In Thailand, a bpai tiao is a trip of any length. I’ve written about some of my more significant bpai tiaos to tourist destinations here, to be used as travel ideas and tips.
At the beginning of the month there were two Thai National Holidays, Father’s Day and Constitution Day, which fell on a Thursday and Tuesday respectively. Seeing as how we get Thai holidays off and are free to travel as we please on the weekends, a friend and I made plans to put our SCUBA certifications and living near some of the best diving to use and hit up a raved about national park.
Plans and reservations were made for us to go diving with Blue Guru Diving, which would take us on six dives over two days, with four at the renowned and slightly remote dive site of Richelieu Rock. Richelieu Rock is an underwater pinnacle, about 40 kilometers off the coast of Thailand in the Andaman Sea and is a part of the Mu Ko Surin National Marine Park. Dive depths are up to 30 meters, so it is recommended to have your Advanced Open Water Certification, or to have done a Deep Water Adventure Dive so that you can enjoy all that the site truly has to offer.
We got down south a day early and went to visit one of the local national parks, Sri Phang Nga National Park and spent some time at a beautiful waterfall there.
The first day out was a rough one for me, as I spent nearly the entire time on the boat sea sick. Once in and under the water, though, my stomach settled and I was able to take in and enjoy all the flora and fauna that this other world had to offer. I saw lion fish, puffer fish, glass fish, bat fish, banner fish, angel fish, box fix, cuttle fish, groupers, dancing shrimp, lobster, moray eels and more things that I knew what they were. The corals were stunning, some were flat and fan-like while others looked like clusters of little cups on a near vertical rock face.
The last dive of the first day and the first dive of the second day were closer to the Surin Islands. The first site had parts that looked like a coral graveyard because of the coral bleaching from rising sea temperatures and the second site was a great dive to start off the day and I saw a giant moray eel. We spent the night in a tent on the beach of the North Surin Island and I took some medicine that made the second day easier on my stomach.
After finishing the two-day dive trip, we got back to the mainland a little too late to head out of town to our next destination, so we spent the night meandering down to the market and celebration that was being held in honor of the King and his birthday. We watched a bunch of dogs hightail it in the opposite direction as the fireworks boomed overhead. The next morning we set off for Khao Sok National Park, where it started to rain shortly after we arrived, so we spent the evening confined in the tent.
I woke up early the next morning to hike a 4 kilometer trail to the Sip Et Chun Waterfall. Another friend had posted about attempting this hike, but turned back after realizing that she and her partner were getting covered with leeches. I thought I would take their warning and wear long pants to prevent myself from suffering the same fate.
The park map describe the trail as crossing the river six times before coming to the base of the waterfall. After crossing the river two times, the trail marker sent me in a direction that ended up being blocked by vines. I attempted to circumnavigate the blockage, but was unable to pick up the trail again. Upon looking down to try and find the trail, I noticed the blood on my own feet and realized that my off-trail navigation resulted in me picking up some leeches of my own, so I turned back before reaching the falls as well. My friend had already set off for our next destination, Cheow Larn Lake, 65 kilometers away but still within the national park.
We arrived a little later than planned, but were able to charter a boat and secure the last bungalow at the location on the lake that we wanted to go, Tong Tuey, which is near a handful of caves. Tong Tuey is also the furthest location from the pier and thus the charter is the most expensive. The bungalows we stayed in were rather primitive, but the woman who runs the bookings later told us that there are much fancier places to stay on the lake as well. Our boat chauffeur took us on a short hike to one of the nearby caves and in the morning took us out on the boat for a morning safari, where we spotted monkey, gibbons and birds in the trees. Swimming and kayaking in the lake were encouraged and the stay was amazing in a beautiful landscape.
Shortly after our morning safari, we set off for our respective homes, grateful for the chance to experience some of the most beautiful places in Thailand but also happy to have a place in this country to call home.