SOUTHERN THAILAND - Journal no. 16

Thailand’s Southern Peninsula - Journal no. 16

2^nd to the 28^th June 2011

 

Khao Sok national park & Chiaw Lan Lake

After a short stop over in Surat Thani it was time to move on by local bus across Thailand from the east coast and the Gulf of Thailand, to the mid-west and Khao Sok National Park. 

An extensive mountainous area in the central Southern Peninsular with sheer sided limestone outcrops soaring 934 meters into the brilliant blue-sky, veld in lush green impenetrable rain forest and surrounding a picturesque lake.

4-days in the park

The high humidity is a consideration at this time of the year; it’s very hot and a time of torrential rain. Everything is damp within minutes, inside and out. June’s also not the best time to visit, as I would later find out, as the leeches abound. There persistent little devils to!!

Trek in the National Park

The bus drops you off pretty much in the middle of nowhere with the only vague indication that you’ve arrived, a sign pointing towards the National Park entrance, a wooden house and shop or two along with a cluster of tricycle owners ready to ply their trade sheltered under a lean-to. Fortunately Green Valley resort had agreed to pick me up and transport me the remaining five kilometers to their site and within easy walking distance to the Parks entrance.

My originally intention was to stay four nights at the ‘Khao Sok Green Valley Resort’, however, there was little to do within the immediate vicinity other than walk. The accommodation was fine the food and drink, however, was disappointing and expensive.

After a trek into the National Park, quite expensive, in torrential rain with treacherous conditions underfoot, soaked to the skin and boots saturated after fording several rivers. 

Loosing my waterproof along the way and with water damage to the camera I decided to beat a hasty retreat shortening my stay to two nights. 

Chiaw Lan Lake & Reserve

Across the road from where I was staying are a restaurant and the ‘Khao Sok River Lodge’, a far more conducive ‘hang-out’. I stumbled across the place, after a disappointing and expensive meal at the resort I was staying at, searching for an alternative. 

It comprises a series of large traditionally built open structures linked together, the lobby, TV lounge and 50-seater restaurant, all built on stilts, protected from the surging flood waters during the rainy season when the river bursts its banks. Radiating out from this area like tentacles are a number of raised walkways that link with a number of elevated and spacious lodges, some with river views.

More importantly the staff were just so nice, professional, courteous and friendly.

There’s a small area in the lobby devoted to trips or tours round the surrounding area one of which involved trekking, boating and a short stay in a floating house on the Chiaw Lan Lake. As the coming weekend promised to be reasonably fine it seemed an apt time to take advantage. According to the information provided the areas renowned as Thailand’s Jurassic Park, with sheer sided limestone outcrops covered in tropical rainforest. 

Floating house on the lake

A mini-bus collected me from ‘Khao Sok River Lodge’ stopping along the way for other like-minded travellers finally depositing us all lakeside within the National Park. Anja, Mark, Richard, Susan, our guide Sung and I made our way, luggage and all, across the lake to our first stop.

Chiaw Lan Lake & the National Park

Richard, Susan (front), Anja and Mark

Sung our guide for the trip

Long boat ride across the lake

We disembarked for a Jungle Trek to spot game and visit a limestone bat cave. The vegetation is incredible enveloping, climbing, clinging and surrounding everything and for the large part impenetrable.  

After a steep climb through the rainforest, a climb down into one of the many limestone caves we made our way back to the boat and an exquisite inlet for the next stage of our journey across the lake, winding our way through and round the islands or islets that dot the lake to our floating resort.

World’s oldest tropical rainforest

Building a dam, and hydroelectric power station, 28 years ago created Chiaw Lan Lake; the ecology, I guess, is only just re-establishing itself in the vicinity. 

There is huge amount of wildlife in this vast wilderness purported to be the oldest rainforest in the world, stretching across central Thailand and into Burma, to the north. It’s considered as one of the last viable habitats for large mammals to subsist, dripping with jungle with the Andaman signature topography; ferny cliffs shooting straight up into the air like crocodile teeth. Black bear, deer, boar, gaur, tapir, antelope, civet, langur, gibbon, otter, snake, 180 varieties of bird and even tiger exist in this remote region.

