DISCOVERING THE OTHER SIDE- South-eastern Thailand

.....our lazy time in the Thai sun on Ko Phangan here.......

SURAT THANI

We were very relieved to return to the mainland from Ko Phangan. The journey back to Surat Thani was a dreaded one due to the horrible outward ferry trip, but this time we were pleasantly surprised to find ourselves on a large vehicle ferry, with only a handful of other passengers (Thai and farang), lots of room to walk around, and it didn't stop at Ko Samui as the other ferry had, so it was quicker. It was a very pleasurable trip, and if anyone is interested- the company going out was Songserm, and coming back was Raja, and they were the same price.

Thong Sala pier, Ko Phangan

Ferry from Ko Phangan to Don Sak

 Another day was spent in Surat Thani, making a point of taking in the sights- with the river walk and Lamphu Island being highlights to add to the lovely people and good food we had found last visit.

Lamphu Island, Surat Thani

Lamphu Island, Surat Thani

KANOM

A little birdy had mentioned to us that the beach area half way between Surat and Nakon might be worth checking out, so we took the spiffiest mini-van ever to the small town. Not knowing what to expect, we jumped out of the van in the centre of town and set off looking for a place to stay. After some time we found a “resort” a couple kilometres out of town, with beautiful rooms, complete with air-con and fridge for 400 baht (AU$13) and decided to splurge. The catch was making ourselves understood at the Thai only speaking reception, but we managed this, and to hire a motorbike for a couple of days, and set off exploring the coconut groves, back roads, harbours and national parks of the area. Some of the beaches are simply gorgeous, others not so hot. The addition of some simple bamboo huts would greatly improve the vibe for us- there were generally expensive resorts presumably aimed at rich Thai people (there were only a few other foreigners in the vicinity), or nothing at all on the beaches. We did enjoy the motorbike riding, although the hot dry weather saw us stopping for plenty of drinks. The hospitable man at reception got us organized onto another swish mini-van, this time bound for Nakon, and we were on our way.

Kanom beach

Kanom beach

Power plant on Kanom beach

Protector of the dragon fruit, Kanom

Fishermen, Kanom

Fishing boats, Kanom

Fishing boats, Kanom

Kanom

NAKON SI THAMMARAT

We were dropped at the train station, and found our way to a cheap hotel. Most of the budget hotels in  less touristy towns of Thailand are big old Chinese places, with large, clean rooms, bathrooms, toilet paper, fan, towels, with a well-worn feel, but cheap price (usually about 250 Baht or AU$8). Our hotel in Nakon was just this- with one exception- it seemed newly renovated.

Nakon really surprised us. It is definitely not the typical Thai town. The area around the train station is mostly a chaotic market, quite a lot of rubbish, not the cleanest food stalls, and people looking suspicious. Despite its scruffy appearance, we instantly liked it. The people were happy, but only once we had smiled and made contact first. The only negative for us was no fantastic night food market- only a few pathetic looking stalls.

The main attraction in Nakon is the biggest and most important temple in south Thailand- Wat Phra Mahathat. We spent most of the day wandering around the many parts of the complex, with numerous Thai visitors. We found the temple to be different from others we have visited in Thailand in style, and we enjoyed poking around the little museums. Hopefully the prayer to the Buddha who is reputed to help back pain will have some effect for Rich’s back.

Wat Phra Mahathat, Nakon

Wat Phra Mahathat, Nakon

Wat Phra Mahathat, Nakon

Wat Phra Mahathat, Nakon

Another day saw us visiting the attractive little village of Ban Kiriwong, a mangosteen growing area on the outskirts of Khao Luang National Park. Usually in Thailand, we avoid the national parks, as they mostly charge a steep 400 Baht fee for foreigners, but as Kiriwong is located outside the park, we were able to walk the picturesque surrounding area, and out to a beautiful waterfall (even in dry season) for free.

Waterfall, Ban Kiriwong

Coming back from Kiriwong with the vegetables

PHATTALUNG

It’s been years since we've taken a train in Thailand, so we decided to jump on the slow train from Nakon to Phattalung- another new town for us to visit. The scenery was stunning, with limestone cliffs and rice paddies dominating. 

Train from Nakon to Phattalung

Tiny station, Nakon-Phattalung train

Arriving at sunset, we found a small, quiet town, with a stunning setting surrounded by limestone hills and a lively night market in full swing. Hiring a motorbike was a foreign concept in Phattalung, so we opted to walk to the nearby sights, and take songtheaws to the ones further afield.

