DIA 36 (21-12-2018): DE KHAO SOK A KHAO LAK (PARECE UN TRABALENGUAS, EH???)

OHhhhh que paradisiaco lugar ....que bonito....que paisajes....pero que MAL SE DUERME por favor.

Kim aún escapa porque entre sus multiples "gadgets" se trajo un colchón hinchable, con su sábana, su almohadita, su cordón para colgar su ropita y que se airee, linternas para la cabeza (hasta me trajo una para mi).....pero yo he dormido fatal....

No obstante aprecio las maravillas de la naturaleza y las vistas nocturnas de la luna llena reflejada en el lago cuando fui al baño no tiene precio, y el amanecer desde nuestra ventanita, tampoco.

Me desperezo del todo y salgo a hacer alguna fotito (para no variar).

A medida que hago fotos, me pregunto porque no salimos a hacer el safari ya....porque en otros países en los que he estado, para avistar fauna, éstos safaris se empiezan justo antes del amanecer, pero aquí no solo no es antes del amanecer sino muy pasado éste.

Kim se hace la misma pregunta, pero poco podemos hacer, si aquí se organiza de esta manera. Vemos partir a todos los grupos que están alojados en los otros bungalows, y el nuestro es el último en zarpar. Kim y yo estamos que no subimos por los bambues....pero respiramos hondo. 

Vamos a un recoveco cercano, donde vemos gibones y monos. Esperaré a descargar la cámara para ver si finalmente alguna de las fotos es decente para añadirla. Y tras escasos 40 minutos emprendemos la vuelta.....

Seguimos sin saber porque somo el último grupo en salir y el primero en volver. Lo que si tengo claro, es que ahora toca desayunar, y menos mal porque son ya las 8.00 y tengo un hambre bárbara. Kim me pregunta si no espero por la gente....y la gente igual no está famélica pero yo ya no espero por nadie.

Y menos mal, porque la gente se confundió con la hora y llegaron media hora más tarde.

Hoy toca día de salida, pero tenemos una parada en una cueva (cosa que no sabíamos, aunque Kim empieza a dudar si es otra artimaña mía para que entre en otra cueva, pero de verdad de la buena que yo no sabía nada, nadita): PRA KAY PETCH CAVE

Ésta cueva no tiene nada novedoso para nosotras, expertas ya en éstos mundos tailandesdes.

Somos conocedoras de su fauna: con arañas,

murciélgos..

Aquí un video de su movimiento...

 Salimos, volvemos a nuestro bote y ahora toca paradita para comer. Nuestro guía nos comenta algo de la zona, por los tres bloques de granito que se parece a los que se encuentran en China, pero como no le entendemos mucho...no le hacemos mucha cuenta.

Nuestro packed lunch consta de:

 Arroz envuelto en papel plastificado, que conserva el calor y sabor del arrocito.

Y una banana de postre. En teoría en esta zona está permitido el baño, pero como tenemos todo en la mochila, parece que a ninguno nos apetece zambullirnos en esta zona, de modo que seguimos con nuestra travesía hacia la salida del parque nacional.

Aqui cada grupo de personas tiene un destino diferente. La familia nórdica se va en otra minivan. Con nostros parece que se vienen los franceses y los ingleses. Pero no nos ha quedado muy claro, ya que la parejita de ingleses nos contaban que tenían el autobus para ir a su nuevo destino acordado a las 13.30. Así que cuando paramos y vemos que los descargan en una zona cualquiera, me sorprenden que lleguen a su destino..

Los franceses van en autobús publico a Phuket, de modo que los dejamos en la estación de autobuses....que aunque aparece que no hay un alma, parece que si...que en algún momento vendrá un autobús grande para llevarles a su destino. 

Nosotras seguimos encantadas, de tener nuestro traslado privado para nuestra nueva localización Khao Lak, en el que obviamente tenemos más que espacio suficiente para las dos y nuestras multiples maletas.

Cuando llegamos a esta ciudad, vemos todo el desarrollo turístico de la zona, que obviamente no nos gusta nada. Menos mal que nosotras siempre buscamos alternativas que se adapten a nosotras.

Justamente estamos a las afueras total, pero como el motivo de esta localización es dormir cerca del puerto desde donde embarcaremos para el buceo....nos da un poco igual. 