Traditional floating bungalows

Ten floating holiday villages scattered round the Chiaw Lan Lake, isolated, peaceful and all with an amazing view!

Invariable the traditional bungalows straddle a cove; sit on two layers of large logs laid at right angles to each other, roped together with the base anchored to the lake bottom and land either side. Each bungalow is then raised on stilts, linked to a platform on which the house, made of reed and a lightweight frame, is built. A floating walkway, supported on bamboo, links each bungalow, restaurant, shower/WC complex and jetty together.

The waters are clear and warm to swim in and the resort supplies khakis to venture out on to explore the surrounding area.

Excellent Thai food

Anja, Mark, both 22 years, from Denmark and I enjoyed an excellent traditional Thai diner, after a great afternoon swimming in the crystal clear waters. 

It’s a strange feeling living and eating on a moving platform, for several days afterwards it felt as if I was still on the water; I guess it messes with the equilibrium.

Night boat trip and jungle trek

The weather proved superb for most of the trip and the tour represented excellent value. Two jungle treks, boat trips, once on a bamboo raft, to and from the lodgings, night time and early morning boat trip, all meals, one night accommodation, great guide called Sung, hotel transfer and cave exploration. 

We didn’t see as much game as we had hoped rat snake, bat, gibbon, langur and some very large spiders.

Stunning view of the lake 

Ironically, since flooding the valley some of the jungle is accessible when previously it wouldn’t have been. The photographs fail to convey how steep the sides of the mountains are and how dense the tropical rainforest is. 

The area around Khao Sok stretches all the way to the Burma border, 150 kilometers, and all the way across to the Andaman Sea to the east of Thailand, 175 kilometers. Clearly it’s a vast area most of which is uninhabited and uninhabitable. The lake itself is full of small and large inaccessible islands, hundreds of small coves and inlets forming a perfect tropical habitat.

Chiaw Lan Lake, Surat Thani Province

Leeches - When I was in Khao Sok national park I touched on the subject of the persistent leeches. I feel that, perhaps, the matter warrants a few more words before moving on.

Essentially they require moisture or damp conditions to breath; water promotes the respiratory process or absorption of oxygen through the skin. June through to September, the rainy season provides perfect conditions. The rest of the year they lie virtually dormant.

Moving around the forest floor, they range in size from about ½ cm to 3cm long, they are able to extend their body to twice their length, arching and lifting the it completely off the ground relying on a sucker at one end as an anchor. This is effectively their means of propulsion. Oh and one other thing they are able to jump using the same method.  Sensitive to both vibration and subtle change in heat, this is how they home in on the victim and, of course, they’re after you’re blood! They’re tenacious little bleeders to!!!!

Apparently DETE or a good mosquito repellent helps to keep them at bay, they don’t like the taste I guess. My advice, wear long trousers, walking boots, with the trousers tucked into the socks and a long sleeve shirt, or visit outside the rainy season!!!

After spending two days and a night on the lake, I headed back to stay at the Khao Sok River Lodge. Whilst there I met and befriended the owner over diner one night at her restaurant.

The staff are far more accommodating much friendlier and more professional. The elevated bungalow that I was staying in overlooking the river represented excellent value at 700 Baht, about £14. Comprising a very large twin with en-suite and balcony. 

The following morning I made my way to the main road and then by local bus, 100 Baht, to Khao Lak, finding accommodation at the Sunset Resort in Nang Thong, overlooking the Andaman Sea.

Travel advice – getting round Thailand

Thailand’s a big country and clearly one of the main concerns is how to get around. Internal flights are inexpensive Bangkok to Ko Samui, for example, is about 4,000 Baht or £80. You miss out on the experience of the journey though and what’s along the way.

The train is an option although very slow and basic, fan cooling at best. There are three main types of bus, the big two floor A/C touring buses vividly decorated, the local orange buses with fan assisted cooling or the small A/C vans, although prices vary considerably.

Town transport ranges from the local orange buses, A/C tour vans, pick-up trucks with bench seating and canopy over, tuk-tuk or on the back of moped!! Prices vary accordingly and are negotiable.

