Thailand 2023, part 41 (Ko Tao, Hua Hin)
After visiting the small island of Ko Nung Yuan near Ko Tao, I returned to the hotel and went to eat first.
And after a delicious lunch and a pleasant break, I rented a mask at the hotel and went snorkelling.
There were quite a few waves, the water was turbulent and there was even a lot of garbage brought in by the waves. Although the water was somewhat murky due to the raised sand, to be honest, there were still plenty of fish. I think I’ve never seen more parrotfish anywhere else. The only drawback was that I didn’t know how to take underwater pictures properly using my mobile phone. I had that plastic waterproof phone case, but I didn’t actually know how to use it and I struggled quite a bit. It was only later, looking on the internet, that figured out how to use it, but by then, it was too late. I’ll have to try it next time.
I spent the rest of the afternoon quite lazily on the beach, entering the water a couple of times, but I didn’t really enjoy it. The water was rough and to reach it, I had to walk on the beach where the ground bothered me a lot – small pebbles, along with broken corals and shells. All of that was poking me and making walking difficult, whether barefoot or with slippers. That’s why I mostly lay down and observed and occasionally photographed details that I could see from the sun loungers belonging to the room I had here.
That way, I managed to see and take photos of two interesting birds, both in the same place. In the water, not far from the beach, there was a mooring buoy and it must have been an excellent spot for their hunting. They would land there and focus on the activities below the surface, quickly ending up with a fish in their beaks. What was particularly interesting about them, however, is that they are the same species – Pacific reef-egret (Egretta sacra), appearing in two versions – grey and white.
However, what caught my attention the most were the activities on the nearby large rock, which was evidently used for adventurous cliff jumping. I concluded this simply because it was more than obvious that someone had set up and securely fastened a thick rope that interested individuals used in order to climb to the top of this large rock.
And when the sun gently set behind the hills and the wind continued to create waves, bringing too much freshness for people to enter the water, I returned to the hotel restaurant and ordered something that I actually don’t know what it was, but I know it was delicious. On the other hand, I had no doubts about the beer.
By the time I had finished with all of this, darkness had already set in. I just descended to my room or, rather, to the sun lounger I had in front of the room. It felt nice to lie down and gaze at the sky above, adorned with numerous stars, while in between, there were the roof of my bungalow, a palm tree and some other greenery. It was pleasant to be so at ease.
Although based on the following photo, one could conclude that I spent the entire night on that sun lounger, it was not true at all and it certainly would not be very comfortable as the sun lounger was a wooden one. It was much better for me to go to my room and enjoy a good sleep in a proper, large bed I had there. In the morning, I just wanted to savour a little more of the lying on my part of the beach, even though it was very early and the sun had just risen.
Sometime later, the sun started shining more brightly, illuminating my bungalow, too big for one person, as well as the two wooden sun loungers in front of it. Despite the unpleasant broken pebbles that caused pain in my feet for the next few days, it was still nice there, so this photo ultimately brings back pleasant memories for me.
My stay on Ko Tao was slowly coming to an end and on this day I was moving on, which meant heading to the mainland – more precisely, I was going to the city of Hua Hin.
However, I still had enough time for a leisurely breakfast on the terrace before packing up and settling the bills. In the meantime, I also captured a part of the guesthouse where I stayed, including the restaurant and a section of the Ao Tanote Beach.
Then I transferred to the main pier on Ko Tao and, along the way, I noticed and took a photo of a very interesting common housefly catcher or tropical flycatcher or small zebra jumper (Plexippus petersi).
And when I reached the pier, there was a large crowd as many visitors were transferring to other parts of Thailand, too.
As I stood there with my large backpack, observing the other visitors, I pondered about the crowd and them as well. Most of them were young people and I wondered why. There were some older individuals, I wasn’t the only one, but I think they were the ones with a bit more adventurous spirit, like myself. However, the majority of the visitors were young, as can be seen from the photo.
Since my feet were still hurting from those broken pebbles, I was feeling annoyed, plus the negative impressions from Ao Nang were still fresh, colouring both my feelings and thoughts.
So, my conclusion was that older people, once they have the means, realise that they don’t need to come here. The young ones who come here enjoy the things that young people typically do, they find it interesting, there’s a sense of heavy exoticism, probably plenty of nightlife and whatnot. Besides, everything is cheaper here and they can easily fit a stay at such a tropical destination into their budget, while still finding everything exotic enough.
Moreover, the young ones have enough time to travel with backpacks for a few weeks or even for a few months. Older individuals (middle-aged) and even my generation mostly have jobs and are constrained by limited free time. There are significantly fewer of them at this time of year and when they do come, they likely stay for a shorter period of time.
Well, this is what was idly going through my mind.
At the scheduled time, we all boarded the catamaran and slowly left Ko Tao. As a farewell, I took a few more photos, reflecting on the idea that my impressions might have been better, if I hadn’t followed the recommendation in my guidebook to visit that particular beach. On this side of the island, the beaches had fine sand and the water was calm. But now it was too late for all of that and I learned a lesson that one doesn’t always have to adhere strictly to guidebooks. After all, we are all different and our tastes also vary.