There are some amazing natural sights in Phattalung, with Khao Ok Thalu being one of the best. It is an unusual hole in the limestone mountain reached by 1040 steps (we counted them in agony), with views stretching for miles. Wat Khuhasawan is a forest temple close to town, with some very unusual wooden human figures, that reminded us of parts of Indonesia, and Tham (Cave) Malai was riddled with steps, caves and stupas. 

 

Wat Khuhasawan, Phattalung

Wat Khuhasawan, Phattalung

Wat Khuhasawan, Phattalung

A snake eating a bat, Wat Khuhasawan, Phattalung

Phattalung

 
Phattalung is very close to Thale Luang, the biggest natural lake in Thailand, and we spent a morning looking around the “beach” area (actually just the edge of the lake full of rubbish and weed that has been turned into a surprisingly nice park), and the nearby Wat Wang- a very special temple with murals inside and an exquisitely beautiful courtyard with carved stupas.

Ban Lampam Park, Songkhla Lake

Wat Wang, Ban Lampam

Wat Wang, Ban Lampam

Wat Wang, Ban Lampam

Wat Wang, Ban Lampam

Phattalung was by far the most interesting place we visited in these two months in Thailand, and a pleasant surprise, as we had no expectations of it. That is the lovely feature about traveling.

SONGKHLA

We left Phattalung vowing to come back, perhaps with a Songkhla-hired motorbike next time. Our next plan was to make it to Songkhla for the weekend to experience the most amazing market we've seen in South-East Asia. As seen in this blog post, we’d loved the massive walking street market on our last visit, and this time we had the opportunity to explore what must be the biggest second hand market in Thailand. It is mostly clothes, which was a great chance to update our travel wardrobe at rock bottom prices. We visited Koh Yo, an island in Songkhla Lake, which is home to the biggest and best folklore museum in Thailand's south. Unfortunately, the day we visited, there wasn't a sole about and most of it was closed. We did, however get a magnificent view of the lake.

Coconut grater, Ko Yo museum, Songkhla

Coconut grater, Ko Yo museum, Songkhla

Ko Yo museum, Songkhla

Our 60 day Thai visa was finished, and it time to leave for KL, Malaysia on the best seats we've ever had on a bus- up the front of a big double-decker, with panoramic windows and masses of legroom.

Loving the luxury- Hat Yai to KL

.....coming up next- Kalimantan, Indonesia.......

EASY DOES IT - Southern Thailand

....our previous blog post from the islands of Sulawesi.....

I know the blog posts have been thin on the ground for the last couple of months! To be honest, we have been so chilled out and relaxed, it makes for pretty boring reading!

Since our return from amazing Sulawesi, we have been having a very quiet time in Southern Thailand. Our first port of call was Ko Siboya. We are so close to this island when we are in Krabi, yet over the years, we have neglected to go and have a look. It was a lovely surprise, with extremely friendly hosts and fellow guests (although there were very few people staying there), cute (and tiny) little huts for a reasonable price, great food and a VERY peaceful long beach. Siboya isn't popular because the beach isn't classically beautiful with powdery white sand, but we still enjoyed the serenity of our long walks there without seeing any other people at all!

Ferry to Ko Siboya

Si Boya sunset- those colours are real!

Rocky Si Boya beach

We revisited our favourite place in Thailand, Ko Fruitopia, and spent most of the month catching up with great friends, eating ridiculously large portions of excellent food (Sally had a major pancake fixation, something she is now regretting!), still trying to learn Thai, lapping up the beautiful sunshine on the beach and reading stacks of books. It really is blissful there! There was a lot of music this year, with several great musicians staying, and it was lovely to sit on the beach around a fire at night listening and singing along.

At this point, I would like to add a small appendix to my blog. It's been contributed by a fellow Fruitopian- a lovely fellow with a funny accent, one could call him a mad scientist-type, who enjoys commenting on my blog style, so I thought I'd let him have his five cents worth here. Please be know, these are not necessarily my views, but they are extremely funny, and well written (in my opinion).

                The Fruitopians

The same old faces appear year after year at Ko Fruitopia. This year we saw
some new young ones adding a new late night aspect  to the community using
language such as ‘after party’. Masimo used some old vocabulary and said
‘shut the f*** up!’.

The old faces tell some new stories, but mostly  embellish the ones they
have told many times before.

Some new German visitors built a camp fire that BMW would be proud of!

This year the guitar players were like buses. You wait for one and then
three turn up at once. Papa excelled with his musical presence and is
currently working on a  new concept album featuring farmyard animals.

Other people (Germans) have criticized Queen D for not upkeeping/updating
the bungalows. However, I no of few places or establishments that see such
a repeat business  A business model worth looking at!

