Koh Mak, 'Long Live the Danes!' and a Shipwreck...

We wanted to squeeze in just one more 'koh' before we met up with our friend Denis in Bangkok. We loved the Thai islands so much already, we agreed we'd definitely make time to escape the city for a few more days on the beach.

Back in Koh Lipe, we befriended a nice Danish family. The mom and dad were a) some of the coolest parents on the planet always swimming and playing around on the beach with their two young sons, b) told us about how cool Koh Phi Phi was 20+ years ago and c) are most definitely 'koh experts'. They have been to the Thai islands many, many times (I mean I think they went to Koh Phi Phi in 1979!!!) and gave us some 'koh tips'. We told them we were looking for something like Koh Lipe: beautiful, not touristy and beyond awesome.

The Danes told us about Koh Mak. We spent our 4 days on Koh Mak often saying things like 'long live the Danes!' and wondering how we could attach a note to a bird's foot who would magically fly away to Denmark and thank these people for telling us about this beautiful island.

I mean...

...we walked to a shipwreck...

...we motorbiked through pineapple fields...

...we had one of the best pork with chili and basil dishes we ever had (Christian says it was the best)...

...we went to a live acoustic jam session...twice...

...and we had a beachfront bungalow for $18 a night...

It was ridiculously beautiful. We loved Koh Mak and we really love Danish people now, too...

TRAVEL TIPS

*Koh Mak is only 4-5ish hours by minivan from Bangkok. Take a minivan from Ekamai station to Trat, then a 1 hour speedboat to Koh Mak.

*The Monkey Island Resort was perfect. Cheap bungalows with fan right near the beach and also with a hammock. But get breakfast in town...their bungalows are great, their breakfasts are terrible. And you need to call the hotel directly to reserve your room!

*Mong Restaurant was the site of that amazing pork with chili and basil we had. It's down the highway from Monkey Island Resort on the side of the road--we went by motorbike.