I was really shocked to see how big it was and to imagine the power that carried this from the sea to where it now rests two kilometres away from the beach. It takes around half an hour to walk from the beach to where this huge boat finally stopped. And it was already one kilometre out at sea guarding some Thai Royals'. The beach front here has been redeveloped in places but in others the land is still empty.
There are a couple of really nice and very expensive places as well as little bungalow resorts like the Cousin Resort where I am staying. The Casa de la Flora is rather fab, a Tablet hotel and the cool design even applies to the very modern spirit house.
The main reason I am not staying there is the lack of a lottery win... But whilst some business has bounced back, there's no sign that any sense of community has returned. As you walk around behind the beach the original concrete roads are still here but all bordered by empty lots of land, covered in scrubby vegetation and signs saying land for sale. The odd remnant of a ruined building stands alone in the middle.
I can't imagine it would ever reach a decent price, there's so much for sale and I assume has been for years. No one seems to live here. When you walk around the back beach roads in Samui it's teeming with life - cats, dogs, chickens, buffalo, caterpillars, butterflies, birds and even the odd snake. Here, nothing. Not even the scabby stray dogs that seem to populate the rest of the country. But with a whole young generation now who will not remember the horror perhaps local memories are fading along with the warning signs. The community used to survive on fishing, rubber and palm oil, I'm not sure that way of life will ever return.
But on a more positive note, this part of Khao Lak is a good place to stay. All low rise, lots of little restaurants and bars, a good beach, although like elsewhere along this coast there is some erosion but it has nice fine sand. I'm not a sea swimmer but you can see that it slopes very gently here although on occasions, the surf can get quite high. It seems to have bypassed all of the horrible side of Thai resort development with no girly bars, very few nightclubs and a beach that is just a beach and not covered in deck chairs. It's just a pity that the Moo Moo Cabaret starts a bit late for me at 9.45 pm up on the main road - I think it is Khao Lak's version of the Sydney Bar in Priscilla, perhaps I really should make the effort one night.... I am discovering that the Thai distributor for Mont Clair wine has done a sterling job. Absolutely everywhere in Thailand that is what you get when you order a why why, every restaurant in Samui and now every restaurant here. You can even buy it in 7/11... The beach here is west facing so you get a great sunset each night to go with that Mont Clair - Carole, you will remember it well!
The heat is starting to build though, up to 35 at times and very humid, even I am looking forward to the rain that is forecast for later today. But not as much as the locals I imagine, there have been a few forest fires up in the hills along the whole coastal strip so a good soaking is really needed, the only downside to that it it tends to cool down the pool... And I don't know quite what happens in technical terms but rain in this part of the world always means iffy wiffy....
And this afternoon the rain arrived with a vengeance, a proper full on thunderstorm. It made me realise that the item I use most here is my umbrella - not normally for rain but as a "ladylike parasol" on my walks and tonight for the purpose for which is was originally intended!
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Location:อ.ตะกั่วป่า,Thailand