The rainy season has arrived in earnest

Arriving along the West coast and the Andaman Sea, to be precise Nang Thong, on the 6^th June the intention was to stay a few days and then move on. 7 days later I’m still here, primarily because the rainy season has begun in earnest and its not much fun moving around in torrential rain. 

There’s not really a lot to do here at the moment, the life-blood of the area the world class dive sites are closed now for 6 months, safety reasons, high seas, most of the hotels, restaurants, shops and tour shops are similarly closed or in the midst of refurbishment. Only six rooms of the 70 bedroomed ‘Khao Lak Sunset Resort’ are occupied at the moment so good attentive service and some good deals available.

The hotel accommodation is arranged within an elevated three storey block containing guest rooms, reception, lobby and shop which in turn overlooks the grounds, pool, restaurant, self catering apartments and sandy beach.

Town decimated by the 2004 Tsunami

The west coast was one of the areas severally hit by the 2004 Tsunami. Sunset Resort sits on the side of a hill, one of the high points along this particular coastline. The main building is about 30’ higher at its base than the beach, restaurant, garden, pool and bungalows.

According to the staff at the hotel, the tidal surge fell just short of the resorts 1^st floor reception area; everything in front and below was underwater!

The cities of Nang Thong and Khao Lak, either side, are just above sea level. Many locals lost someone, including the receptionist who recounted her story leading up to the death of her best friend. ‘I was working at a beach-side hotel and had been asked to drive to the shops in Khao Lak to get some items when my best friend and co-worker called to say that the sea water in front of the hotel had receded exposing the seabed. A few minutes later the phone disconnected. That was the last time that I ever heard from her. Next moment, we were told to make our way to high ground as quickly as we could’. 

It’s taken an extraordinary resolve to remain on her part and for many others. The other problem no one wanted to purchase his or her homes, commercial units or land. I guess life goes on!

Touring the area by motorbike

Hiring a motorbike was a good idea, despite crashing it and having it repaired at my expense, broken fender at a cost of about £10. I was out on it most days for one reason or another.

It’s the best way of seeing the sites along the coast and inland to the Ton Ping Waterfall and Elephant Village, for example. 

The term Elephant Trek or Safari from Elephant village probably contravenes Trading Standards in the UK. Once the passengers and keeper are on board they ascend a steep track cut into the tropical rainforest and then loop back down again. The trip lasts 12 to 15 minutes at most. I know I timed it whilst sitting having lunch at the elevated hillside Ton Ping restaurant overlooking the trail!! The cost of the excursion, which includes hotel pick-up, 1,300 Baht, to me that would seem expensive, I must be getting cynical in my old age.  

Travel advice - Hiring a motor bike in Thailand

Hiring a motor bike in Thailand would seen like a good idea, it’s cheap about a 150 Baht to 250 Baht per day, plus fuel which amounts to 100 Baht for a full tank. There fast with a top speed of about 80 kph and most are comparatively new, the down side you and the bike are not insured and you have to hand over your passport or drivers license as surety, almost no exceptions. Any damage and you pay for it whether it’s actual or manufactured as a ruse to extract money, they’ll keep your identification until you pay. Car hire is a similar story although the cars are insured. Some dealers are unscrupulous, my advice, ask a lot of questions first and if doesn’t feel right walk away.

Local bus to Phuket      

I met and befriend a wiley Australian called Steven, an ex-builder and reformed drug addict/ alcoholic, whilst staying at the Sunset Resort, the day that I decided to move on to Phuket an ultimately Patong, he decided to come along for the ride. He’d stayed at the Sunset resort the year before, back for a 2^nd time, and was taking time out from teaching English in Beijing. A bit of a hippy, with an encyclopedic memory of music, late in life after taking a degree in physcology he gravitated into teaching English in China as something to do at the time. A bit of a loner and, as is often the case, a cynic, womanizer, very opinionated but clear ideas on those that he liked.

The local bus passes by the hotel along the main road it’s then just a question of flagging it down.

Interestingly enough, up until that point, I hadn’t realized that Phuket was an island; in addition you pass through a customs checkpoint before crossing, ‘the border’.