After about an hour and a half of the catamaran ride from Ko Tao to the shore near the town of Chumphon, we disembarked onto a long pier that led to the coast. There, we had to check in again and were assigned seat numbers on the coach since transportation was organised from there to various destinations. A break of nearly an hour followed.
During this time, I chatted with a friendly young couple from England who were travelling leisurely towards Australia, where she had some relatives, and they even planned to stay there for several months by finding some work. I hope their plans came to fruition.
I also used this break to enjoy freshly squeezed mango and pineapple juice. Additionally, I observed an employee of the transportation company. This person is referred to as kathoey or katoey. I had encountered this kind of person before, but here I had the time to delve into and understand this phenomenon a bit more.
Namely, kathoey or katoey is a term used in Thailand, Cambodia and Laos to describe individuals we would refer to as “transgender women.” They can also be effeminate gay men (the employee belonged to the latter category). Interestingly, in this part of the world, these individuals are traditionally perceived as a third gender, specifically as a body housing two souls. Although cases of discrimination still exist and the category of the “third gender” is not legally recognised, there has been constitutional protection against gender discrimination for years.
Regardless, at the appointed time, I settled into the coach, which was indeed very comfortable. The journey to Hua Hin took about 4.5 to 5 hours.
Along the way, I observed the scenes visible from the coach and we also made a stop at one point. There was a large area with numerous stalls offering various types of fast food for people using the main road in this part of the country.
However, as I arrived in the city of Hua Hin, I started to feel clear signs of a cold. I was baffled as to where I might have caught it, but I was aware that the main issue was my immune system, which for some reason had weakened in the previous days, making me susceptible to getting sick.
Nevertheless, I didn’t have many choices. The coach stopped at the designated spot on the main street in the city, which was almost a kilometre away from my hotel. It didn’t seem like a lot to me, so I put my large backpack on my back and adjusted it for comfortable carrying. I also placed the smaller backpack in front. At one point, it even crossed my mind to take a selfie. As it will turn out, this eventually became my favourite selfie from my travels in Thailand. I like the joy in my eyes, even though I objectively felt unwell. Perhaps the fulfilment of the soul with joys and essential relaxation did its magic.
In Hua Hin, I chose a room in a hotel that turned out to have a significant number of floors. Consequently, I ended up with a room quite high up. In addition, the hotel building was constructed in such a way that (presumably) all rooms faced the sea, with an open corridor on the opposite side providing a view of the west parts of the city. To start with, I captured the view on that side because it was crucial for me to get my bearings, given that the train station from which I was to return to Bangkok in two days was located in that area.
Having left my belongings at the hotel, I first went to the train station to purchase a ticket to Bangkok since I wasn’t sure how I would feel later on. I thought it was better to take care of things while I still had enough energy for it. Additionally, the train station building itself is interesting as it is made of teak wood and is considered by some as the most beautiful train station in Thailand. It was built in 1926 and it is relatively small. Later, I could see that a new, large and modern train station was being constructed nearby.
Generally speaking, the railway has been quite significant for the development of Hua Hin, which was originally just a fishing village. With the construction of the railway, this place became easily accessible for affluent people living in Bangkok who wanted to quickly and easily escape the hustle and bustle of the big city. Consequently, the area experienced development and it now boasts a famous golf course, one of the oldest in Southeast Asia, along with large hotels. Two kings also once built their residences here. The town’s popularity is further enhanced by its long sandy beach, said to have dazzling white sand, although I couldn’t observe that when I later walked along the same beach. The sand is indeed fine and soft, but on a cloudy and windy day, the colour of both the sand and the water reflected more of the sky’s hue.
On the other hand, this beach isn’t ideal for swimming due to its extremely shallow water, but it is great for a leisurely stroll. My only complaint was actually related to the beach access. In the part of the town where I stayed, hotels and resorts line the beach and they don’t allow non-guests the access to the beach. I barely found a spot to reach the beach and after some walking along the shore, I gave up searching for another public entrance. Instead, I confidently walked through one of the resorts as if I were a guest. No one said anything and soon I found myself on the main street.
Meanwhile, the evening fell, while I became hungry. Due to its popularity, Hua Hin is full of restaurants, but I wanted to go to the Night Market to have dinner.
Upon arriving there, I strolled around a bit and then decided on a highly popular food stall. I noticed many locals coming there to buy food to take away. This indicated that the food was good, so I ordered a dish for myself.
However, I was still feeling quite weak and couldn’t regulate my body temperature. It was challenging for me to stand, so I asked if there was somewhere I could sit while waiting for my food. They quickly pointed to a small chair and table behind the counter and didn’t pay much more attention to me as they were busy. I went over to the indicated spot and continued to watch them as they efficiently worked in perfect harmony.
Even though I had to wait for a bit, my food eventually arrived and it was truly exceptionally delicious.
After that, I simply went back to the hotel and my room, where I took some medicine and lay down to rest. It was necessary for me to get as much and as good rest as possible.