Larn's place in the village seems to have become a bit of a drinking
hangout for some of the Fruitopians leading to some loutish behavior in
the afternoon…..I’ll mention no names here for fear of making someone look
like a Dick.

As Rosa headed off for her honeymoon in Bangkok to meet the Japanese
inlaws, Queen D is showing some signs of the strain of  keeping things
going on her own. And the cooking/food is suffering!!

On the last night I visited Coco bar, where Mustaffe usually hangs on the
end of the bar in a semi-commatosed spliffed-out state.  Mustaffa was on a
visa run and I commented how quiet the bar was without him. Only Pung
behind the bar laughed.

And so as I watched the final sun set with some of the Friutopians I left
the island the following day full of  laughter and  good times, good vibes
and  a painful stinging sensation when I piss.

Not forgetting Spider, whose web doesn’t only cover the island, but
people in Cambodia talk about him.



Thank you for that, Billabong, now, back to me!!

We did, however, eventually surrender to our urge to leave, to explore new territory. First on the agenda was Tonsai Beach. Tonsai is the poor relation to the expensive, and more photographed Railay Beach. Although the whole coast line in that area is stunning, Tonsai is less famous for it's beach, and more so for it's climbing on the limestone cliffs. The accommodation is more affordable, and since we've visited Railay a few times on days trips, we thought it would be nice to stay a while and chill out on Tonsai. Unfortunately, it wasn't really our scene, with lots of  people doing way too many active things all day (mainly rock-climbing, but also hiking and kayaking- we were knackered just watching!), then partying hard at night. We loved the dramatic setting (although it was a shame about the rubbish everywhere), and watching the climbers from the beach was unreal. We did visit in high season, but found the tourist numbers overwhelming. We glad we got to see it, and we had glorious weather while we were there, but were happy to get back to Krabi.

Boat to Tonsai

Tonsai hut (before Richard fell through the verandah)

Tonsai beach

Climbers, Tonsai

Our beach activities!

Tonsai sunset

Tonsai beach

We love our regular place to stay in Krabi, Swallow Guest House. It's another one of our "home away from home" type places. It's a serious contender for the cleanest guesthouse in Thailand, and the owners Terry and Mia are very kind to us, and fussy who they let stay in their six rooms, so we know will get a good night's sleep!

Swallow Guest House room, Krabi

Mai and Terry, owners of Swallow Guesthouse, Krabi

We spent some time in Krabi, one of our favourite towns in Thailand. It's easy to get around with cheap and convenient public transport, loads of yummy food stalls, lovely river walks and not one, but two food night markets. We spent quiet a bit of time here, as the weather further south was stormy and wild with more flooding, and we didn't fancy getting caught in that. We amused ourselves around town, visiting the Tiger Cave Temple and the mangrove walk, and further afield, with day trips to Hat Nopporat Thara and Ao Nang beaches and Ao Luk, a town further north which is famous for its surrounding caves.

Hat Nopporat Thara beach, near Krabi

Busy Ao Nang beach, near Krabi

Some kind of bird competition

Long way to the top of the Tiger cave temple!

Slightly camp statue at the temple

Worshippers at temple

Sal with tigers

Colorful pigeon, Ao Luk

Sal in mangroves, Krabi

Storm brewing, Krabi town

After a day in hectic Hat Yai, we took a bus with the loudest music video in the world blasting out, to Songkhla. A new town for us, we were expecting a severe Muslim atmosphere, and couldn't have been more wrong. It's such a wonderful town, with a huge mix of people, and probably the least amount of hijabs we have seen in a while. We staggered off our bus half deaf, found a lovely little guesthouse, walked out after a couple of hours to find a massive market had set up in the streets in the area. All over Thailand, towns have introduced "Walking Street Markets", on a weekend, to boost the local economies. We've been to quite a few, but the Songkhla one was so huge and amazing, with lots of second-hand, retro and home-made goods for sale- something you don't see very often in Thailand. And very, very nice, smiley locals.

Hat Yai, Chinese New Year decorations

Hat Yai, Chinese New Year decorations

Hat Yai

Songkhla night market

Old movie projector, Songkhla

We loved exploring the low-key town, climbing the biggest hill to visit a temple and see the view, and strolling the long, empty beach, and port area, and the fantastic two huge day markets selling everything you could think of. We regretted not having much time here, and decided to definitely come back here at another stage to explore the surrounding area in more detail. Unfortunately, our time was up on our Thai visa, and Malaysia once again beckoned...........

View from hill, Songkhla

Old part of Songkhla

.....here is our next post from an incredible Thaipusam in Penang, Malaysia.....