Arriving in Phuket the bus drops you off at the bus station it’s then a 2 mile walk to the market and a connecting bus to Patong, with a similar hike along the beach at the other end to my hotel.

Seven days on Phuket Island

If nothing else Patong has a fantastic beach, one of many dotted around the Island of Phuket. It’s separated completely from mainland Thailand by a narrow causeway linked by two road bridges.

In days gone by it fell under the influence of the Chinese mainly due to an interest in the many rubber plantations and production.

Patong Beach on the island of Phuket

Patong is brash, crass, noisy, bright, lively, irritating, expensive and great fun? It’s one of those places you feel that you have to come to just to reassure yourself it really can’t be that bad after all. The thing is it really is! During the daytime you could be seduced into thinking that this is just any typical Asian seaside town, and in part you’d be right. 

If you close you eyes to a degree you might hold that perception, ignoring the occasional glimpse of a glamorous ladyboy as just an eccentric individual, or the constant polite greeting and smile from a young Asian lady masseuse as just someone happy in their work. After all Patong Cove, is certainly a beautiful setting with a wide sandy beach, high hills on all sides covered in lush green tropical vegetation.

It has all of the other trappings that you’d expect from a vibrant, successful upmarket resort, the Marriott and Holiday Inn Hotels to name but a few, a high class shopping center with indoor gun and rifle range, slightly bizarre. There are several world-class golf courses all within close proximity and I haven’t mentioned the dive sites, which rank up there as some of the best in the world.  

Day trip to the Phang Nga Bay

Phang Nga Park and the Bay are another one of those Geological anomalies that seem so typical of Southern Thailand. Tall, sheer sided limestone outcrops shoot indiscriminately into the air, both in the National Park, the land part, and in the Phang Nga Bay itself. Covered in Tropical vegetation that seems almost malignant as it creeps into every crevice or up every sheer sided cliff face. It’s a place of exceptional beauty. Locals say you can tell a tourist simply by the jaw-dropped expression on their face.

Reclining Buddha

Wat Suwannakhuha, known to locals as Wat Tham, was our first stop on the tour. Wat, ‘Temple’ in Thai, Tham is unique because it’s inside a large cave. 

The chambers are adorned with Buddha images, most standing with one reclining. The displays would be beautiful anywhere, but this location makes them stunning. Stairs lead out the back of the main cave to two additional chambers – ‘Light Cave’ and ‘Dark Cave’ – where statues mix with stalactites and stalagmites. Outside the temple, the scene is a monkey circus; they coat the mountain, trees, and ground with a layer of loud activity. Old women sell refreshments for all the primates, whether human or macaque.

After about 40 minutes it was time to move onto the Mangrove swamp and our journey by long tailed boat to Phang Nga Bay itself. 

What more can I say that the photo’s above fail to convey, it’s a serene place, apart from the roar of boat engines, a place of immense beauty, rugged, often uninhabited, remote and a place of vivid colour. The deep green from the lush vegetation, azure and dark blue of the sea, the light and dark greys of the jagged limestone outcrops all set against a rich blue of the sky. Not a bad place to spend time in really!!

James Bond Island

Famed as the villain’s lair in the 1974 ‘007’ movie, ‘Man with the Golden Gun’. The island is officially known as ‘James Bond’ island or Ko Tapu and is set in Phang Nga Bay, amidst the extraordinary limestone outcrops so typical of the area. 

In the original 1974 film, starring Roger Moore, the villain Scaramanga, played by Christopher Lee, lived on the island supposedly set in the South China Seas, in the lap of luxury. The tall limestone pinnacle housed, in the movie, the solar collection panel.

We’re able to watch the movie on the tour bus whilst travelling to and from Phang Nga Park.

After and hour or so wandering around what is a small outcrop we headed to Panyee to enjoy some local Thai cuisine.

Koh Panyee Island -  ‘Gypsy Muslim village’

There are 1,485 people from 315 families who live permanently on Koh Panyee. All of them are descendants, directly or indirectly, of Toh Baboo, his family and friends the first people to settle on Koh Panyee some 200 years ago. 

