Ko Phangan is a beautiful and relatively unspoiled island off the east coast of southern Thailand. It is easy to reach from Ko Samui by ferry. We spent 6 weeks on Ko Phangan because one of us became unwell and needed emergency surgery. One day on Ko Phangan the coconut-picking monkeys came to visit. Coconut trees need de-nutting for safety and to harvest the ripe coconuts. On Ko Phangan the nutting is done by trained monkeys.
“We really have stumbled on a little slice of paradise on the Thai island, Ko Phangan.
The beach is perfect. Clear, safe waters and an aquarium of sea life for us to explore. The kids are happy playing with new friends and we have a simple but lovely beachside bungalow to call home.
We had a bit of excitement this morning. The arrival of the Ko Phangan monkeys.
Trained working monkeys, with their handlers. Large, aggressive-looking males, so we stayed well away.
They scampered up the coconut palms, gave each nut a monkey-handed twist and the older nuts fell to the beach. I have never, in all my years of travelling, seen monkeys do this job before.
We really should take this idea back to Port Douglas, it’s $50/tree for safety de-nutting back there!”
Head to our Thailand Travel archives for all of our Thailand coverage, including more on Koh Phangan.
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Suzanne Sherwood
Saturday 14th of September 2013
Very interesting, the boys would have loved seeing them.