Khao Lak was surprisingly super touristy. Quiet is relative in the term of travel information and anything that is half of what Phuket Patong Beach or Pattaya Beach is considered as quiet in Thailand on the travel guides
I stayed two nights instead of one, for travelling back to back is really a mental torture somehow. I mean, I travel to a next destination which will be about 150km to 200km and the next day I would still ride Bluey for about 100km doing day trips sightseeing around.
If I remember correctly there was Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt, Mother, two sisters, Brother, a little girl.
I dipped in first and the mother asked me something in Thai language
I cannot speak Thai language I replied in Thai language ^^
I soak my feat in the second least hotter pool with the mom and the brother. The rest of the family went full swimming in the least hottest pool which was next to next with us. After a while I was burning and sweating loads. Weather turned black and drops of rain started pouring ...
I was going to be wet anyway I thought .... either from this pool or from the rain on the journey back. This was not a passing rain I felt so I decided to go in with my long pants. Shirts off and carefully wrap my phone and wallets plus keys and in I go into the hot pool.
The little girl wanted to play ... I think ... but was very shy to talk to me in English. Their English was limited but the brother could speak a bit of mandarin. When he asked if I could speak mandarin ... I said a little.
The question started slowly ... where from ... here alone ... motorbike here .... once they knew I was riding a journey in Thailand they were really surprise and amazed. The brother did most of the translation while talking to me in mandarin.
So it was a sight to see that the streets were packed with tour agency, massage parlor, a few girl bars and even a cabaret bar to boot. Quiet yes for you wont see people sandwich next to each other but in terms of real quiet like the places in Malaysia, this was touristy to me.
Khao Lak was the gateway for diving at the Simalan Islands ... beautiful I was told and no doubt expensive. A boat out starts at 2500 baht and diving can easily cost up to 3500 baht. Its no wonder this place is touristy. If people with money come here to dive then surely all the rest of standard Thailand tourist entertainment will follow.
Khao Lak was the gateway for diving at the Simalan Islands ... beautiful I was told and no doubt expensive. A boat out starts at 2500 baht and diving can easily cost up to 3500 baht. Its no wonder this place is touristy. If people with money come here to dive then surely all the rest of standard Thailand tourist entertainment will follow.
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| Khao Lak Beach |
I stayed two nights instead of one, for travelling back to back is really a mental torture somehow. I mean, I travel to a next destination which will be about 150km to 200km and the next day I would still ride Bluey for about 100km doing day trips sightseeing around.
A loop of 50km actually but nonetheless its still 100km overall in a day. You would think that traveling back to back should be ok since I am practically doing travel everyday anyway for the past one week but the mental torture for going to the next destination somehow ain't the same as a day trip.
Maybe because the day trip always start out harmlessly going nearby and even before lunch I would have covered 25km and keep going to the next place and the next place and by 3pm start to head back to the hostel. The lack of luggage is also a help in a sense for day trips are with slippers and shorts more suitable for pit stops and relaxing.
So Khao Lak for the night but in reality the destination stop nowadays is more for the gateway for a day trip. I started today for Takua Pa, a small old town quint that sees some more adventurous tourist from Khao Lak but nothing that would attract someone to stay overnight.
Maybe because the day trip always start out harmlessly going nearby and even before lunch I would have covered 25km and keep going to the next place and the next place and by 3pm start to head back to the hostel. The lack of luggage is also a help in a sense for day trips are with slippers and shorts more suitable for pit stops and relaxing.
So Khao Lak for the night but in reality the destination stop nowadays is more for the gateway for a day trip. I started today for Takua Pa, a small old town quint that sees some more adventurous tourist from Khao Lak but nothing that would attract someone to stay overnight.
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| Khao Lak - Takua Pa - Rommanee Hot Springs Loop |
It was a functioning town with all the hardware, and business supplying goods for other parts of Thailand. A Chinese base community with Sino-Portugese type of wooden building is what the tour guides will say but being from Malaysia ... yep it was the standard building old times were built ... haphazard and messy. Nice to drive by but not captivating enough to stay.
