Ecotourism Thailand - Getting the Green Light

I'm a bit of a greenhorn when it comes to ecotourism, but as a passionate traveller and travel writer who has visited 55 countries, I have seen the effects of tourism on communities, villages -- even cities -- and their people.

Cave Lodge, Pang Ma Pa, Mae Hong Son province

I've seen benefits and advantages and progress and prosperity ...

And I've seen defiling and damage and spoiling (a big hello to everyone in Pattaya!).

In the place and the people sometimes.

So while I don't like all these Buzzword Bingo terms (yes, the introduction above has most of these in it in order to attract the search engines: Hello Mr GoogleBot) I am fully on board with the fact that we need to do things differently. Better. Greener. More sustainably. And less irresponsibly. And I'm just talking about myself here!

Elephant ride. I'm the one on the left!

Travelling by plane, bus, car, tuk-tuk, elephant, boat, bicycle and mainly motorbike through Amazing Thailand for the past 25 years has given up countless examples of how things have changed and how they could've been done differently and, yes, better for all concerned.

Fortunately, we are all now collectively more aware and the Tourism Authority of Thailand is now making sustainability a real priority (see their write up on 7 Green Concepts).

Here are three organisations that are also helping to push ecotourism along locally:

+ Thai Ecotourism and Adventure Travel Association (TEATA)

+ Greenleaf Foundation

+ Thailand Community Based Tourism Institute (CBT-I)

Rama 9 Lake, Chiang Mai

There are many more, so feel free to add your link in the comments section below and let others know about it. 

As someone who's lived in several parts of the Kingdom over the years I'm here to show you that Thailand offers a ton of exciting and fun green tourism options ... and you don't have to be some hairy-legged beatnik to appreciate it fully.

Pakasai - at home with nature in Ao Nang near Phuket

Pakasai Resort is burning up a lot of energy in their going green eco travel program ...


'We tried hard for 4 Green Leaf stars but only get 3,' explains their convivial GM, Khun Umaporn. 'Now we change a lot of materials and get involved in more CSR.'

This sister of Red Ginger, a little down the hill from here in the Ao Nang/ Krabi district, is the only hotel in town with 3 Leaves, but its clearly not good enough for her. Umaporn drives the eco-tourism initiatives 'from the heart -- if there's a chance for us to do something green we will do it.'

The Pakasai offers a Green Traveller package in which guests get to plant a tree at neighbouring school with the excitable kids. 'Something like give something back for your holiday.'

'Lovely people, lovely city, Krabi. They care for their environment here,' says the lady who spent 15 years in Phuket before, clearly enjoying the relaxed and quiet atmosphere of her adopted home town here.

And what's not to appreciate?

Pebbled walkways are sided by soaring palms and ferns and ginger. The resort's newly renovated cream buildings are accented by big wooden railings. It whispers tropical playground from every shaded grove.

The Adora suite fetches 9000 baht (about US$300) in the high season, well worth it with its aquarium-sized oval bath, and you'll-definitely-get-lucky-tonight romantic in-room dining setting adjacent.

After an Everest base camp-assault on a meandering staircase, we reach the Chalet - a huge open plan room overlording resort from behind, with a sprawling rustic balcony, and a birdcage overlooking the trees. 'Our guests need to exercise first,' she says with a rather wicked grin.

She's damn right about that. I feel a king-size hunger coming on after that and a few laps of the pool at sunset. Dalah restaurant overlooks the gardens and pond, with a soothing fountain gushing in the background. Seafood tom kah, squid and chicken with pepper, fish with coconut curry, extinguished by mango stick rice with passion fruit and coconut milk. Aah! No wonder it's good -- the Chef used to work at Sofitel Krabi before, and gets all his stuff fresh from the boats at the nearby jetty.


Then a funny thing happened: I was trying to read their eco-tourism brochure but was straining my eyes.

'Sorry, we only use low energy lightbulbs!' laughs Umaporn.

Koh Yao Yai Village Resort - a taste of Africa in Thailand.

I was born in Africa. Spent a lot of time living in Africa. And have travelled there a bit. It has its own vibe, its own look and feel, and rhythm and sounds and smells.

So all the more reason I find myself questioning my judgment when I arrive at Koh Yao Yai Village and somehow felt I'd been tele-ported to some remote part of southern Africa. Lush bush dominates this 32-acre resort site, and around 50 villas are dotted around somewhere in there. The villas are topped by straw-thatched roofs, like Vietnamese cone hats. In Africa, they call structures like these rondawels (literally, round houses). The open sided, airy buildings have knotty branches for eaves, big wooden latches for locks, and an outdoor shower and bathroom.


Calico curtains, and a mossie-netted day bed add to the African portrait. And the biggest mini bar fridge I've ever seen in my life sits on the covered veranda. Should it be called a maxi bar instead???

Rustic comfort is the word. Well, that's two words but you get my drift. Maybe that's the thing that triggered the Africa analogy. But it's more than that ...

There's a total serenity here (surprising given that this is in Phang Nga Bay, southern Thailand, and party-hard Phuket is not that far away as the seagull flies).

'I came here because I heard there's no one here,' explains Christian, a solo traveller from Switzerland. He's right about that. And I hope he enjoys his own company, because just about everybody else is a deux (er, that means two in French).

An infinity pool looking out to the famous bay,  with rolling waves sweeping across the foreground, and the giant hump-back upthrusts yonder.

The hotel is just 2 years old, a sister property to the fantastic Phi Phi Village Resort I blogged about a little while back. The staff possess a totally endearing naivete ... with seemingly no idea about happy hour or what food they were serving or attractions on the island.

I finally ascertain that the island's fledgling positioning is all about authentic natural and local experiences. You can go and see local traditional village life, rice fields and rubber plantations. Some mountain biking. And that's about it, jing jing. But what more do you really want or need? Oh, maybe a wonderful airy library stocked to the rafters with great beach reads. 


Happy hour aside, we manage to get a wonderfully poured cocktail just in time for sunset and enjoy a most calming, soothing evening -- almost meditative -- with the white noise of waves washing below, and the evening sky gradually creeping in from the east across the water. Until dinner is served. And mighty fine it is too, served around the pool by candlelight.

Only I'm surprised to not see African staples like boerewors on the menu, and I hear no howling hyenas. So I am in Amazing Thailand after all.