The week of Maria Berg

My family invited me to go to the south of Thailand for several days. The neighbors have offered to feed the animals on the days I'm gone.

Monday

Bought food for the animals for seven days and brought it to the neighbors. Even if we only go for six days, counting on seven days just to be sure, you never know.

Tuesday

At 19:30 we left from my son's house in Kamphaen Saen. We drove to Hua Hin, to a hotel where we have been coming for years. The hotel is being renovated, but we are welcome. We got an apartment. Two bedrooms, living room and bathroom. All very small, not like I was used to in their other rooms.

At 6 o'clock everyone was awake and we went to the sea. Lovely warm water. It was getting low. Small fish swam in the water near the beach and there were many beautiful shells and dead starfish on the beach. Back to the hotel to shower, eat somewhere and at 10 o'clock the luggage and the tangle went back in the car, further south.

Wednesday

We arrive in Ban Krut, a fishing village, with many fields of blue nets stretched over wooden tables to dry the fish on. A beach without end, with a few people here and there; that such a thing still exists. Here we could rent everything, most houses were too small and too expensive. Finally we found two rooms, affordable and you had the beach across the road.

It was 17:30 pm, the whole family was in the sea, swimming until dark. There was a nice wind here and it was less warm than where we live, which was really enjoyable. Drove back at 19 pm, there were a few restaurants. Had delicious fish dishes. Back to the rooms, shower and all to bed.

Back in the sea at 6 o'clock, swam until 8 o'clock, then to the market, where we ate delicious rice soup. While eating, two nice medium-sized sand-colored dogs sat down next to me. They had a good morning, the children did not eat their food, gave the leftovers to the dogs. There was a very beautiful cat with blue eyes at a store.

Thursday

It is decided to drive further south. We are on a road parallel to the main road. Now and then a car, lots of nice houses and lots of trees. Rubber trees, pineapple and coconut.

Tung Vualen is the next place we visit. Here we can rent a house with two floors. Again in a bungalow park, where you only have to cross the street and you are on the beach. Not many people here either. There are two large and a small fishing boat in the sea here. It is around 17 pm, the whole tangle is in the water and everyone is stung by something, we are all covered in bumps. At 6 o'clock in the morning we go swimming again, everyone doesn't look good because of all those bumps and it itches terribly.

Friday

From Chumphon we cross to the other side of Thailand and arrive at Ranong. We drive further down. There is a sign along the road Waterfall. We'd like to see them. You turn left into a road, two-lane, after half an hour it becomes single-lane, after another fifteen minutes it becomes a wide footpath and after another ten minutes you can barely drive a car.

We get out. There is an old woman sitting in front of the last house we see, drying pepper. My daughter-in-law asks: Are we going to the waterfall like this? The answer is: Yes, if you walk about three hours further, you will reach the waterfall. That was laughter!

Back to the main road and stopped at the next village to eat pancakes with sugar water.

We drive through the Laem Son National Park. Close to the sea we find a very nice place with nice houses: Wasanar resort. To our surprise, the owner is a Dutchman, Boudewijn Boers. Worth a recommendation. We rent two cottages next to each other. There is also a restaurant where we eat delicious food, everyone goes to bed early again, my son and I get a whole conversation with the owner, while enjoying a beer. Always nice to meet a compatriot. Boudewijn Boers has been here for 20 years and has also experienced all the horrors of the tsunami.

In the morning at the sea we find the most special shells in large quantities, which all go home. A large herd of water buffalo arrives and heads towards the sea. After a very extensive breakfast at Boudewijn Boers, we say goodbye and continue south.

Saturday

We drive to Krabi at the request of my daughter-in-law, she would like to see it there. When I arrive in Krabi I get stuffy. A kind of tourist factory. I hate it there, but keep my mouth shut. We find a hotel. My room is fine, in the morning I am told that in the rooms of the others everything was pretty much broken.

Sunday

We continue to the other side and come across a mini pig in a small village outside Krabi with three little pigs, who are just walking around on the street. We drive to Surat Thani and further up until we end up in Ban Krut at the request of the children. Here we find a place we didn't see the first time: Palm Hut Beach Resort.

An elderly Thai couple. The man is an architect and it shows in everything that has been built. One building is even more special than the other. They say they want to stop, they're getting too old, but their children don't want to take over. We stay here until the next morning and then we have to go home.

Monday

On the market of Ban Krut we eat something again and start the journey back home, now just via the main road from the south up. A stop on the way to eat something and at 15 pm we are back at my son's house. Everything is unloaded and then I am taken home. The animals look good and puppy Kwibus comes to me quite calmly, as if it's all the most normal thing in the world that I've been gone so long.

For the neighbors I brought some goodies from the south, as a thank you for taking care of the animals. Still, it's nice to be home.

Maria previously published six diaries on Thailandblog.