Toh Baboo and two other families left their homeland in Indonesia by boat, looking for place to live. The three families made a vow to each other that if one of them found a likely spot with lots of fish and where everyone could live they would signal the others by raising a flag on a mountain as high as possible, so the others could see it and join them. Toh Baboo discovered the island with its abundance of fish and true to his promise raised a flag atop its soaring cliff.  That’s how the island got its name, Koh Panyee – the Island of the Flag.

Diner on Koh Panyee

There are apparently 20 or so restaurants that line the main waterfront, I guess the main stay of income apart from fishing that is. Anyway we sat down to diner, an Australian golfer named Guy, and I. He was on a weeks golfing tour of the world famous Phuket courses with four other buddies, they’d decided on other activities that day.

You can’t help being amazed at man’s ability to live in any environment or his ability to overcome. Who would determine that this could be a good place to live? Through dogged determination, persistence and hard work anything is possible.

Patong comes alive!!

There are a multitude of eateries to use an Americanism. Italian, European, McDonalds, Burger King, familiar coffee outlets, an excellent choice of bars, Irish bars, bars that have live music every night, lavish nightclubs, what more could anyone ask for. 

Perhaps after a hard day sun bathing on the beach what could be more beneficial and harmless than a Thai, oil or aromatherapy massage in one of the 100 or more high-class establishments.

Tailored made suit

Oh and of course I forgot to mention the many Indian tailor shops that will whip up a suit in the latest material and style in a day or two for about £50 (two piece suit I’m not sure about a dress). It’s only when you venture out at night that you realize what the place is really about. There’s almost a Jekyll and Hyde characteristic to the seaside city.

Lady boys & Ping Pong shows!!!

From about 8.00 pm onwards, the place comes to life gathering pace as the night wears on. There are several buildings the size of large warehouses, open to the main street, lined with bars down the center and either sider about 30 in total. I think I counted six such buildings; the streets and side streets are similarly adorned with bars and clubs.

Party late into the morning

There must be well in excess of a 1,000 bars, clubs and venues in Patong, most of them adorned with scantly clad ladies and equally elegant lady boys, looking to encourage you to part with your money.

It’s an awesome site just to sit and watch the goings on. The main drag, no pun intended, closes about 2.00 to 3.00am and generally spills out onto the beach until early morning.

For the serious partier animal head to the nightclubs or Drag Queen shows that continue until about 5.00am. Exhausting!

South to the city of Krabi

The 20^th June I decided it was time to move on by bus to Phuket, north to Phang Nga and then south all the way down to the city of Krabi.

Invariably the intercity bus stations are some distant outside the main city, as was the case in Krabi, and local transport then takes you to your given destination. Clearly, the local driver that I used that day couldn’t be bothered to take me all the way to Ao Nang; I would later find out he had dropped me off 5 kilometers short in small village of Ban Ao Nammao.

I finally settled into what was the only hotel that I could find, the ‘Thip Resident’, about 4.00 p.m., after setting out about 8.30 a.m., from Patong.

It was actually a lovely hotel with sizeable rooms, balcony, pool and gardens, just a little out of place. Other than that the village was devoid of most things, ATM’s, Banks, etc., although there was a 24/7 shop and one eatier.

Ao Nang Beach & town

Ao Nang has one of the most perfect settings of any beach in Thailand. Surrounded by thick tropical rainforest, on entering the town from Krabi, you descend a hill to the sea with dramatic limestone outcrops soaring to 200 meters to the left. 

In front of the beach the road turns sharply right, follows the coastline for 800 meters, then climbs sharply to the right, curves to the left and then runs parallel with the coast for 3 kilometers. 

The beach is sandy and the bay is scattered with islands.

The beautiful Railay beach

It’s really not difficult to see why the country of Thailand despite its sometimes-bad reputation can seduce so many people. There are endless remote Islands and mainland beaches in Phuket Bay. Limestone pinnacles dripping in thick tropical forestation rise steeply into the sky, acting as a sentinel guarding the flat wide gently sloping sandy beaches. Idyllic spa resorts dot the waters edge concealed by behind, under and between trees.

