Samut Sakhon and other Thailand Things to Do Tips

Spent twice some time at the Mossman Inn. The main reason to get here was birdwatching and escaping the crowded Bangkok.
This is a typical town where fishing, saltmining and shrimpproduction are the main income! There is not much to do here if you like a nightlife etc.
For birdwatching and an escape from crowdy Bangkok is it a good place to spent a day!

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Many ways of transport are possible in Thailand. I travelled via boat, taxi, train, car, bus, mantaxi, foot and motorbike.
I took the train south from Petsjaburi tot Trang. We booked in first class (8 euro) to the south, this was a night train and we had our food on board. Train was fine, except the rials was that bad made that we hardly could not sleep of the shaking).
Taxi was good and not expensive, taxi from the airport to Samut Sakhon costed 50 dollars ore so, and took very short to get there.
Driving is fairly good to do in Thailand, sometimes strange situations occur, cows, a cyclist in the middle of a freeway, but just be sharp and drivi allong with the rest of the traffic.
Really live the speedboat to Kho Phi Phi Lhe and the boat into the Krabi mangroves, just perfect!

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Very nice island and for us just a stop over to visit Kho Phi Phi Lhe for their roosting Fregatebirds. When you leave the island at 17 hours and tell the boatsmen you want to see the fregatebirds and they will brings you on the see on the eastern side of the island, where they all head overhead and circling around. It's very nice and I recorded end of march 280 Lessers and 5 Christmans Island Fregebirds, very nice.....
Further is the island a touristic place first class, and I normally enjoy not large crowds of people, but over here it still feels quiet as there are too many shops and restaurant where you can shop quiet.
We had a nice accomodation uphill (easy to pick when you arrive many people con to the pier to ask you where you want to stay).
Good food, cheap cd's and nice beaches (good snorkling saw even some dark-tipped reef-sharks) and good temperature's.
Go for it!

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Directions: Go to the pier in Krabi book a ticket, and leave with the speedboat and about 1 hour later you're there!

This is a beautiful huge wetland area situated on the foothill of a nice limestone mountain ridge. This was the first coastal park in Thailand, and was opened in 1966. Many people just go to KSRY NP headquarters, but the really good wetland and bird areas you actually find 20km further north on Hwy 4. Here is a terrific wetland boardwalk!

How to get there:

The park is situated in the province of Prachuap Khiri Khan and is about 4 hours drive on Hwy 4 south of Bankok (63 km south of Hua Hin). Coming from the south: Drive Hwy 4 36 km past Prachuap Khiri Khan. And about 7 km north of Kui Buri, you turn right at km 285,5 at the not very obvious sign to Khao Sam Roi Yot NP. More obvious is a small temple at the right side of Hwy 4 (going north) just at the entrance of this road. Then do the birding along the road the 13 km it takes to get to the entrance and headquarters.

Sam Roi Yot marsh:

As I don’t remember the excact road this is quite unaccurate info: Drive out to the Hwy 4 again and go north for about 20km almost to Pran Buri. Then take a black top road to the right towards Ban Sam Roi Yot (no signs as I remember). And you just follow this road for about 10 km until you see the study center. We didn’t find the way and drove past it, we then just took a small road that went towards the mountains. This road went through some farmlands and by asking locals in sign language we found the study center quite easy. You also get a bad map at the head quarters/visitor center.

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Directions: Airconditioned busses depart from Bankok’s southern bus terminal every 30 min. From 4am-11pm to Pranburi. From there you can hire a pick up truck or motor cycle taxi for the approximately 50 km to the head quarters.

This is the area to go if you want to see extremly threatened Gurney’s pitta. But you must hurry, when there is virtually no protection at all of the forest or the pitta. And there is continously small scale deforestation and hunting going on by the locals. It is a small lowland rainforest area and it’s sadly to say-if no one buy the area and give some money to the locals, the Gurney’s is probably extinct within ten years from now. The Thai-government will certainly not do it. So if you are loaded with money, do something about it! Status on the world’s population in 2002 for this species according to Mr. Yothin was 12 pairs+3 birds.
In this place you can either hire a bungalow or rent a tent at Morakot Resort. There you can also buy food and drinks. It’s quite inexpensive and the staff is very helpful giving information about stakeouts for different species. From the resort, it is 1km to the trails where most of the birding is done. You get a trail map at the Resort reception.
But it's very very hard to find this bird at all, took me a week of day in day out carefull birding on the roads!

How to get there:

From Krabi to Khao Nor Chuchii it is about 43km or one hour drive. There has been real difficulties finding this place before, but this has become much easier the last two years thanks to making Crystal pool a tourist attraction. From Krabi you just follow Hwy 4 south towards Trang until you get to Klong Thom. In a traffic light junction you then take left on road 4038 and follow this 250m, then turn right on a road where among many signs says Crystal pool. Drive about 8 km on this road, then turn right when you see sign to “Crystal pool” and a small one that says “Morakot resort 7,5km”. It is all black top road except for the last four kilometres, but 4wd drive is not necessary unless you want to drive up to the coffee plantation. You spend the night at Morakot Resort which is nice, unexpensive and clean.

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This is Thailand’s largest national park, and was certainly the highlight of the trip. This is really old primary rainforest in steep hills and mountains. I have never felt so small and so much like an unimportant piece in nature any time before. This gives you a real wildlife experience with some unforgettable scenery. One small road is going into to the park and from the checkpoint there is 36km to the end. There are no food stores available in the park, so you have to buy everything in advance. Nearest food store you can find is about 1 km from the Head quarters. At the Head quarters you can get a free map and you also find a restaurant and camping ground here. This is also the place where you buy your entrance tickets: 200B pr. person and 30B for the car, and then a little bit extra pr.day. In the park you can find two camping grounds with simple toilets, one at km16 and one at km30. Start counting the kilometres from the checkpoint, Ban Krang substation, which is about 30km from the HQ and visitor center. Because it is difficult to reach this area without your own car, you find very few people except for nature enthusiasts here. Many people in the weekends, but in the weekdays you basically have the park all by your self.
Unforgettable are the songs of the White-heanded Gibons at K33.

