It’s
very early morning and the adventure starts- incredible Thailand wants to be
explored. It is still raining when I and the other tourists are being picked up
at the hotel by a Khao Lak Land Discovery minivan. Today we are a group of
eight German tourists. Our German speaking tourguide welcomes us warmly before giving
us a brief overview of today’s program. On our 1 ½ hours bus ride to the pier
we stop for a quick breakfast and the tourguidebuys some Pathonggos, a kind of
donut for us. At the dock we put on our plastic raincoats because there is
heavy rain now.
The so called longtailboat manages the rainy condition and the
waves. We pass amazing mangrove swamps and reach impressive karst sceneries.
Our tourguide gives us interesting information on several of the limestone
rocks and mentions how important it is to be aware of the influence the tides
have on the caves and cliffs. Therefore, trips to these spots have to be well
prepared and have a strict time limit or a time window during which they can be
visited. The famous James Bond Island which we all know from the movie “James
Bond 007-the man with the golden gun” seems very tiny compared to the other
limestone giants. Next we get to a fascinating extensive cave system.
There
canoes are being inflated and either the tourguide or the boat crew rows us
safely through the narrow and half-submerged caves to wonderful bays. Here we
can enjoy silence, chirping of cicadas and the breathtaking scenery of the
movie “Avatar”. Slowly the weather is clearing up. Later we get the chance trying
to row the canoes ourselves. Here and there we get cool drinks as refreshment.
We continue our trip with another cave. This time we wade through knee-deep water,
shirk from hundreds of years old glittering stalactites in the diamond cave and
get into a “room” of mangroves. It looks gorgeous. Afterwards we have a quick
swim at a lagoon!
Around lunchtime we take the boat back to the pier. On the
way we stop at a sea gipsy village set up on stilts. There we visit a school,
walk through the shopping area and finally take rest at a nice terrace. We are
served a variety of tasty Thai meals and enjoy the exotic tastes. After this
delicious lunch we take the boat to the pier and from there take the bus to our
last destination for today: a cave temple. At the entry we are welcomed by many
hungry little monkeys. Inside the cave temple there is a huge Buddha in lying
position. Our guide tells us the story of the temple and then allows us to have
a look around on our own. Now we can go back home to Khao Lak! Today we have
had a full day of experiences, adventure, information and fun!
If you want to know more about Khao Lak Land Discovery and the tours available visit us on our website.
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