On the road in Thailand (4): Beautiful places in the Chumphon province

This time I will take you to some more remote places in Chumphon province. More specifically to Phato, this is the southernmost part of Chumphon province and about 200 km south of Pathiu.

I got to know these places in the time when I had to go to Ranong, Andaman Club for a visa run. The first stop is the Chumsaeng Waterfall, already a few tens of kilometers outside Chumphon along highway 4. This highway 4 is a beautiful winding and undulating two-plane road with relatively little traffic, so wonderful for the bikers among us. This track is currently being recreated in a four-plane track, which can only benefit the motorcycle fun.

We can make the second stop just before Ranong, and visit the Pungyabaan Waterfall. This is located on road 4091 and easily accessible from highway 4. Ranong itself is currently ignored because otherwise there will be too little time to visit Patho, which is slightly further south. If we want to visit Ranong, it is better to spend the night there and pay an evening visit to the town. It also has a lot to offer.

Patho itself is known for its Canal Rafting. These raftings are very touristy, so you should not be there. If you really want to see beautiful nature, you better follow the small rivers that supply the larger canals with water and with some asking around from the local population, you will end up at the right places. Those are where the Thai people go rafting. The rafts are made of blue drainage pipes which are sealed at the ends. The entire tubing is held together with wooden beams to form a raft. These rafts are therefore very low in the water, so you constantly have a wet butt, but who throws themselves into that?

You will be taken to the starting point with a truck, your valuables and everything that should not get wet will be stored in a lockable plastic bucket. After an hour of bumping on a country road you arrive at the starting point. Keep the camera ready because you will often need it to capture all the beautiful things you see on the SD card. The helmsman knows just about every stone in the river and guides you with great care, knowledge and dexterity along all the "rapids" without your head going under.

On the way you can take a dip in the refreshing water. You can make a stopover for a delicious Thai meal: rice baked in bamboo, vegetables, meat (usually chicken or pork. You must arrange this in advance, as the people who take care of this will prepare everything at an agreed place. The entire descent takes about four hours and guaranteed: it is really worth it.The nature along these rivers is simply overwhelming.

So on the way back to Chumphon we can spend the night in Ranong. There is plenty of choice in Spa hotels at very affordable prices. In Ranong, an evening visit to the town is well worth it. Good restaurants and also some nice bars. In the morning, a visit to the hot springs is worth seeing. By the way, that is what Ranong is known for. I am not going to tell you much more about this as there is more than enough information on the internet about this.

So around noon we get back on the bike and make the crossing along the 2008 to highway 41. In this way we pass Lang Suan and Sawi and end up in Pak Nam. A visit to the Chumphon Mangrove National Park, Mu Ko, is more than worth it. Until a few years ago, the mangrove forest had almost completely disappeared. Now it is again a beautiful forest that extends over almost the entire Thung Kha bay.

Part of it has been made accessible to the public and I must say: it is beautifully laid out! With wooden resting paths driven into the seabed on piles, suspension bridge ... some rustic resting and observation places. With a bit of luck you will see numerous water snakes and crabs between the tree roots. Best time to go is at low tide, at high tide you have zero chance of seeing this. More info easy to find on the internet. The mangrove forest is not far from Lomprayah jetty which goes to Koh Tao, Koh Phangan and Koh samui.

“Lady Garmin” tells me that we are 70 km from home but should not forget to stop at Oak in Sapphli for a cool pint.

Nice ride…. Get dee dee.