Access:

The head quarters is approximately a 2.5 hours drive from Bangkok. Coming from the north: Drive Hwy 4 to the north end of Cha am (don’t turn off Hwy 4 to Cha am), then you turn right at signs to Kaeng Krachan NP and Kaeng Krachan Country club and resort. Then you just follow the signs either to Kaeng Krachan NP or Kaeng Krachan Country club and resort. After passing (3km) the country club and a few shops you take a left follow sign to the national park or Kaeng Krachan dam, then you just follow the road straight until you get to the head quarters. From the head quarters and into to the area you just follow signs towards Tor tip waterfall. Tor tip waterfall is situated at the end of a steep trail starting from km36.

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Doi Chiang Dao (2225 meters) is the third highest peak in Thailand. And Chiang Dao national park is a part of mountain range that extends to Doi Pha Daeng and Doi Chiang Dao mountain ranges. It covers Chiang Dao, Wiang Hae, and Chai Prakarn districts in Chiang Mai province. Its size is 1,154 square kilometres.
Yod Doi Tuay view point is located at the north of the park. You can view a landscape of Thailand and Myanmar from the top of Yod Doi Tuay.
45th km view point is located at 45th kilometres on Mae Cha - Peang Luang road. This area belongs to Khun Klong headwater rangers. On the top you can have a view of Doi Chiang Dao wildlife sanctuary.
Pang Tong waterfall is a medium waterfall that is hidden by the forest. The water run underground for 50 - 60 metres and come out of a cavity to a cliff. The waterfall area is covered by evergreen forest.
There are two bungalows for rent. Contact;

Chiang Dao National Park
Tambol Chaing Na,Chaing Dao district,
Chaing Mai 50170.
Phone: 053-491 549

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Phone: Phone: 053-491 549

Wat Tham Pha Plong is at the end of the road that goes past the caves, Malee's and Chiang Dao Nest. It is half way up the side of the mountain in a small cave surrounded by forest, with over 500 steps to the top. It has some great views, and due to it's location is completely peaceful. It is possible to do meditation here. Some of the monks speak very good English and can arrange for you to spend the night at the temple. Don't expect too much sleep though, as they wake up at 3.00am for teaching.
As well as being a very beautiful place the temple has importance as the last teaching place of a highly revered and respected monk. Looang Boo Sim Buddhacaro spent over ten years teaching Buddhism at Wat Tham Pha Plong.

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A very authentic place surrounded with Hilltribes, with friendly people, stunning mountain views (particularly from Chiang Dao Cave Village), nice walks up and around the Doi Chiang Dao National Park.

Chiang Dao national park is a part of mountain range that extends to Doi Pha Daeng and Doi Chiang Dao mountain ranges. It covers Chiang Dao, Wiang Hae, and Chai Prakarn districts in Chiang Mai province. Its size is 1,154 square kilometres.

Yod Doi Tuay view point is located at the north of the park. You can view a landscape of Thailand and Myanmar from the top of Yod Doi Tuay.
45th km view point is located at 45th kilometres on Mae Cha - Peang Luang road. This area belongs to Khun Klong headwater rangers. On the top you can have a view of Doi Chiang Dao wildlife sanctuary.
Pang Tong waterfall is a medium waterfall that is hidden by the forest. The water run underground for 50 - 60 metres and come out of a cavity to a cliff. The waterfall area is covered by evergreen forest.

Stay at Malee's Nature Lovers Bungalows Chiang Dao Cave Village. Bungalows in a nice garden from 300B, Dormitory 100B - Popular with budget travellers. Good information and can make tour arrangements.

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Phone: 053-491 549
Directions: Chiang Dao National Park
Tambol Chaing Na,Chaing Dao district,
Chaing Mai 50170.

About 175 km Northeast from Bangkok lies Khao Yai - a big mountain region in Thailand, that covers a area of about 2.200 qkm and is one of the country’s largest national parks. In 1959 Khao Yai was declared a nature reserve and is now home to 153 different species of animals, that are protected by law.

Within this refreshing and scenic landscape, with it’s bizarre mountains, there is still untouched jungle, mountain streams and many waterfalls, with a preserved animal world, which includes wild elephants, buffaloes, deer’s porcupines, varieties of monkeys, parrots and parakeets, huge hornbills and another 250 species of birds. There are even tigers (i still doubt this), clouded leopards and bears living here. A unique experience awaits you at dusk, when you see more than one million bats fly out and leave their daytime home in the caves.

The area around Khao Yai (“Big Mountains”) rises from 400 m to 1351 m above sea, and it is advisable to bring along a pullover/sweater. Temperatures are considerably lower than those of Bangkok. Especially during the winter months from November to February it can be cool at night. From December to May there are huge numbers of flowering trees and shrubs, in addition to wild orchids and other rare plants, which can be found only here. Winter is also the best time to spot wild elephants. In February birds come into full song with the onset of the mating season, although you can spot migrant winter birds from further North until May. From March to May is the warm season and many trees flowering. In June the rainy season starts and normally lasts until the end of September. From middle June up to the end of of July also many wild orchids are blooming. At this time also many different beautiful butterflies can be seen fluttering through fragrant jungle air. During this season it rains 2-3 hours during the daytime and Khao Yai often changes into a “forest in the mist”, that many holiday makers find extremely charming.

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