Turtle Conservation

There was an article in the Phuket Gazette today (Sunday March 24th, 2013) about turtles. It is bad news for the traditional breeding grounds and egg-laying grounds for the turtles in both the Phuket and the Khao Lak regions.

The article is very short on facts but the overall message is hard to dispute: turtles laying their eggs on the shores of the beaches stretching from Phuket to the north of Phang-Nga Province are becoming are becoming a rare sight. Just 20 years ago there were masses of turtles to see. It is an area famous throughout Thailand for its turtles.

Yet sadly, now there are very few turtles left in the wild. The species that used to be most prevalent is the leatherback sea turtle. Now due to plastic bags getting into the sea and poisoning the turtles along with pollution from tourism and fishing vessels, and with over-fishing of all marine resources by both big companies and subsistence fishermen turtle numbers are in sharp decline.

The authorities and wild life organizations spotted the trend a few years ago and several conservation efforts are underway to breed turtles in captivity and release them back into the area.

As far back as 1979 conservation efforts started when the Queen donated her own island, Koh Mannai in Rayong to a project to boost turtle numbers. The centre piece of the project is a 5 hectare lagoon for breeding that was finished in 1988.

Other turtle conservation projects include the Thai Muang National Park (on the main Phet Kasem road) near Lam Kaen beach. It is one of the best places to see sea turtles come onto the beach. The best times of the year are December and February after 10pm.

10 to 15 km south of Bang La On is the Royal Thai Navy's Third Fleet Sea Turtle Nursery. Infant turtles are collected from along the Andaman Coast in the region and bought here where they are looked after until they are old enough to be released back into the wild.

All three of these conservation projects are open to the public. They are more research and conservation projects than tourist attractions and so there is limited information in English. The main thing, of course, is that effort is being made to conserve a sea creature that is at least 90 million years old and very much part of Thai culture.

James Bond Island

It seems unlikely but Phang-Nga has a James Bond connection. It is also a major tourist attraction for the region. In Phang-Nga Bay there is a small island called Koh Khao Phing Kan. Just off the shore of a small beach on the island stands a limestone karst rock that is known locally as Koh Tapu or Khao Tapu. It is this karst rock that forms the iconic backdrop to The Man with The Golden Gun.

The beach and karst rock behind features in the 1974 Bond movie. It is one of the best Bond movies. The spectacular rock rising from the turquoise sea just off a clean white sand beach is the memorable hideout of the ‘baddie’ Scaramanga.

One local legend claims Koh Tapu was formed by a frustrated fisherman. Day after day he caught nothing but a nail that he threw back each time. In a moment of anger the fisherman cuts the nail in half and one half flies off into the sea and becomes the iconic rock we have today.

Koh Khao Phing Kan is part of the Phang-Nga Bay National Park. You can get tour boats out to the island. There is a government office to pay entry fee and a few souvenir shops. The southern part of the island has 2 sand beaches. You aren’t allowed to camp or stay overnight.

A trip to James Bond Island is usually included in tours of Phang-Nga Bay that will also typically feature visits to the floating island of Koh Panyi and the Monkey Caves.

Scenes of Khao Lak

The above video helps to introduce Khao Lak to those who are new to the area. The video starts with Phuket bus station. It is possible to catch a bus from here to Khao Lak. It is a 60 km journey and takes just over an hour. One of the highlights of the bus journeyis crossing the impressive Sarasin Bridge which joins Phuket to the mainland.

I don't know which hotel the couple with a small child book into but it is nice to see the good service. The baby is shielded from the sun by a parasol as the mother walks to their bungalow near the sea.

The scenes in the market are interesting. It is Bang Muang Market. There are plenty of exotic fruit and vegetables to see. You can see a woman using a machine to shred coconut meat. Coconut has plenty of health benefits; it also makes delicious shakes.

There is footage of the beach. Note the golden sand that is characteristic of the beaches in the Khao Lak area.

Finally, for those who like to escape from the madding crowds look at how empty the beach is during the low season. The weather is fine too.

Khao Lak Airport

Khao Lak is blessed in being a part of Thailand that is full of natural beauty and pristine tropical environments. There is not only some of the best National Parks in Thailand within a small radius of the main Khao Lak beach resort areas, but also some of the best diving in the world.