Sin embrago me hace gracia cuando hacemos el check.in que la chica nos pregunta, como es que solo nos quedamos una noche. Al ver el tipo de hotel en el que estamos y la zona, puedo entender que la mujer no nos entienda....pero es que nosotras ...viajamos diferente...jajaja

Nosotras mañana empezamos un crucero de buceo de 7 días con una compañía americana: Aggressor. Ésta compañía orece traslados gratuitos desde el aeropuerto de Phuket al barco o de alguno de los hoteles que nos dan en una lista. 

Pero es que resulta que el aeropuerto de Phuket está a una hora de Khao Lak y los hoteles que ofrecen son de precios que a nosotras no nos convienen. De modo que nos organizamos nosotras el cotarro a un precio mucho más razonable.

Tomamos la bebida de bienvenida....y nos dirigimos a nuestra habitación, que la chica nos dice que está cerca de la playa.....yupiiiiiii bañito....en el mar.....yupiiiiiii

Las vistas desde nuestro bungalow son superchulas, pero también veo venir una tormenta muy interesante (algo que evitamos en Khao sok....de lo cual me alegro, porque el guía del safari nocturno nos dijo, que la semana anterior había llovido todos los días...lo cual es un engorro).

Hago las fotos de rigor de la habitación....

y me doy cuenta que desde mi cama veo el mar.......genial!!!!

Nos ponemos el bañador y nos vamos al agua..... Cargamos solo el bañador porque empieza a llover , de modo que cuando salgamos del agua vamos a seguir mojadas....total para que llevar toalla. Ya cuando subamos, nos damos la merecida ducha y quedamos como nuevas.

El agua del mar esta calentita....yupi...que bueno.....me encanta....jajajaja

Cuando terminamos las dos, ya entra la noche y vemos la luna llena....como ilumina....y nos entra pereza de ir al centro  (turístico) a cenar. De hecho nos da pereza hasta salir de la habitación, porque lo que no decía la web donde miramos el hotel, son los 5000 escalones que tenemos que subir y bajar para salir de nuestro bungalow e ir a la zona de recepción, o al lobby.

De modo que cenamos en el restaurante del hotel que está a medio camino y a dormir mi estrella.

Day 17, 21-12-2018: Just one more cave Kim, I promise!!

Up very early as I actually have trouble sleeping in the warmth and non-moving air in the bungalow. My sleeping pad (yup, brought that too) was a lifesaver once again as I am sure that I would not have gotten any sleep if it was not for that and my wicking travel sheet (packed that along too). I had hung my clothes to dry from the hiking activity from the day before on my travel clothes line (packed it along because you never know) so the heat could help dry them out a bit. The light in the bungalow would only turn on (and was annoyingly bright) by turning the bulb so the lantern was once again used (again, thanks Jen). The generator that ran the lights turned off at midnight so the headlamps were again for the just in case I or Cris needed light in the middle of the night. So, for all that are keeping track, camping/travel gear that Kim packed that has come in handy in the last 2+weeks:

• Air mattress sleeping pad – pretty much every place so far due to extra hard beds
• Sleeping Travel sheet – both have been very handy (yes, I packed 2 as one is slightly warmer and does not wick the moisture away as well (and has been treated with mosquito repellant) 
• Travel pillow – tribe village, flights, some nights sleeping as the pillows are sometimes as hard as the mattresses
• Travel clothes line – used to hand sweaty, yucky clothes so they can dry in the winter warmth
• Solar rechargeable blow up lantern – tribe village and bungalow light source
• Headlamps – bungalows, never know when they get used (often when Cris is asleep so I do not turn on a light and wake her up as I sleep less than her)
• Life Straw water filtration system – Cave Lodge (start of my trip). Had it packed for this too just in case but they had drinking water accessible
• Carabiners – used all the time to secure various gear to various locations, mainly to my backpack
• Travel soap – have used some at a few stops but really used them for the sponge bath (thanks Pam)
• Small microfiber towel – have used it many times for cleaning, wiping, drying items including humans

Glad that when I see things like “simple” and “rustic” and “eco” that I pack a few things that most people would think are not needed. They have become a lifesaver on this trip!!

