Road trip to Southern Thailand
My first Thailand Road Trip was around Southern Thailand. We took the ferry from Samui to the mainland and then drove around over the space of 9 days. From Samui to got to visit Khanom, Khao Sok, Krabi, Koh Lanta, Hat Yai, Phattalung and Nakhon Sri Thammarat. It was a very busy trip that allowed me to see lots of beautiful Thailand I hadn’t seen before.
As we were still in the middle of the covid pandemic, it was sad to see that so many places had closed down entirely. Particularly the places which rely heavily on tourism such as Phuket, Krabi and Koh Lanta. These places wer epretty much ghost towns from what we could see. I am sure there are still places open in more expat areas although we didn’t see much of this.
Samui to Mainland
We got the Seatran ferry from Nathon pier at 4pm. We didn't pre book tickets so we had about an hour and a half to wait for the first available ferry. 400 baht for the car and 120 baht for 1 passenger, no charge for me! I stayed in my K9 Sports Sack the whole time on the ferry but we had to sit outside, no dogs allowed inside. We got a little wet as there was a big storm but not too bad. When we arrived in Donsak we drove about 30 minutes to Khanom. We drove about 5 minutes to the main street for some dinner and I had to wait in the car as no dogs allowed inside the restaurants. We got some extra snacks from Tesco and had some beers on the balcony back at the hotel.
Khanom – Khao Sok National Park
We had early morning walkies along Nadan beach. There wasn't anyone else there, so deserted. Not sure if it's due to Covid or it's often like this. So nice to not have any soi dogs chasing me! We then got on a long tail boat and went out looking for pink dolphins! Yes pink ones, how many Westies do you think have seen one of those? Maybe I am the only one in the world as they are not found in many places. Daddy said they look like ugly pigs. The private long tail cost us 1,200 baht. We then drove for a couple of hours to Thannam Park but it was really rainy so we didn't get a chance for any walkies. Another hours drive and we ended up in Khao Sok. Doggos aren't allowed into the park so we are staying in a treehouse just outside at Our Jungle Camp Eco lodge. We got told to watch out for snakes and monkeys but we didn’t see any, which was a shame as I am sure I would have had fun chasing them.
Khao Sok – Tha Lane Bay
The weather was absolutely dreadful today so we checked out of the hotel in Khao Sok as no way we could do any activities. We headed towards Khao Lak but the rain didn't give up and everything around seemed closed. So we carried on down to Phang Nga Bay. A stop for lunch at Sametnangshe Boutique which has beautiful views over the bay. Thankfully the rain stopped to get some photos but unfortunately it's not pet friendly so I wasn't allowed in. A further 2 hour drive south and we got to Tha Lane Bay, close to Krabi. The rain was so bad the whole drive so we booked a private villa to hunker down in for the next 2 nights.
Krabi
The weather was still pretty atrocious so didn't get up to much today. We took a short drive into Krabi town but it's quite a Muslim area and I wasn't really allowed anywhere. So we headed to Ao Nang, which is usually such a happening area, but unfortunately due to covid, it is now a ghost town with almost everything shut or closed down completely. We struggled to find somewhere open for lunch even. The plus side was that the beach was deserted and I got to run run run as fast as I could!
Krabi – Koh Lanta
We set off South towards Koh Lanta to see if the weather would improve. It did not, in fact if anything it seemed to get worse!! We took a small car ferry across to the island and we were shocked to see how deserted the place was. Almost nothing is open at all on the whole island which is devastating to see. We took a drive around the island and the weather cleared up briefly, enough for us to take a walk along the pier in the old town. Snacks from 711 got us through the evening, sitting on the terrace of the room. It's a shame the weather wasn't better as it was a lovely little place we could have spent some time sniffing around the pool and beach.
Koh Lanta – Hat Yai
Today was a very long day in the car! The weather has finally got better so we set off this morning and explored the other half of Koh Lanta all the way down to the National Park. There was only one place open the whole way down where we could stop for breakfast! The National Park was also closed. We did spot some monkeys and a monitor lizard and I got to run and explore on another deserted beach. We then started the long drive of about 4 hours down to Hat Yai stopping off at Le Khaokob cave next to Trang. Unfortunately the cave was also closed. It seems doggos wouldn't be allowed in anyway, but as the cave itself was closed, they allowed us to have a little look around the surroundings. When we eventually got to Hat Yai, we went to ตลาดกรีนเวย์หาดใหญ่Greenway Market. I wasn't sure if I'd be allowed in but as I was in my backpack they had no questions, just took my temperature to make sure I didn't have covid and off I went!!
Hat Yai – Phattulang : the busiest day yet
A lovely morning wee wee's in the garden of the hotel and run around on the grass then we headed off for some sightseeing. We wanted to go to the Municipal Park - Hatyai, Thailand but Google maps took us to the entrance and it was closed. So we took off in the car towards songkhla lake and fortunately we saw a different entrance to the park which was open!! A quick U turn and we got in to the gardens. It was so much fun. There was no one around, everything was free and I was allowed everywhere!!! Wowee I had so much fun. A couple of soi dogs tried to scare me away but mammy chased them away for me. So many nice things to see, it was great fun. Once we were done we headed towards Songkhla lake but the weather took a turn for the worst so we couldn't get to appreciate it. Mammy and daddy left me in the room for a couple of hours while they climbed the mountain next to us. I wasn't allowed to go up as there were too many soi dogs and was too dangerous for me. But I enjoyed some snoozes while they were gone and their pictures were great of some lovely temples and caves they saw. When they came back they had some snacks for me and we sat with some beers on the terrace.
Phattalung – Nakhon Si Thammarat – Samui
The final full day of the trip started very early at 5.30 as we drove 30 minutes to Thale Noi lake. The best part of the trip by far. We met our friend Khun Kai and I got to meet Ms Biscuit, a chihuahua who came with us too!! She didn't like me too much though and kept growling at me hehe. We went out on a longtail boat over the lake which was so beautiful and peaceful. The lake is covered in lotus flowers which open in the morning, hence the early start. There were so many beautiful birds too and I behaved myself very well, watching but not chasing them as I didn't want to rock the boat. We stopped at a small island for photos and then carried on further which was an extra special part of the trip, so see some fishing nets cast by the locals and then went down some amazing part of the lake which looked like we were floating through grass! It was incredible and I loved feeling the wind in my fur. We then saw some water buffalos, even pink ones!
Khun Kai kindly prepared us some delicious lunch at her home which was incredible, over looking some rice fields. It was really amazing how peaceful it was. The humans had some delicious fresh coconut right from the garden. After lunch we went to a local village where they did some special weaving and turned it into baskets and bags. Many of the locals we spoke to said covid was hitting them hard as hardly anyone was visiting the area so not buying the goods, usually they would sell them to other places too but they weren't buying either. So sad. Nakhon Si Thammarat was the first place on the trip we didn't see any obvious signs of being hit by covid. As it's not on the tourist track this makes sense, and still seemed very much business as usual and was very busy everywhere. After our short stop here, we headed back for the ferry to Samui. The weather was so much better on the way back so the ride was a lot more relaxing. I am totally pooped. I am so happy to be back home. Moving around every day in the car made me a bit unsettled and didn't want to eat so much so I am glad to be back home and back into my routines. I had so much fun on my trip though and hope you enjoyed following my adventures
I hope you enjoyed reading about my road trip around Southern Thailand. Keep up to date with more of my travel adventures around the world, woof woof Wylie x