Boat to Koh Thonsáy
Boat on west side of Koh Thonsáy
Boat on east side of Koh Thonsáy
Home of thatch and wood, Koh Thonsáy
Couple processing coconuts, Koh Thonsáy
Police post, Koh Thonsáy
Jackfruit, Koh Thonsáy
banana tree, Koh Thonsáy
Papaya, Koh Thonsáy
Instant coconut juice, Koh Thonsáy
Tree flower, Koh Thonsáy
Tree flower, Koh Thonsáy
Mangroves, Koh Thonsáy
Drying squid, Koh Thonsáy
Koh Thonsáy at the bottom of the map
Video #1 - Village on the westside of Koh Thonsáy
Video #2- Leaving Koh Thonsáy on the boat for Kep
Video #3 - Loading up on water for the tuk tuk,
IT WAS STILL DARK as i picked my way carefully through the garden. Here at the resort, the staff in the kitchen were just waking up. My pre-coffee grumpiness was eased by the sheer tranquility of the setting. At about the same time as tinges of light revealed the Gulf of Thailand below, a cup of the morning brew was placed in front of me.
It was going to be a touristy kind of day. My backpack would stay at the hotel while i visited Koh Tonsáy (or Rabbit Island). After breakfast, a tuk tuk was waiting outside, which ferried several of us travellers to a busy pier. There, the visitors boarded open wooden boats. Noisy engines with extra long propeller shafts, protruding out the back, coughed and stuttered to life. One by one the ragged flotilla set off from Kep. It was a gentle crossing of 4.5 km (3 mile) in morning sunshine. A long beach came into sight, with a few boats already pulled up on the shore. Thatch roofed huts, scattered about a grassy area, peeked through the screen of trees. Then the prow of the boat bumped up at the sandy shore.
We were told "Remember the number of this boat," With six hours to explore i was on my own till 4pm. I lingered to look at a few fruit trees before following a path out of the settlement. I was hoping to go around the island. There was no chance to cross the middle of Koh Tonsáy as the centre was a couple of hills covered in dense jungle. Soon i was in a tiny hamlet near a point of land. People were mending nets or shelling coconuts. The thatched roof huts had woven rattan sides, dirt floors and no electricity. Moments like these reminded me of how encumbered life was back home, with so much stuff in our lives.
It was going to be a touristy kind of day. My backpack would stay at the hotel while i visited Koh Tonsáy (or Rabbit Island). After breakfast, a tuk tuk was waiting outside, which ferried several of us travellers to a busy pier. There, the visitors boarded open wooden boats. Noisy engines with extra long propeller shafts, protruding out the back, coughed and stuttered to life. One by one the ragged flotilla set off from Kep. It was a gentle crossing of 4.5 km (3 mile) in morning sunshine. A long beach came into sight, with a few boats already pulled up on the shore. Thatch roofed huts, scattered about a grassy area, peeked through the screen of trees. Then the prow of the boat bumped up at the sandy shore.
We were told "Remember the number of this boat," With six hours to explore i was on my own till 4pm. I lingered to look at a few fruit trees before following a path out of the settlement. I was hoping to go around the island. There was no chance to cross the middle of Koh Tonsáy as the centre was a couple of hills covered in dense jungle. Soon i was in a tiny hamlet near a point of land. People were mending nets or shelling coconuts. The thatched roof huts had woven rattan sides, dirt floors and no electricity. Moments like these reminded me of how encumbered life was back home, with so much stuff in our lives.
This was turning into a hike now, as the trail alternated between stretches of beach, then sections of forest. The odd thorny surprise, awaited one here, in the understory. Occasionally overgrown observation posts appeared in the ground between the trail and the shore – nothing more then shallow, stone-lined foxholes, from the Sihanouk or Khmer Rouge eras. At times one was slowed down by a patch of mangrove swamp or a low headland of jagged rock. I met the occasional tourists and passed only a few fisherman's huts. This was not turning out to be so popular for most visitors. Finally, a police post appeared and i found myself back in the settlement. The walk had taken about three hours. My late lunch, in a beach hut, was a delicious squid stir fry (for about $2.00) and steamed rice (and additional 25¢). The afternoon, here amongst a scattering of other tourists, passed quietly. A slight breeze off the gulf and a canopy of palm fronds, kept the heat away.
It would have been nice to stay here but i had already made other plans, back on the mainland. The tiny grass shacks went for $5 a night and $10 if you wanted a bathroom included. I could see spending a few days here and living the simple life. Maybe the so-called all day Happy Hour and a good book, might have been a nice break from the travails of serious sightseeing.
At the end of the afternoon i was back at Vanna Hill Resort, to pickup my backpack. When one tuk tuk dropped me off, another was waiting to take me on to Kampot. I spent an hour in the back of my next ride, a distance of 25 km. En route the driver picked up water from a duck pond to cool the tiny motorcycle engine.
An overview of Koh Tansáy:
Another overview of Koh Tansáy:
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