Khao Lak -- place to relax and to reflect

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We left Khao Sok national park , and headed South to Phang Nga for a quick detour.

Before you arrive to Phang Nga city, you have the choice to go along the coast or cross the mountains. We crossed the mountains. There are very sharp turns.

At some point, there's a viewpoint where you can see many limestone hills. It's a quiet place. Then you go down, and arrive to Phang Nga city.

The city is surrounded by lime pillars. In the center a very large park allows to stretch, relax and take pictures.

Further along the road, we arrived to Ao Phang Nga marine park. A tons of boats can bring you to see the lime formations in the sea, and take a look at the famous "James Bond Island". Personally,

I saw so many limestone formations along the road from Bangkok, that I wasn't interested. But if it's new for you, then let's go! It's very easy to arrange tours directly at the visitor center.

At the park, I walked on a trail to visit the mangroves. I saw my second monitor lizard, (of a different specie than the one in Khao Sok), and also amphibious fishes.



I then left for Khao Lak.

Khao Lak is medium sized city that stretches along the coast. But there are many quiet places, waterfalls, and beaches if you go just a few kilometers away.

I stayed at the Yama resort. Very comfortable, good prices, about 1km from main road, but super quiet!

This is a small resort, well taken care of, with a pool. The region around the resort is filled with rubber tree plantations, and some palm oil as well.

In the city, there is a 2004 tsunami memorial. You need to pay to enter, but you can also take picture of the boat outside. The boat was brought by the big waves, and is a silent witness of the power of nature forces.

For the beaches, I tried coconut beach. it's very crowded. On same road that leads to that beach, you have secondary roads that leads to other more quiet beaches. This is where I prefer to go, to walk on the beach. Before the city, you have one in the national park. It 's a nice place, but you need to pay. If you visit the rest of the park, (waterfall, etc...), then it's a good deal.

A bit further North on road 4, you can go to Ban Nam Khem memorial, where there's a big public park, with a tsunami memorial, sidewalks, ice cream vendors and nice sea viewpoints.

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Photos

Michelin tire man
The country is full of these figurines, especially on big trucks. The company must be firmly established there!!