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| Old Town Takua Pa |
I decided to do the longer journey since I found supply of 95 benzine for Bluey. I do not need to conserve petrol now since I can fully top up before leaving Khao Lak for Ranong.
Hot Springs ...the lure of bliss. So I headed from Takua Pa to Rommanee Hot Springs.
The ride was nice beautifully paved winding roads to the hot spring with barely any vehicles on the road. The hot springs was 50 baht to enter and it was nicely done with pools of varying temperature fully equip with showers and toilets. There was even food and a few bungalow for people who which to stay for holidays.
I did not planned to go hot springs so I was wearing the wrong gear ... long pants ... always the case with me. I find good stuff when I don't have the right stuff with me. Sit down and dip leg I suppose and a family of Thai came to join in the soak.
Hot Springs ...the lure of bliss. So I headed from Takua Pa to Rommanee Hot Springs.
The ride was nice beautifully paved winding roads to the hot spring with barely any vehicles on the road. The hot springs was 50 baht to enter and it was nicely done with pools of varying temperature fully equip with showers and toilets. There was even food and a few bungalow for people who which to stay for holidays.
I did not planned to go hot springs so I was wearing the wrong gear ... long pants ... always the case with me. I find good stuff when I don't have the right stuff with me. Sit down and dip leg I suppose and a family of Thai came to join in the soak.
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| Rommanee Hot Springs |
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| Rommannee Hot Springs |
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| Rommannee Hot Springs |
If I remember correctly there was Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt, Mother, two sisters, Brother, a little girl.
I dipped in first and the mother asked me something in Thai language
I cannot speak Thai language I replied in Thai language ^^
I soak my feat in the second least hotter pool with the mom and the brother. The rest of the family went full swimming in the least hottest pool which was next to next with us. After a while I was burning and sweating loads. Weather turned black and drops of rain started pouring ...
I was going to be wet anyway I thought .... either from this pool or from the rain on the journey back. This was not a passing rain I felt so I decided to go in with my long pants. Shirts off and carefully wrap my phone and wallets plus keys and in I go into the hot pool.
The little girl wanted to play ... I think ... but was very shy to talk to me in English. Their English was limited but the brother could speak a bit of mandarin. When he asked if I could speak mandarin ... I said a little.
The question started slowly ... where from ... here alone ... motorbike here .... once they knew I was riding a journey in Thailand they were really surprise and amazed. The brother did most of the translation while talking to me in mandarin.
When the mom heard I will be going to Laos ... she asked me to go visit them ... I could not really understand cos she asked in Thai language but when I did, I said ok ... they laugh it off so I figured it was just a gesture and not really sincere.
The brother asked if I was alone ...
yes
still single
yes
got a girlfriend or anyone waiting
no ...
I have two sisters ...
the two sisters blushed and would not look me in the eye
as the family started to pack up to go .... the brother asked
you go Pattaya ??
maybe
she works in Pattaya ... you can find her when you reach there ... (he had a cheeky wink on his face and the sister was blushing madly)
Ask for his line the sister told his brother .....
I pretended I had no idea what line was ...
They said bye bye and I was left alone again
Out of the pool and waited for the rain to stop which it did but almost immediately started again once I set out on bluey. I was already pants soaking wet from the hot springs so ride back to hostel all the way wet.
End of Khao Lak adventure ... next stop Ranong.
Traveled on : October 2018
The brother asked if I was alone ...
yes
still single
yes
got a girlfriend or anyone waiting
no ...
I have two sisters ...
the two sisters blushed and would not look me in the eye
as the family started to pack up to go .... the brother asked
you go Pattaya ??
maybe
she works in Pattaya ... you can find her when you reach there ... (he had a cheeky wink on his face and the sister was blushing madly)
Ask for his line the sister told his brother .....
I pretended I had no idea what line was ...
They said bye bye and I was left alone again
Out of the pool and waited for the rain to stop which it did but almost immediately started again once I set out on bluey. I was already pants soaking wet from the hot springs so ride back to hostel all the way wet.
End of Khao Lak adventure ... next stop Ranong.
Traveled on : October 2018
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