Khao Lak, Takuapa, Chang Wat Phang-nga, Thailand
It was my last week in Khao Lak already. How the time has flown by!
I was on my own in the office on Monday morning, David, the only other volunteer, having left for home on Sunday. I pottered around for a while, tidying lesson packs until pangs of hunger sent me off to Kinnaree Cafe for a late lunch.
I decided to have one last visit to the market in Bang Niang. The walk was quite enjoyable as it wasn't as oppressively hot as it has sometimes been. I resisted the temptation to buy any last minute souvenirs and after my usual passion fruit shake thought I'd go down to the beach to watch the sunset. It wasn't the best ever but it was just wonderful to sit on the warm sand, the sea lapping at my feet as dusk fell and darkness gently enveloped me. When would I next be able to do this?
I finally dragged myself away and chose a restaurant in the middle of Bang Niang for my dinner. It seemed new and the staff were keen to please but their English wasn't very good. I ordered squid and got fish! Next to me was a table of noisy chain smoking Chinese tourists.
I was relieved when their food arrived as I imagined they might now quieten down but they managed to chew with their mouths open, talk at the same time and still have a cigarette on the go!
I was back in the office on Tuesday morning after my last breakfast of rice soup at Khao Lak Seafoods. I did a few hours’ work on the lesson packs and then Ken announced that we were going to Khok Kloi (a town about 20 miles south of Khao Lak) to do some stationery shopping. Sunny had other ideas and the expedition was postponed until Wednesday but as Ken had already got his boots on he offered to take me for lunch instead. At his suggestion, we went to Chong Fah Restaurant by the beach in Bang Niang. Ken very rarely goes anywhere near the sea and so it was quite strange to see him there and even stranger to see him tackling a chocolate milkshake topped with ice cream. He looks so much more at home with a bottle of Leo beer!
I took my book off to the beach after lunch but found that one of my usual shady spots had been chosen as the location for yet another big sign warning against smoking and litter.
The new one seemed to differ only in having a section written in Chinese.
With very few evenings now left I decided to make Tuesday the night for my last meal at Phukhaolak restaurant. As I left my bungalow I noticed that I had a visitor, a tokay gecko, the first I have seen for ages, but not Gordon of course. Dinner was good and after a stroll around town I ended the evening at Forest Bar.
On Wednesday I had my last visit of the season to Coconut Beach. As always it was a perfect day. My taxi arrived early to pick me up and so I was there before the crowds and enjoyed a lovely long walk along the beach. I had my traditional fresh coconut mid morning and then read until lunchtime when I treated myself to red curry with prawns and an ice cold beer.
There are always fishing boats moored near the beach but today the fishermen were working with nets from the shore. It was the first time I had seen them do this. A team of 16 fishermen were working together. The nets were taken out a short distance in a rowing boat and then some of the men, standing chest deep in the water spread the nets over the area they were going to fish.
At a given signal the men on the shore started to haul the nets in. This seemed hard work, particularly if they had a good catch of fish. Once they had the fish ashore they all set to and sorted the larger fish which they would keep from the smaller ones which were returned to the sea. Then the nets were gathered up and they moved a little further up the beach and started again.
I spent the evening with Ken, enjoying my last green curry at Everyday Restaurant and then a few beers at Captains Bar.
I put in a few hours’ work in the office on Thursday morning and then said a sad goodbye to Sunny, whom I was unlikely to see again before I left. I had lunch at Madam Thai and then took myself off for my final afternoon of reading on the beach.
For the first time in ages there were people staying in the bungalow next to mine. Two Thai men had arrived late the previous evening, parked their car right in front of my bungalow and the first thing they did on Thursday morning was start playing with a drone. They were going to annoy me, I could tell.
However, I soon realised, when a lot of expensive photographic equipment appeared, that they were professionals here to do a job. They spent the whole day wandering around Phukhaolak taking photos, for a new website I guessed. As I went out that evening they had the lights switched on in all the rooms and were taking nighttime shots. It looked just like high season again, when the place was full of guests!
On my way to dinner I bumped into Will, the tall Canadian volunteer who had given up teaching to devote himself to Thai Boxing. I had been wondering what he was up to as I had not seen him around town for several weeks. So I was pleased to see him and learn that he now had a room near White Sand Beach. He was still training hard but had not yet been selected for a fight.
I had my favourite dinner at Khao Lak Thai Foods Restaurant and then went to say goodbye to the staff at Tarzan Bar. The bar had just reopened following a week's closure for the owner to take part in a major cycle race in Northern Thailand.
Then it was off to say my goodbyes to the girls at Sakai Bar. I met the couple from Oldham who come every year and had a chat with them before hugs galore as I took my leave.
All the lights in the empty bungalows had been switched off by the time I got home. It was lovely and peaceful and I sat on my verandah in the darkness for a while listening to the sounds of the creatures of the night and soaking up the warmth.
All too soon it was Friday and departure day. I wasn't leaving until late afternoon and so had most of the day to prepare. I had a final walk around town before breakfasting at Baan Na Cafe. Then it was back to tackle the packing. As usual I had a small bag of bits and pieces to leave with Ken. I strolled over to the office with these, said my farewells and then headed to the beach.
There was a pleasant breeze blowing and I spent a most enjoyable hour reading in the shade before heading to Green Beach Cafe for lunch.
I was showered and ready in good time for my 4.00pm taxi to the airport.
It felt very strange to be wearing long trousers and socks and shoes. The weather forecast for my arrival time in Manchester was “chilly with rain and drizzle” - a wonderful prospect!
As usual I was flying with Etihad via Abu Dhabi and as usual the journey was tedious and seemed never ending. What makes it worse I think is that, traveling in a westward direction, I take off in the dark at 20.30 on Friday evening and see no daylight whatsoever for the next 17 hours until just before landing at Manchester at 07.00 on Saturday morning.
On the first leg to Abu Dhabi I enjoyed chatting with the South African lady in the next seat. She was returning home to Jo’burg after a 10 day visit to Phuket where she had joined her daughter who was an English teacher at a school in Nakhon Si Thammarat. We experienced rather a lot of turbulence, however, and hit one air pocket which saw us lurch downwards and elicited quite a few screams from the passengers.
On the Abu Dhabi to Manchester leg my seating companion was a well to do youngster kitted out in designer gear - black sports shorts, a black sweatshirt, a black baseball cap and expensive looking sneakers. I decided he was probably a professional footballer! He slept a lot and didn’t appear to speak much English.
The weather forecast had been right. It was just 4°C when we landed at Manchester (30° cooler than in Khao Lak!) and grey and damp. I was home again! I tried to stay positive. At least there would be some good beer to look forward to. I would see all my friends. And surely spring must be just around the corner now? Maybe we would have a scorching summer! But if all else failed, in no time at all it would be November and I would be packing my bags in preparation for another trip to sunny Thailand!
2025-03-19