TonyT's third Thailand blog: September to October 2015.
Page 11
KHAO LAK
Main road through Khao Lak. Have brat, will travel..... in the rain!
SATURDAY 26th: Breakfast of fish, vegetables (broccoli, carrot & baby sweet-corn), sautéed potatoes, grilled tomato with spinach, fried rice, followed by fresh pineapple, water melon, orange juice and coffee to finish.... mmmmmm.
Decided to get away from the resort for the day but we were a bit late getting organised, so our options were a little limited.
I would have liked to have gone over to Phi Phi Island and the so-called James Bond Island but there was no way with it being so late, so I had to contend with something more local.
In the event we'd only just walked out of the gates when a taxi driver started chatting and offered us a deal to take us to a variety of local places of interest. Firstly, he took us to an elephant enclosure. Here we could have taken an elephant trek into and through the jungle but Jack was terrified of the elephants, so that was a non starter. In fact, had we gone on this trek we would have got absolutely soaked as later on a tropical storm hammered in.
Next, the guy took us to a turtle sanctuary which was within a Thai naval establishment. Here turtles are bred, cared for and put into the sea when ready; very interesting. Spent about 40 minutes here and wandered down to the beach where turtles come ashore to lay their eggs.
Next, we were taken to a sort of small safari-park. Here were wild elephants, monkeys, tropical birds and even a couple of alligators (or were they crocodiles??). Jack again was scared of most of the creatures so we didn't spend too long here, sadly.
Finally, at no extra charge, we were taken to a waterfall in the jungle; actually more of a large cascade. He did offer to take us to even more sights but Jack was tiring so we opted to return to Khao Lak.
Rather than go back to our villa, we asked the driver to drop us off about 1km from it. We strolled down the road a way and came across the Rusty Pelican Bar where an ice-cold Chang went down a treat. Also a plate of salsa tortillas helped the beer down (or was it the other way around?). Very humid today; a real jungle feel to everything.
The tortillas were not to Aom's taste so we stopped off at a typical Thai noodle restaurant. Once here the rain hammered down again but we just waited until it eased a touch and walked back to Mukdadra in the warm rain.
The movie below is about elephants in a tropical rainforest and a cascade.
TOP & CENTRE: Aom with Jack and a hungry elephant. Jack was NOT impressed.
BOTTOM LEFT: Wild elephants in the jungle.
BOTTOM RIGHT: Warning sign (in odd English) warning of the nearby crocodiles or where they alligators?)
TOP LEFT: The crowded turtle nesting beach.
TOP RIGHT: At one of the numerous turtle holding tanks.
CENTRE LEFT: Young turtle.
CENTRE RIGHT: Another launch amongst the trees that had been swept well inshore by the 2004 tsunami.
BOTTOM: At the 'waterfall', or as I would call it, a cascade.
SUNDAY 27th: Up and early with breakfast at 7:15. Day dull and overcast but still in low 30's. Definitely the monsoon season!.
Lazy morning reading whilst Jack had a long sleep. Around noon we got across to the main pool. Used the upper pool which we had to ourselves. Trying hard to get baby Jack used to deeper water. He clearly loves water which is excellent. Soon have him ducking and diving.
Although I fully expected crap weather at this time of year it's now wearing a bit thin. OK, the temperature's still in the 30's but the incessant heavy rain showers prevents planning anything outdoors. I went for a swim in the rain (gonna get wet anyway) but it was a case of back to the room to wait out the day. Baby Jack needing entertainment and input and crying a lot didn't help the boredom. Pity as Mukdara's an OK place; nothing wrong with it but in the non-monsoon season it'd be a damn sight easier to enjoy.
Considered going to the beach bar for happy hour but even that has lost its appeal. In the event we decided for an earlyish dinner. Out of the resort around 6:30 where we popped into a bar for an appetizer. We were the only customers that early and the waitress took a shine to baby Jack and carried him off for a good while and entertained him whilst we made the most of it and ordered another round of drinks. Following this it was literally next door to the restaurant we'd dined at the day before. Very good food. Rain holding off for a while but plenty more to come I reckon.
Walking in the rain. On our way to dinner.
An appetizer before that dinner.
