Moo Koh Angthong (หมู่เกาะอ่างทอง)

Thai. ‘Gold Basin Group of Islands’ or ‘Gold Basin Archipelago’. Name of a National Marine Park in Surat Thani province, covering an area of 102 kmē. Angthong National Park consist of an archipelago with a total of 42 islands. On one of them, i.e. Koh Hua Tah Lap (เกาะวัวตาหลับ), which means the ‘Island of the Cow with Sleepy Eyes’, is a huge cave known as Tham Bua Bohk (ถ้ำบัวโบก), i.e. the ‘Cave of Waving Lotuses’ or ‘Waving Lotus Cave’ (map - fig.), while on Koh Mae Koh (เกาะแม่เกาะ), i.e. the ‘Mother Island of Islands’, the end of a hiking trail to an 240 meter high pinnacle, with stunning views of the archipelago, has a hidden treasure, i.e. a mountain lake known in Thai as Thale Nai (ทะเลใน), i.e. ‘Inner Sea’ or the ‘Sea Within’, which is in English referred to as the Emerald Lake and nicknamed the Blue Lagoon (map - fig.). Apart from a ranger station, none of the islands are inhabited by humans and its wildlife includes Dusky Leaf Monkeys (fig.). The group of islands is located in the Gulf of Thailand, off the coast of Surat Thani province, roughly between the mainland and the islands Koh Samui (fig.) and Koh Pha Ngan (fig.). It is also referred to by many other designations, such as Koh Angthong, Angthong Marine Park, Angthong Archipelago, etc. Its name is also sometimes spelled differently, e.g. as Ko Ang Thong or similar. See Angthong for the Province and city in central Thailand. See MAP. 回