Inaccessible beaches

Many of the beaches in the Krabi Province are accessible only by boat. Railay Beach illustrates the point perfectly; the sheer limestone cliffs surrounding Ton Sai Bay are impassible. 

All of the building materials, foodstuffs, drink, personnel, in fact everything, are shipped in by small long tailed boats. This is true for Railay beach, East & West Railay, Ton Sai and Phra Nang. If you’re looking for peace, quiet, relaxation, lots of massage therapy, sun and sea it’s all here!!!

Ao Nang Cliff View Resort

After a few days at the ‘Thip Resident’ I moved closer to Ao Nang. I discovered  ‘Cliff View Resort’ whilst touring the area on a hired motorbike one day and determined to stay there.

It’s located on the outskirts of Ao Nang about 1-½ kilometers from the beach, which you might think a draw back. There are 34 traditional bungalows, raised on stilts, surrounded by tropical jungle. 

Each bungalow enjoys the benefit of a large covered terrace, double bedroom with fan or air conditioning and shower. Wi-Fi and breakfast are included.

Pool in tropical grounds

There is a raised pool, small gym, ‘his and her’ sauna and traditional open restaurant. A free shuttle service runs every hour into town and continues up until 10.00pm. The cost per night 800 Baht and if you stay for 3 nights or more they provide a free 4-island tour. 

The best bit the bungalows are 30 meters from the base of the 200-meter limestone cliffs, what a view!! The early morning wake up call a troop of Gibbon.

Tour round 4 Islands - Tup & Chicken Islands

There are many islands scattered around Phuket Bay, 152, and as the weather promised to be good that day, a Friday, it seemed like a great day to take a boat trip to explore some of them, courtesy of the place I was staying at. 

Poda Island

Another one of the many islands that dot the Bay of Phuket, I guess one of the benefits of the area, creating a perfect setting for sailing, sun bathing, snorkeling and diving. 

Railay beach on the other hand provides some of the most challenging climbing conditions anywhere in the world primarily because of the sheer limestone cliffs.

Long-tailed boat trip

Krabi provides I think one of the best holiday destinations that I have come across in Thailand so far. Why I hear you say? 
The setting for one, it’s a tropical location so there is plenty of game, the scenery encapsulates all that I have come across since travelling the Southern Peninsular and the beaches, all excellent, are many and varied. I suspect that the Bay is shielded by Phuket Islands so it’s good for all water activities, especially diving.

Phra Nang Cave

Although it’s some distance from Phuket, about 160 km, it’s easy enough to catch a ferry from Phuket to Ao Nang or Krabi and you could always stay over on one of the many islands along the way. Krabi and Ao Nang are much more widely acceptable than the crass and tacky Patong or Phuket. There really is everything that you need here Wat’s, waterfalls, elephant treks, culture, jungle forest walks and lots of limestone caves to explore.

Phi-Phi Islands

After 4 nights in Ao Nang I moved back to Krabi to explore the city along with a boat trip to one of the most popular back packer islands, Ko Phi-Phi, officially known as Ko Phi-Phi Don. 

Situated about 1½ hours boat ride from the mainland, well out into open sea. The island is considered as one of the world’s most beautiful beaches, with stunning limestone cliffs either side, translucent waters and two fine white arcs of sand Ao Ton Sa and Ao La Dalam. The island is part of a national park, Ko Phi-Phi Leh, a nearby satellite island well worth a visit, remains uninhabited thanks to a more profitable business than tourism – harvesting nests of swiftlets for medicinal purposes.

The heart of Ko Phi-Phi is effectively a large raised sandbank with mountains ranging either side. There are 20,000 permanent residents along with shops, banks, restaurants, clubs, bars, guesthouses, hotels and all the necessary paraphernalia that go to making this a world-class resort.

2,000 killed in 2004 Tsunami on Phi Phi Don!!

You know as one travels through life it’s incredible the information that one accumulates and how at the time it seems less important, but later can influence or alter your perspective utterly when you understand more.

