After feeling at my most ‘race across the world’ getting to and from a few days R&R on Koh Samet (via a minibus and ferry), I was back in Bangkok, this time in Banglamphu. This area of Bangkok contains the famous, or infamous, backpacking area around Khao San Road. I’d stayed in this area on my previous trip to Thailand in 2019 and back then we did spend a lively evening on Khao San Road. However, this time, that didn’t happen. Partly due to age, and mostly due to elections being held which prohibits the sale of alcohol from 6pm the day before the election for 24 hours.
I did, however, spend time wandering around Rambuttri, which has a lot of restaurants and cafes, and found a good (western) lunch spot for smashed avo and sourdough.
The next trip I’m doing is with Intrepid Travel, who I’ve only travelled with once before. 12 of us in the group, from a wide range of countries. We met up the first evening as usual for introductions and dinner.
The following morning started in now-familiar fashion for tours starting in Bangkok – a Khlong boat trip and a visit to Wat Pho. My third time at both! Wat Pho certainly less busy than at New Year, and if I do come back to Bangkok again, I can probably skip it!
We had a free afternoon before our overnight train south. Along with a few others, I went to Wat Intharawihan which has the tallest standing Buddha in Bangkok. The statue itself is quite flat, and so a different presentation to others seen so far. And despite being in a relatively touristy area, it was quiet and peaceful here.
The overnight train south was an older model than the one I’d taken to Chiang Mai a month or so ago. Narrower bed up top, 2 seatbelts strung vertically being the only barrier to me not rolling out of bed, and the less said about the toilet, the better!! But it got us south to Surat Thani bright and early the next day. After breakfast at a cafe by the station, we set off on the couple of hours drive to our hotel for the next few nights in Khao Sok. This area of the country has huge limestone karsts, not dissimilar to the scenery in Vang Viang and Halong Bay. We arrived at the hotel shortly after 10am and were able to check in. We spent the day relaxing by the pool and enjoying the scenery as we had a full day of activities on the lake in the national park the following day.
The next morning we drove about an hour to Khao Sok National Park, and to the Cheow Lan Lake. We boarded a longboat to sail across the lake to one of the floating restaurants and activity hubs where we did some kayaking before enjoying lunch. After lunch we were back on the longboat for more scenic cruising and a short hike through the rainforest before returning to shore. I’ve been to Khao Sok on my previous travels and it didn’t disappoint, the scenery is stunning here.
The next day we continued to head south to Krabi. More kayaking, this time through mangrove forest and through some caves, before lunch. We continued to Ao Nang in the afternoon. The weather in this part of Thailand is increasingly hot and as we had a walk to the beach in the late afternoon, the temperature actually reminded me of the 40C heat in Adelaide…though there may have been another reason for my overheating. Dinner that night was at a seafood restaurant and unfortunately I was beginning to feel unwell before the food arrived. After feeling increasingly green through dinner, I headed back to the hotel room and did not leave it for 36 hours…
Thankfully we had 2 nights in Ao Nang and I was feeling much better by the time we left to continue south to Trang province. We stopped at a local village, Baan Mod Tanoy, where we learned about the village life in a predominantly Muslim area, and got the chance to do some Batik tie-dying, we all have our souvenir T-shirts to take home. Another local lunch, which was delicious even though I avoided the seafood!! We headed to our hotel at Pakmeng Beach where I was still taking it relatively easily so whilst the others in the group went to explore the beach (significantly quieter than Ao Nang), I rested in the air conditioning. It has become much more humid and tropical as we head south.
This was my last full day in Thailand as we headed to Malaysia the following day. It’s been almost 3 weeks since I arrived back to Bangkok from Cambodia and I’ve covered the length (if not quite the breadth) of the country in that time. Thailand is a fascinating country with lots to see and a great culture to try and immerse yourself in. A bit of a trek from the UK but a great winter sun destination for those looking to avoid the worst of the winter!
Onwards to Malaysia…
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