31 km ( 19 miles) northwest of Koh
Samui lies the 50-isle archipelago of
Ang Thong National Marine Park,
an enchanting wonderland of bulbous green isles,
clear blue lagoons, mysterious
caves, and exotic rock formations. Ang Thong is the
primary spawning grounds for
Thailand's much beloved
plathoo, a sort of mackerel
which appears in all sorts of
Thai dishes, hence the archipelago's name, "Golden Basin."
Approaching Ang Thong by boat
is like entering one of those dreamy
classical Chinese landscape paintings,
with the islands rising from the sea in the
traditional "Dragon Ridge" mountain
motif, mist clinging to peaks, sea and sky lined
merging hazily on the horizon,
billowing white clouds stacked like piles of fleece in the sky.
Rocky crags and green turrents
just abruptly at odd angles from these islets, etching all
sorts of suggestive shapes against
the sky.
The islands range in size from
that of Koh Tao to mere bumps on the
water,and they are riddled with
dozens of hidden coves and caves, splashed with
white sand beaches, and surrounded
by crystal clear lagoons. The main island
Koh Wau Ta Lap (lsle of
the Sleeping Cow)
Mae Koh (Mother Island) features
a miniature beach surrounded by towering walls
of craggy cliffs that look like
a set for a science fiction film. Some of the beach coves
on the smaller islands are so
picture perfect that they seem like tropical fantasies.
There' s a boat that runs daily
from Nathon on Samui out to Ang Thong
at 8:30 am, returning the same
day at 5:00 pm.
: References :
-Sawadee Internet : http://www.sawadee.com/
-Thaiways / The most
comprehensive guide to Thailand Vol.15 No. 17 1998
-A Guide to Koh Samui
And Environs by Dan Reid : Asia Books
