"Amazing Thailand"

In Thailand, they run these tourism ad campaigns with the slogan, "Amazing Thailand." To be honest, as much as I love Thailand, I have yet to be "amazed" by any of the natural setting; I'm probably just spoiled by New Zealand scenery. Granted, I've loved the ruins of Ayutthaya, the charm and culture of the North--especially Chiang Rai--the sweeping green hills of Khao Yai, but there was no nature that "stunned" me. That changed when I went to Khao Lak, the Similan Islands and the Phang-Nga Bay last month.

I went with Julia for 3 days to Khao Lak, a small resort town about 1 hour way from Phuket. Khao Lak was heavily hit by the tsunami in 2004 and it's been slower to rebound than Phi Phi and Phuket and other places, which was actually better for us. It wasn't flooded with tourists or overrun with backpacker hostels or huge hotel developments; it was very peaceful and serene. "Khao" in Thai means mountain, and that's what Khao Lak is, a gorgeously covered mountain, perched at the edge of the Andaman Sea. The mountain is very green and tropical and wonderfully intact; there's a national park just outside of the town with some great hiking paths that Julia and I did that lead you through the forest, right to the edge overlooking the water.

We got in late Friday night, took a car to our hotel, which was totally adorable and lined with palm trees with big wide leaves, was nestled at the foot of the mountain and our room had a lovely view looking out on it. We walked through the small town, mainly just one very nicely paved street, along which there were various restaurants, shops and a number of diving stores, all advertising trips to the Similan Islands, a national park and one of the world's top 10 dive spots. We had dinner and our waitress was a very nice Thai woman who had lived in the US so her English was great. She was excited to talk to us because she said that Khao Lak rarely got American tourists, they were mainly European, especially Scandinavian or German. She told us about the area and also about the Six Senses Spa that I'd read about in BK Magazine as one of Thailand's top spas and getaways. She said that is would take about 1.5 hrs to get there but that it was beautiful, so if we wanted to treat ourselves, it was the place.

So, the next morning, after an early morning hiking in the national park (we didn't get to see the waterfalls though, alas), and booking our Sunday and Monday excursions (more later), Julia and I set out for our adventure to Koh Yao (Koh means "island"), one of the many small islands in the picturesque Andaman Sea. First we took a bus, headed towards Phuket. We were told the bus was 1 hour, but it was actually 2, surprise surprise. It dropped us off in some random location at the side of a road, close to the Phuket pier where we could catch our ferry to Koh Yao (we had the woman at our hotel write our stop in Thai to give to the driver). We thought we could walk--we were told it was only 1km or so, but when I asked the motorbike drivers in Thai, they told me it was very far. After much haggling, we negotiated a decent rate and BOTH boarded the back of the motorbike--that's right, the TWO of us were on the back of the same bike, so this small little moped was carrying 3 full-size adults. It turned out that the pier was actually quite far (again, surprise surprise) and there was NO way we could have walked, it must have been about 4-5 miles. After dropping us off, we bought our ferry tickets and waited for the ferry.

Our ferry came and it was loaded with miscellaneous items and foodstuffs to bring to the island. Julia and I decided to sit outside to enjoy the views. Let me tell you, despite the strong sun, this was a brilliant idea because the scenery was incredible--it was like the Samui archipelago and the boat trip was in and of itself an excursion. The water was a gorgeous blue and there were so many small islands and limestone towers. After 1.5 hrs on the boat, we finally arrived in Koh Yao, only to board a tuk tuk to take us to Six Senses--in total it was about 4.5 hours to get there!

It was certainly a pristine little hideaway though, the kind of place you go when you don't want anyone to bother you at all, or even know where you are, but it was still luxurious, or rather, "rustic chic." All we had time for was a 50-minute treatment--I got the signature massage--but it was incredible! One of the best I've had, so I guess the 4 hr journey by bus, motorbike, boat, tuk tuk and hotel buggy (i.e., golf cart) was worth it :) We drank up the ginger tea and took apples for the road and headed back on our long journey to Khao Lak.

The next day was my favorite and certainly one of the most memorable and not just because of our katoey (ladyboy) tour guide, "Nancy," but because we spent a full day snorkeling in the Similan Islands. There are nine islands and are all preserved as a national park;our trip was going to take us to four of them. There are no hotels on any of the islands, all you can do is camp on a few of the select islands. They are also a prime spot for sea-turtle breeding, so there are some islands you can't go to at certain times of the year when the turtles lay their eggs on the beach.

The boat out to the islands was a bumpy speedboat, but Julia and I were happy to be outside. We got to our first island and I was totally taken aback. The sand was a pure white and so smooth and easy to walk on, I'd never been on a beach with such silky sand. When we started snorkeling, it was incredible, I couldn't believe how clear the water was! You could see 30m down and still see the ripples of the sand on the ocean floor in perfect detail. The fish were bright and colorful and the coral was also impressive; I could see why the Thai government wanted to preserve it. Nancy asked if we liked the first island and when she sensed my enthusiasm, she told me to sit tight, the next ones were even better--I couldn't believe it. But she was right, the next two islands--the coral and fish around them really--were even more dazzling, and I even saw a few sea turtles!

The clarity and the diversity, in my mind, makes this a far better snorkeling spot than even the great barrier reef! Although, I do think that the GBR has some nicer coral, but the Similans have such vibrant fish, it's fantastic! Sometimes I tire of snorkeling and want to go back to the boat early, but I think this time I was always the last person back on the boat--it was just so pleasant and truly enjoyable. We spent the entire day outside and in the water and I ended up with a mild sunburn on my back (Julia didn't fare as well, she got a full-body burn), but I didn't mind so much because the day was so great. At dinner, Julia and I were in such good moods and so hungry that we treated ourselves to good ol'fashioned ice cream Sundays.

The next day we headed off to our last planned excursion, a trip into the famous Phang-Nga Bay. We took a long tail boat in the bay and passed by one limestone tower/mountain after another; some had huge stalactites and many were covered in shrubbery--it was sublime. This was the first time after being in New Zealand's Milford Sound, that I was totally in awe of nature; it reminded me of a tropical version of the Milford Sound. I had my camera out the entire time, I couldn't peel myself away from it or dare to put it back--everything we passed had a grandeur about it that's difficult to describe. Sadly, my camera ran out of batteries once we arrived at James Bond Island, one of the touristy destinations in the Bay, but Julia took photos.

At the island, we got to go in sea kayaks and be taken around the bay by a guide. Our guide took us through a huge mangrove forest and we were right next to the huge roots that anchor the mangroves in the water. He took us through the limestone caves and grottoes and at times we were so close to the stone that we had to lie back--this provided a very interesting view of all those stalactites. There were some limestone islands that had interesting trees sprouting out of them too.

We were in the bay for about 4 hours, and then taken back on our long tail boats to the pier. We were then taken to a cave with a big reclining Buddha, which was interesting, but nothing like the rest of the trip had been. We were tired, a little sick of the sun, and ready to go home after a most memorable trip. I now see why people say Thailand has the best beaches in the world and why so many people flock to the South. I didn't understand before, even though I'd been to many Thai beaches, but this one most certainly takes the cake.