And yet Khao Lak is not a hard-to-get-to destination in Thailand. It doesn't have a railway link - you have to catch a train to Krabi or Suratthani  - but it does have an airport just 80 kms or 60 miles away. The proximity of Khao Lak to Phuket Airport allows tourists to transfer in Bangkok or even catch a direct flight to Phuket and then take a taxi straight to their resort. For high-end tourism this is ideal.

It is thus not surprising that a large percentage of mid-range and luxury rooms in Khao Lak are booked by travel agents organizing package holidays. Khao Lak is close enough to an airport to make it an attractive destination for a big tourist market. Moreover, places like Koh Kho Khao have developed an appeal for one particular type of tourist. In the case of Koh Kho Khao it is a favoured destination for Scandinavians.

This is in contrast to other travel hotspots in Thailand that are much more difficult to get to. In particular there is Koh Phangan that hosts the biggest outdoor Full Moon Party in Asia and yet is only reached via ferry from either Koh Samui (which does have an airport) or Suratthani. The neighboring island of Koh Tao is similar. It is an island that is the number one place to learn PADI Open Water scuba skills and yet the long boat journey puts off lots of people from trying the island.

The future is about to change for Koh Phangan. Koh Phangan Airport is being built. When it is complete the demographics of visitors will move more to the high-end. Koh Phangan, like Khao Lak is a place blessed with great beaches and pristine jungle. It is sure to be a rival for Khao Lak in a few years for package tourists.

For the consumer this is perhaps good news. Hotel rooms might go down in price to be more competitive. However, what is not needed is Khao Lak Airport. Khao Lak is defined as being developed like Phuket but not over-run with commercial activity. Not having an airport is all part of this characterization.

Rafting in Khao Lak

Rafting in Khao Lak

There are two types of rafting experience available to people who visit the Khao Lak area: one is sitting on a simple raft made of bamboo and floating sedately down a river or across a lake; the other is white water rafting using inflatable dinghies going down a much faster flowing river.

Both these experiences are good fun and also provide an opportunity to see something of the Khao Lak countryside.

Bamboo Rafting

For those who don’t want a fast and adrenalin filled experience there is bamboo rafting. The raft is made from bamboo poles tied together. On the end a Thai guide will use a pole to push the raft through the river. On the other end, two adults can sit. One adult and two children is also possible. The raft tends to be half submerged so it is a good idea to wear swimming kit with a t-shirt to keep the sun off the body.

Some bamboo rafts are much longer and can hold up to 8 people. Some also have wooden planks across the raft to sit on and to stop your bum getting wet. These bigger rafts are often used on Cheow Lan Lake.

There are two popular spots for bamboo rafting: Tab Lamu mountain (about 20 minutes south of Bang La On), and Cheow Lan Lake. The latter is the lake created when the area was flooded in the making of the Rachaphrapha Dam. It is a big lake with limestone islands to explore. It is possible to spend the night on the lake in floating raft houses.

The Tab Lamu bamboo rafting experience takes people down a slow moving river. As the river meanders the guide points out birds and other wildlife. This rafting experience is usually offered as part of a package tour that will include elephant riding, transfer and lunch.

White Water Rafting

White water rafting is a fairly new activity for Thailand. The spot for this sport is Khlong Song Phraek River in the Ton Pariwat Wildlife Sanctuary, located 5km from Phang-Nga Town and about 90 minutes from Khao Lak center.

The rapids are rated class 2 and 3. It is good fun, but obviously a bit tame compared to other white water rafting trips in Africa and South America. You can get about 6 people in a boat. Everyone is given a helmet and lifejacket, and before starting a guide give a quick lecture in what to do and not to do.

Inflatable dinghies are used along with paddles.

It takes a couple of hours or so to do the entire course. Thus, white water rafting is normally combined with elephant trekking, lunch and a visit to the nearby Monkey Cave Temple.

You can find plenty of tour companies offering bamboo rafting and white water rafting. As you would imagine prices are all about the same. Many resorts will help you book rafting tours. Remember to bring sun block!