In April 2010 my daughter joined me in Ghana where we stayed at a familiar haunt, ‘Big Milly’s Backyard’, on Kokrobite beach. We met up at the time with a guy called John, an American banker, who regaled us as to how he just happened to be in Thailand on the 26^th December 2004, the day of the Tsunami, and how he had survived. It was a day that 5,395 Thai people and tourists were killed, 8,457 injured and a further 2,932 reported missing. John clambered to safety, along with a fellow American and baby, by scaling one of the sheer limestone cliffs, spending 6 months in hospital recovering from his wounds sustained in the desperate ascent, 2,000 people on Ko Phi-Phi Don weren’t so lucky! 

I was enjoying a meal at a restaurant in Krabi after my day trip to Phi-Phi. The restaurateur, an Australian lady and Thai resident of 17 years, related how she met and married a Thai man some years previous. At some point, her and her husband had adopted two Thai children, including a rather cute and precocious girl of 5 years called Jeanette; I think it was her antics that provoked our conversation in the first place. The far ranging subjects gravitated in the direction of Phi-Phi Don, I’m not sure who instigated the topic, however, it appeared that they owned a restaurant, purchased about 10 years ago, and more recently a guest house both on Ao Lo Dalam beach.

Six to seven years ago a tidal surge, without any warning, swept through Ko Phi-Phi Don and Ao Lo Dalam beach killing their 12 year old son and 20 of their staff!!!

The adopted children are to replace the son lost and perhaps re-focus on things important. They still have profitable interests on the island; however, they choose to live out their lives in Krabi. The residents that remain have apparently changed, becoming morose, afraid, distant and difficult to be around, her words not mine.

The photos are of Ao Lo Dalam beach. The cove, sheltered from the sea by the Limestone outcrops, narrows at the entrance with the waters very shallow here. The massive tidal surge at the time would have been forced through the narrow opening gaining in intensity and ferocity as it spread out across the beach, channeled by the mountains either side, washing completely over the lowland area to the opposing bay before receding once again, dragging anything and everything with it back into open water. Virtually every standing structure was destroyed in what at the time was a highly populated area. The town is, as it was then, made up of narrow tightly packed streets, like a rabbit warren, making it difficult to reach high ground with ease, especially given the numbers on the island at the time.

None of the hotels along Ao Lo Dalam, rated as one of the best beaches in the world, have so far been rebuilt, an ongoing dispute with the insurance companies and government. There is still today a prevailing sense of uncertainty even after all these years prevalent on the island.

This is the first time that I’ve connected with people touched by such devastation and it’s difficult not to be moved in some way.

People along the way

Changing the subject completely and on a more lighthearted note, I’ve met some great people on my travels which makes the journey worthwhile and oh so rewarding.

Boom a Korean, formerly from the USA, married to a Thai girl, a restauranteur owner in Surat Thani. Anja and Mark that I met on my trip to Chiaw Lan Lake, Sung our brilliant lake guide and the 30 Thai medical staff from Hat Yai that I messed about on the lake with staying at the same resort at the time as me. The brilliant staff at the Koh Sok River Lodge that always made me so welcome, Steven an Australian reformed alcoholic hippy into his music and art, turned from brickie to a Bachelor’s degree teacher in Beijing, China, all the lovely ladies at the Sunset Resort in Ko Lak. Peter a retired Australian head master, seeking a Thai bride, that I spent several days with getting to know Patong by day and night. Ruth an Asian lady from California that I met on Railay beach here for the challenging limestone cliff climbs. Two lads that I met whilst travelling by boat to Phi-Phi Don, an American Matt from South Carolina working as a model and roughing it in Patpong, Bangkok. James, a Belfast lad, extolling the virtues of Ireland, on his second gap year due to enroll at Manchester university on his return with the intention of studying cooperate law. Thanks to one and all.

That’s it for another month

Well it’s been a trip and half this month. Diving off Koh Samui and Koh Tao, trekking through Ko Sok tropical rain forest, experiencing the ‘wild and perverse’ side of Thai life in the cities of Patong and Phuket, enjoying the serene beauty of Phang Nga Bay, Ao Nang, some of the many islands in Phuket Bay and Ko Phi Phi in particular. A hard act to follow!!