having to rush. It was almost half past one when I finally set off again to go to Ko Phiphi Don, which wasn't far away.


The name of the Japanese island comes from the fact that during World War II, Japanese soldiers set up a base here. It is a small island with beautiful beaches and clear water. The atmosphere is beautiful and peaceful. My fellow passengers enjoyed swimming. When the time was right, around 2:30 pm, we returned to shore. Normally, if anyone wants to stay longer, there is no problem.



Returning to the pier at half past three, I took a leisurely stroll around the area. Visitors to this area may be surprised to see large herds of buffalo roaming freely through the village and along the beach. They often wander into the park's camping grounds. Upon closer observation, you'll notice that these buffalo are not used for plowing fields but are instead raised for sale. They require minimal care and are allowed to graze freely wherever they please. They can go wherever they want without fear of getting lost or being stolen. When someone wants to buy a buffalo, they simply chase it down, regardless of its intended use. If the buyer doesn't want the animal alive, the chase may end with a gunshot.



To the park, sit and relax in the shade to protect your skin from the sun, I feel so sorry for it. Wait until the next day to take pictures of the sunset.




As the sky darkened, I walked out to eat at Ja Da restaurant as usual. I ate and chatted for a while before excusing myself to go back to rest. Tonight, a group from a famous page came to camp, but the staff arranged for them to camp in a zone far away from me. The atmosphere was still quiet as usual. I slept listening to the sound of the wind, the sea, and the insects. It was the best.

(4)


After three nights, the mission to conquer Koh Kam was a success. The next morning, there was no need to rush, so we took a walk and took pictures around Bang Ben Beach, looking for beautiful pine trees as props. The sea water here may not be clear, and the beach may not be beautiful, but the other elements are excellent.


Around noon, I packed up my tent and carried my luggage to eat at Ya Da Restaurant. Bang Ya Da recommended that I go to Doi Roi Wiew, which is located behind Ranong Resort & Laguna. Not only did he recommend it, but Bang also hailed a car for me and told him to take me to the resort. I would like to thank all the people of Bang Ben who have helped me throughout this trip. If you ask me how much the people of Bang Ben have helped me, I would say that the people of Bang Ben are as generous as the sea of Bang Ben.


Ranong Resort & Lagoon is located on Phetkasem Road. Coming from the city, it will be on the left-hand side next to the PT gas station, about one kilometer before the entrance to Laem Son National Park. The resort may be a bit old, but it is still in operation. In front, there is a small water park that is popular with children. As for Doi Roi Wiew, the entrance is located behind the resort. (If you look from the gas station, you will see the cliff clearly.) If you want to go up, you have to ask the people at the resort for directions, otherwise you won't find it. (Haha...)


I asked for detailed directions, emphasizing that I could walk up alone without getting lost, so I went ahead. Although I was a little discouraged when I saw the starting point, I thought, "Can I really do this?" However, although it was a bit overgrown, it was not difficult to see the path. It's just that it might not be suitable for traveling alone. I heard that they are planning to improve the access road, so I think it will be better after a while.



After a half-hour walk, I reached the viewpoint. The sun was shining brightly, but the sky was a bit hazy, so the distant sea view wasn't very clear. Overall, I wouldn't say the view was breathtaking, but there's a certain thrill to visiting a place that's still off the beaten path. That's the fun of backpacking, after all.



After descending from Doi Roi Wiew, I waited for a car back to Ranong city. I told the driver to drop me off at the entrance of Raksa Warin Hot Spring (if I didn't tell him beforehand, he would have turned into the city another way). Since I had some time to spare, I thought I should stop by and soak my feet to relax for a bit. To be honest, I would have preferred to go to the Phrang Hot Spring in Namtok Ngao National Park, but time was not on my side and it was more difficult to get to than Raksa Warin in the city.



Carrying a large backpack, I walked from the side of Phetkasem Road to Raksa Warin Hot Spring, about one kilometer. I walked out another kilometer, then walked to the bus terminal for another kilometer. My body was drenched in sweat, which was a good way to burn energy. I found some food to eat and waited for the bus at 8:30 pm to return to Bangkok. This concludes my fourth trip to Ranong.


If you enjoy simple, unadulterated nature, tranquility, and a unique charm, Ranong will not disappoint you. It may be the least populated province in the country, but the smiles and kindness of the people of Ranong are truly overflowing. I can guarantee it.



1. Take a bus to Ranong Bus Terminal or Ranong City. If you don't want to stop in the city, there are buses to Kapong District. You can get off at the entrance of Laem Son National Park.

2. From Ranong city market, take a blue songthaew (Ranong-Kapoe) to the entrance of Laem Son National Park. The fare is 40 baht per person.

3. If you have booked a private boat or accommodation at Bang Ben Beach in advance, you can arrange for them to pick you up at the entrance. The additional cost will depend on the agreement. Otherwise, you can easily hail a car to take you to the park headquarters.

4. To visit Koh Kam, take a boat from Bang Ben Pier, which is not far from the office. The price is 2,500 baht for a whole boat, which can accommodate up to ten people. It is recommended to book the boat in advance at least one day before.

Contact the boat through Laem Son National Park >>> 0-7786-1431, 0-7786-1442

To contact the boat directly through the boatman, I recommend two people >>> Mr. Lam 08-0038-0757 (who kindly arranged the boat for me without asking for anything) >>> Mr. Eib 08-0693-5038 (I went with Mr. Eib, I guarantee excellent service) If both boats are not available, they will recommend other boats themselves.

Contact the boat through the tour boat group leader >>> Bang Mai 08-6271-0373

5. Khao Laem Son National Park offers bungalows and tent sites for rent, with complete equipment. Meanwhile, there are several private accommodations in Ban Bang Ben, mostly simple beachfront accommodations at affordable prices. I don't have any specific recommendations as I haven't stayed there myself. Try searching on Google for more options.

6. Inside the park, only bottled water is available for sale. There are no restaurants. The nearest restaurant is located in front of the park, called Ya Da Restaurant. You can walk out to eat, order delivery to the park, or order boxed meals for your boat trip. Contact Ja Da >>> 08-5796-2374


If you're interested in reading other reviews of mine, or if you'd like to chat, ask me questions (if I have the answers, of course), or invite me on a trip, I'd be happy to.

>>> https://www.facebook.com/alifeatraveller





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