Ferg & Jude\'s Thailand Adventure 2002

Wednesday 30th October
Khao Lak on the Andaman Sea

We awoke early a took a walk up to the hot springs. There were many Thais taking an early morning wash in the springs. Would have made a great photo, damn forgot the camera. Back to the guesthouse to check out. The Springs Guesthouse was great value. Accomm, food, drinks and internet access cost 515bt.

We caught a songthaew to the bus station at 7am for 20bt. We hopped on a local non-air con bus to Takua Pa for 130bt. It was the milk run and we didn't arrive until 11.30am. Mai Pen Rai! Did a quick lap of the bus station markets then hopped on a dilapidated songthaew for the ride to the Similana Resort. It was a very slow and dusty ride. Ferg and I thought we may have to get out and push on some of the hills.

I had booked the Similana over the internet before leaving home. It was going to be our one luxury accommodation for the trip. Turned out to be a good choice, we had a treehouse right on the beach overlooking the Andaman sea. The only downside was it is located a fair distance from the town of Khao Lak.

We only had the choice of the hotel taxi to get to town and this cost 250bt! The first thing we did when we hit town was to hire a motorbike, 200bt per day. Motorbikes are a cheap form of travel here in Thailand and we quite often saw whole families loaded onto one bike.

The main reason we had come to Khao Lak was to go diving in the Similan Islands on a live aboard boat with Sea Dragon. We called into their shop to pay for the trip and to chose our dive gear. Another internet booking which turned out well.

We grabbed a late lunch at a local Thai restuarant then headed back to Similana for a refreshing swim. We relaxed on our veranda taking in the magnificent view. We took another trip into town to look at the night market. Unfortunately it was an afternoon market and we arrived just as it was closing. We stopped for a pizza in Khao Lak before heading back to the resort. It was a bit scary riding the bike at night, the bugs kept hitting our face. At one stage Ferg looked down at the fuel gauge and careered off the road. Luckily he kept the bike balanced and we made it back to the resort in one peice.

Thursday 31st October
Khao Lak discovery

Woke at 5am to the wave lapping on the shore. Can see lightning flashes off in the distance over the sea. Went for a walk along the beach as the day dawned then made our way to breakfast. We had a fabulous view over the Andaman Sea and a great array of food to choose from.

We loaded the bike with a bag of laundry and headed into town. Dropped off laundry, 3 kilos for 120bt., then headed south to Tap Lamu Harbour. The harbour was dirty and not very inviting. We saw our first elephants on the side of the road on the way down. We drove back to Khao Lak and stopped at a cliffside cafe with magnificent views of the beaches.

Back in Khao Lak we went in search of some accommodation for the night we return from our dive trip. Sea Dragon had recommended Phu Khao Lak and we were happy to book there at a cost of 350bt. The rooms were fan and cold water only so I hoped we wouldn't be in dire need of a hot shower when we returned.

Back to the Similana Resort for relaxing afternoon by the pool and a nap. A couple of afternoon thunderstorms passed through with lots of rain, thunder and lightning. We lost power at 4pm and finally decided to brave it on the motorbike and head into town. We almost made it before the heavens opened up again. Picked up our freshly washed and ironed laundry and stopped at the Orchid Restaurant for a delicous Thai feast. The black out had affected Khao Lak town as well so we ate by candle light, very romantic. The power eventually came on again but so did the rain. We decided to make a run for it back to the resort. Ferg took the brunt of it with me hiding behind him on the bike. He was soaked by the time we reached Similana. The sky cleared just in time for us to catch the last rays of the sunset over the beach. A beautiful end to a fantastic day.