Art and the Tsunami

The picture above is done by Top Thumvanit. He is a young talented Thai artist that graduated from Silpakorn University with a degree in Fine Art. As with many artists, and especially in Thailand, he found it hard to make ends meet as an artist.

At first he worked as a street artist in Sukhumvit. Next he tried his luck in Krabi. He eventually found a stable income in Khao Lak. He managed to open his open his own small gallery called appropriately ‘Top Art’. One of his best works is a picture of the boat washed up in land after the terrible tsunami of 2004. He wasn’t in Khao Lak when the tidal wave hit land, but like nearly everyone living in Thailand, the event left a permanent impression.

After the clear up, the boat was left in the jungle as a poignant monument to the terrible power of nature and the tragedy that it caused along the western coastline of Thailand.

Top has since got married and moved yet again to Koh Phangan. He is working from Wang Thong Gallery. It is a small space in a forest near the famous beach of Thong Nai Pan Yai.

We wish him success with his new venture in Koh Phangan. And we thank him for leaving his own artistic interpretation of what must surely be the most famous boat in Khao Lak.

The boat is a police patrol boat. If you are interested, you can find it 1 km inland, east of route 4 in Bang Niang.

Natai Beach

As you can see from the video, Natai is a gorgeous beach that faces west and so gets an incredible sunset. I recommend turning the sound off and just enjoying the images, as the woman talking on the video detracts from the natural beauty of the area.

Natai beach is just 20 minutes drive from Phuket International Airport. It is one of the first beaches you encounter when you cross Sarasin Bridge onto the mainland. Natai Beach is officially part of Phang-Nga Province and separate to Khao Lak. However, since it is just a short journey down Highway 4 to get to Natai Beach it is worth mentioning in this blog.

Natai Beach is a rare thing in Thailand, namely a beautiful beach near a major urban center (in this case Phuket) that is relatively unvisited. Moreover, little information about  Natai Beach is available on the net.

Natai Beach has the slightly golden sand found on the beaches of Khao Lak. The beach is about 2 km long. The sea is calm and the sand is fine. It is great for swimming. Behind the beach it is mostly rainforest punctuated in places by a few 5 star hotels and expensive private residential developments.

As much of the land near a beach or with sea views has already been taken by hotels and land developers in Phuket, the market has naturally spread beyond the island. Phang-Nga land prices are considerably lower, and so it is no surprise that the Phuket villa market has come to Natai. Indeed, some would argue that Natai beach is more pristine and relaxing than Phuket beaches, and thus a better place for a second home.

Don’t be put off by this talk of luxury developments and 5 star hotels - there are still some cheap accommodation options available on Natai Beach. The best mid-range hotel in the area is the Hot Spring Beach Resort and Spa. It is located near the beach. You just have to cross a small footbridge to get to the sand. The resort has rooms and villas for rent. They have air-con, hot water, 29” satellite TV and bath tub. There are 2 communal hot springs as well as a swimming pool, fitness center, restaurant and bar. The cheapest rooms start at around 2,000 Thai Baht a night. That’s $60.

The special thing about Natai is that it is an area that has natural hot springs. This makes the spas at Natai  ‘real spas’ not just places to get a massage and a beauty treatment. There are a number of places in and around Natai where you can enjoy the spring waters.

Near the main road there is a small town. It is not a party town, or one that especially caters for tourists. However, you can find a range of shops as well as a few good local bars and restaurants to try out. You won’t find Phuket nightlife in Natai, but you will find enough amenities to have a comfortable holiday. Anything that you can’t find in Natai can soon be sourced by crossing over the bridge onto Phuket Island.

Between Natai town and beach you can also find cheap rooms to rent. If you are on a small budget then you will have to just turn up in Natai and look around for the cheap deals as the internet is little use in trying to secure cheap accommodation in Natai.

If you don’t find anything you like in Natai then just south is the equally as nice beach of Pilai. Again there are a few local places to stay if you look around. Another great thing about Pilai beach is that in February you can see turtles coming up to the beach to lay their eggs. In April the eggs hatch and the hatchlings make their mad dash for the ocean.

It is recommended that you get to Natai Beach soon before it becomes overrun with the Phuket spill over, Japanese tourists crazy for hot springs and package tourists. Perhaps it is a good thing that so little has been written about Natai on the net.