Khao Lak, Phangnga and Krabi
This year (2006) I have extended my biking tours to include also the main land. Once to Khao Lak spending the night there and once to Phangnga spending one night there and followed by a tour to Krabi, from where I then had a longtail boat to north of Phuket.
On the way to Khao Lak I saw beautiful rainforests and waterfalls. The most beautiful is Khao Lampi:
The first part of the way to Phangnga is monotonous but the last part is very beautiful. Powerful mountains with vertical wall are rising up from the horizontal landshape. Spending the night in Phangnga Bay Resort gave a lovely view over the river delta running over the mangrove forest and with the majestic mountains in the background. The city is, however, boring.
On the way to Phangnga I was invited to a staff lunch in
Baan Kaali School
Phangnga Takuatung
I had a very nice talk to the director Nimit, the teachers Chuanpit, Tsumali, Limpanautuk and Suchada. In this school there are 222 happy children ages 7-12 years.
Next day to Krabi was also ended by enchanting views with these enormous Phangnga mountains. The city is however boring. What brings tourists to Khao Lak must be the beaches to the west of the city. From these one can make boat trips to the islands in the Phangnga Bay.
In Krabi I got some problems. I had planned to take a speed boat back to Chalong Bay in Phuket. So I looked for an exchange office in order to get necessary Thai money, but all exchange offices were closed because of the cup d'état, which I did not know anything about. After some bargaining with a travel agent I got what I wanted to a rather bad rate. I then asked the agent about a boat to Phuket, but she told me there are no one of that sort. Then I went down to the sea and found a captain who could make the trip to a price of 25000 Bath. Impossible! I started bargain again and turned the price down to 7000 Bath, which certainly is OK for a length of 65 km. But not to Chalong Bay - he was afraid of the open sea. Instead the tour run along the Krabi beaches Susaan Hoi, Railay East, Prah Nang, Railay West, Aunang and Nappharat Thara and then between Ko Yao Noi and Ko Yao Yai to Po Bay, from where I had 45 km biking home to Kata. The captain and his friend on the boat were very nice. One of them talked a good English and told me about what we saw during the journey. He told me that a bungalow at Prah Nang could cost 125 000 Bath per night.
One day in the end of August 2008 I started my biking going north. After an hour a heavy rain started. I felt very good and the rain kept me cool. As often I stopped at the first of 10 beach restaurants just before Sarasin Bridge and had my breakfast: Fried rice and an ice tee. During this I saw blue skies coming up in south and the rain started to close down. So I hurried on after paying 60 baht for the breakfast. It was still raining in the north so I continued in that direction and soon I had the rain back again. I passed Khao Lak and decided to continue to Takua Pa.
Some km before Takua Pa I came to a junction. To the left there should be some sort of a resort so I turned left. After about 5 km the road ended at the sea and no resort was to be seen. I asked some people about it and they told me I had to take the ferry over to an island - Kho Khau - about one km. So I did and paid for that 20 baht.
The island has a 25 km long road. The south end of the island consists of a long narrow sand bank now on the way down into the coming high tide.
When I arrived to the island I continued about 1 km and found Tacola Resort and Spa. A beautiful place with 103 nice bungalows and a splended view over the sea.
I went up to the reception desk where I found Noi:
She is receptionist at Tacola. She explaine to me that they did not have any guests now. Whith some hesitation she could give me a room - 1500 baht. Quickly one of the rooms was set up for me.
I was, however, going to make more problems. Since I was very hungry I wanted dinner. With the same hesitation and after some phone calls she finally said OK. By car she showed me my room - I was following in the rain by bike:
She also showed me the way to the restaurant and then left me alone. I had no dry clothes for change so I arrived to the dinner soaking wet. A single table was made up for me on the terrace with the beautiful view over the sea in front. Beside the table Mr Sastran was standing:
He is the boss on the restaurant and he and his chef had been called for by Noi so that I could have my dinner. She had also arranged with a white snapper (good fish). Sastran did not seem to have any trouble. He talks a good English. He kept me company and for some minutes even Noi who had come down from the reception.
Sastran told me he was born in Naratikua near the border to Malaysia, where his parents is still living on a rubber plantation. They have 4 Burmese workers helping them with the production.
He thought I should have a photo as a memory of this evening, so he helped me with this one:
In the morning after a good night sleep I overslept. I had asked for breakfast at 6:30 but did not arrive before 8, but Sastran did not pulled any long face. He was so nice to me and wished me finally a good trip back. Now I had to pay for the dinner: 600 baht.
I missed the ferry - but no problem. There were several small boats trafficking the sound:
It was a little bit scaring to balance with my bike over this landing stage, but if that man with his motor bike had managed, why shouldn't I. The morning started with 30 km in a nice but dry weather. But finally I got the rain when my body had warmed up a little.
I told my friend Sven Forsell about my trip. He is running the Child Care at Muang Mai together with his girl friend Susanne. I managed to make him equal as enthusiastic about Tacola as I am and he decided to drive up to the place to explore it. He said he wanted to take Susanne to the place and relax some days on her birthday. I asked if I could join him and he seemed happy to accept. So some days later I took my bike to Muang Mai where I loaded it on his car.
On the way up to this beautiful island he showed me many other nice places and told me horrible storries about how it was here after the tsunami. Sven has seen most of all these terrible scenes. Finally we were with his car on the ferry:
When we arrived at Tacola I had planned to book a room for the night but now the resort was closed beacuse of the electrical cable from the main land. It had been broken. We met the big boss of the resort - Mrs Pavini:
She had heard about me and said she was expecting me to come. She was a big smile in spite of her problems with the electicity. Now she wanted to show us the whole place. She gave us an umbrella. But both Sven and I like rain, so we wanted her to use it instead. She said "no I have my cap" and smiled again. After some walking around with us she was as soaking wet as we. I am sure she loved it.
We left Tacola and continued our trip over the island. The rain continued but it made the views on the island even more beautiful:
