Andaman Sea

The Andaman starts south of the border with Myanmar at Ranong.

It stretches to the south until the border to Malaysia with the Ko Tarutao archipelago close to Langkawai Island.

The island world of this part of the Indian Ocean is relatively untouched, before the 16th Century only some Chinese trader moved into the area buy or rather exchanged pearls and other goods with the Sea Gypsies of the Myeik Archipelago. The part which belong to today Myanmar has changed several times between the 2 countries. 

Old Chinese outpost

in the Andaman Sea 

In the 17th. Century Mergui, as it was formerly know belonged to the Ayutthaya Kingdom. It fell into the hand of the British after they annexed Burma. The city was a important place on the map of the East India Company because it functioned as a restock and trading center on the trip from Calcutta to Penang. Goods have been unloaded here and moved on the back of elephants to the Gulf of Thailand and further to Ayutthaya, China and Japan.

A bit further to the south near Kawthaung is the Isthmus of Kra which has the shortest distance between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific. 

Trip from Ranong to Kawthaung >

This is a destination for great beach vacation. 

holiday, jungle trekking, caving, kayaking, canoeing or climbing the limestone rocks at Krabi, explore national parks, sunbath on the waterfront. Do some surfing, water and jet ski, paragliding or maybe some scuba diving in the Indian Ocean, it could also be just the right place for retirement.

In particular Phuket is the nightlife center.

with  bars, nightclubs, shows, pretty Thai bar girls in particular at Patong are legendary. Every night real hot stuff is on with thousands of tourists from all over the world who try to have a good time with Thai people who come here from "every corner" of the country to make some money. Some really make it, it depends how they look and behave. 

This is the entertainment and amusement center of south Thailand during day and night. The interesting activities are day trips to the north which is Khao Lak and Khao Sok National Park with a huge reservoir set into the wilderness. There trekking trails are available , small waterfalls, tree houses, rivers to paddle and a whole floating village on the lake including cottages to stay and make some tours.  

This is one of the most active and attractive tourism destination in the world with beaches, islands, a great underwater world, coral reefs, lush tropical jungle, excellent food and on the Thailand side the best nightlife in the world, in particular on Phuket island, similar is at Pattaya and Bangkok. A bit less its further south at Hat Yai and at Sadao at the Thai Malaysia border.

Activities are diving, island hopping, big game fishing. 

Taking pictures, water sports, trekking, hiking, elephant rides or just sit down at bar or club, dink some beer and watch the bar girls. There are several marine parks, one of them is around the Similan Islands, another is Ko Tarutao in the south at the border to Malaysia with around 50 pristine islands, another is Ang Thong National Park near Ko Samui and so on. As it is evidently there is something going in the south of Thailand. There is Ranong about 300km north of Phuket and the gateway to south Myanmar, Ranong is the biggest harbor on the Thai west coast.

Thailand's deep south has a big problem with Muslim insurgency who are killing people by the dozen almost every day. This lunatics go preferable after Buddhist Monks and Teachers and are burning down schools frequently. What a rotten mind this people must have who are killing monks and even temple boys all in the name of Islam.

The west coast in southern Thailand has spectacular sights.

Attractive fishing villages and some great Archipelagos a couple of kilometers offshore and beautiful beaches. On the Thai Andaman sea coast from Phuket to the north are the Similan Islands, about 100 km after is the Surin Archipelago with on of the few sea gypsy villages left and again further north on the Myanmar side are around 800 untouched islands. Every winter season tourists from all over the world flock into this scenic sea coast area, its one of Thailand’s main tourist spots.

The Andaman coastline from Ranong on the border with Myanmar all the way south to the Malaysian boarder is approximately 900 kilometers long. Kilometers of beaches welcome the visitors and of course the Thai people welcome the foreigners too since many Thai people make their money for living with the foreigners. In every village and towns are seafood restaurants to serve fresh catch, very tasty are the barracuda steaks in the Phuket and Khao Lak area. There are countless beach resorts on the Andaman coast with beach bungalows and cottages plus other accommodation.

Driving from Ranong south to Phuket. 

The Sarasin bridge is nothing special by itself but from the bridge the view over the emerald water with the Yacht Haven Marina in the distance is a real eye catcher. The bridge is the only direct link from the Thai mainland to the island and spans over the waterway which is also the northern entrance to the Phang Nga Bay, about 3 kilometer to the east are several yachts docking at Yacht Haven Marina, one of the half dozen private marinas on Phuket Island. Crystal clear water and long sandy beaches are practically everywhere on this stretch of the Andaman coast. Swimming, snorkeling, scuba diving, paragliding, kite surfing, surfing, sailing and so on are the main tourist activities.

The remains of the tin mining era are still visible in the down town area beautiful huge villas in Sino-Portuguese style built by rich Chinese merchants during the tin boom and on the other side lots of small Chinese styles houses and several temples. This spot in the ocean has a long history and was already mentioned by Claudius Ptolemy as a place en route from Europe to south east Asia and was used as a point to relax and restock by many seafarer.

The Similan islands are probably the best location if you like scuba and snorkeling plus secluded beaches. The tropical waters around the Similan islands are among the top 10 dive destinations on earth. Similan beaches stand for fine white sand.

The Marine Parks.

could easily hold its own when compared to other great underwater destinations. This is a part of the Indian Ocean which contains the highest diversity of marine life on the globe within the whole range of marine ecosystems, ranging from mangrove forests and sea-grass beds to coral reefs with a wealth of colorful fauna. Mr. Jacques Cousteau, one of the world's most famous underwater explorers commented on the coral reefs around the Similan Islands, that they were outstanding in their attractive diversity.

The Similan group of islands >

is one of Thailand's 17 marine national parks in the ocean off the west coast, these marine parks area are in Ranong, Satun, Trang, Phangnga, Krabi and Phuket province. The lack of proper management and destructive handling of the land, land grabbing and illegal fishing are slowly but surely destroying the coral reefs and some of the islands that comprise the marine parks.

The Phi-Phi islands >

which are part of the Had Nopparat Thara Marine National Park, for example, is all overtaken by hotels, diving operators and the usual tourist infrastructure. It needs to mention that the destruction is not done by tourists this are the local people who only have quick money in mind and do everything to collect it.

Ideas are to declare the marine national parks as world heritage sites to fix new guidelines to save the national marine parks.  Thai laws are in place and seem to be strong but usually people just ignore them. If they are declared world heritage sites people will take it more serious. World heritage sites are at the tip of the pyramid and considered the "flagships" of conservation.

The Similan Islands and Tarutao Archipelago

are now on the list of Asean Heritage Parks, and at a World Heritage marine biodiversity workshop held in Vietnam, Thailand's Surin Marine National Park was recognized as having significant components of outstanding universal value and further studies were recommended to determine if a nomination for World Heritage listing should be prepared.