Khlong Dao Beach

This guide to Khlong Dao Beach on Koh Lanta follows the daily arrival of longtail fishing boats and the two Chao Ley villages, sea nomads whose ancestors sailed here from Malaysia more than five hundred years ago, tucked just behind the resort tree line. You'll hear how this calm stretch became the island's first tourist beach, and about the land pressure now facing sea gypsy communities up and down the Andaman coast, from here to Koh Lipe. Listen for the boats landing at dusk, ropes pulled by hand as they always have been.