We enjoyed a beautiful sunrise of the lake with just a few clouds, but they did add a bit to the scene. The lake being flat was a blessing for the reflections.

Early morning wildlife safari (07:00) means that we are all pretty much in the boat and ready for a trip to see things. We come across some Gibbons in a tree along with the smaller dark monkey with the white circle around their eyes (cannot think of their name and I do not have internet right now as I am flying). We watched them interact and the eat some breakfast. After a bit, we leave them be and look for more animals. We find some flying Hornbills and some more eagles.

We are due to have breakfast at 08:00 and then some more relaxing time before we have to “checkout” at 09:30. Simple breakfast of literally a pancake and some fruit with some instant coffee (I choose tea). Pack up the gear (did not take very long). 

Walk around a bit and I spy the old toilet building. I do not think it is working very well anymore.

Needless to say, Cris and I have no issues with making sure we are ready by the 09:30 call. Bags and people packed into the boat and we are off.

Our guide has a great sunblock system but I would think that the black would be a little warm in the sun.

We are to make a stop at a cave on the way back!! Great … thanks Cris ….. just what I wanted, another cave!!

There is a set of stairs where we dock the boat so that makes entering easy. The stairs are typical Thai style: small, slick, not at even heights for each step, very steep. Getting use to that system too. We find interesting things in the cave: some of the standard formations, water to walk through (we were not really told about having to walk through water), tight places.

Found some natural cave dwelling animals like bats and spiders. We were not very well prepared for the cave so some people were wearing open toed shoes and had issues with the slick rocks. We also were not told about needing headlamps until literally that morning – Kim’s headlamps to the rescue again for us. The guide actually said that if we did not have a headlamp then we could use the flashlight on our cell phone – but what would one do if their phone was dead or low on battery?? For the record: for the caves I have been to, most say “do not rely on your cell phone flashlight, headlamps are needed” – but those caves are in America so I am sure I have different standards.

After our stop at the cave, we are to have lunch in a “nice little place the guide knows”. We pull up to a little place that is obviously used often. Lunch is fried rice in a plastic bag. There is a swimming “place” for people if they wish to go but nobody does. It is not the most appealing place to me for a swim (moss on floating debris) and besides who really wants to get their gear wet just so they can take a boat ride back to the pier in wet gear. Since nobody swims, we leave the early and return to the pier.

Early to pier means we have to wait for the mini-bus, but no worries as there are snacks that can be purchased (most people get ice cream) and restrooms (5THB to use please). Mini-bus arrives and we are whisked away. Now, we are a very full mini-bus again as everybody is with us. The French guys have to be put off at a bus stop in the neighboring town but first we have to stop to collect their bags from a different mini-bus. There is a polish couple that also needs to be put off at a different stop so they can catch their shuttle to a new location. 

All in all, we end up putting everybody off except for Cris, an English lady living in Hong Kong, and myself!! Empty mini-bus!! We all get our own row – amazing!! We head back to Riverside Cottages to gather our bags and to take a private car transfer (yeah …. No more mini-buses for us if we can help it) to Khao Lak, about 1.5hr car drive away.

We have arranged for a room on the coast nearby the pier where we have to be tomorrow for the big boat trip. Nice, easy ride to the hotel. Check in – beautiful place right on the coast with beach access. What they did not say is that there is no lift and there are steps everywhere in the hotel. All the rooms are actual little bungalows so they are very quaint. They also advertised free WiFi but they failed to say that the WiFi is only in the lobby – the other side of the hotel from our room. We have the bell hop bring our bags down as we do not wish to move them along all those steps and all that way. If someone has issues with steps and/or walking, this hotel is not very accommodating for them.

Our little bungalow is nice and has a great view of the beach. In fact, we can hear the waves from inside the room!! Once we get settled, we decide to take a dip in the ocean (closer than the pool and less steps). Beautiful, warm ocean smell and feel envelops us as we take our dip. There is a massage place just right there on the beach – tempting.

Decide to take dinner at the hotel restaurant. More Thai food that for the first time is not that great. And we were harassed by stray cats.

Because the WiFi is only in the lobby and we decide that we are just too lazy to walk there, we stay in and work on things like making sure the packing is ready for the next week and the blog. Besides, the rain has arrived.