For The Love of Travel: Khao Lak, Thailand

As I sat on our lanai overlooking the calm of the pool, I tried to take in every sound, sight and smell.  Taking a mental picture of every bit of detail that I desperately wanted to remember.  It was our last morning in Thailand.  To say this trip was amazing was an understatement.  As much as we loved our time in Chiang Mai, we equally loved every second in Khao Lak.  Khao Lak is a small and pristine beach town about an hour north of Phuket.  We knew we had to make it to a few Thai beaches and Khao Lak seemed like the perfect place for the second leg of our Thailand trip.  From the moment we arrived at our resort, we immediately wished we could have stayed for weeks…even months.  Having lived in Hawaii for a few years, we have been spoiled with some pretty spectacular beaches.  But the Thailand beaches didn’t disappoint.  They were breathtaking, gorgeous and serene.  Most of our time was spent in, around or watching the water.  Even the pool was perfection.  And having our own private entrance on our lanai pretty much guaranteed we would always be swimming.

Along the coast there were lots of small, local restaurants.  We loved eating underneath a little beach hut with the sand between our toes.

We got to see a few floating lanterns.  They were so mesmerizing and pretty.  I can only imagine how breathtaking it must be when
hundreds are released during Thai festivals.

We ate so well in Thailand.  So many different flavors and spices.  We loved it all.

Our last full day in Khao Lak was spent exploring Phang Nga Bay.  Words can’t even describe the beauty of this place.

We got a chance to board a small kayak and explore the caves of some of these islands.  It was so fun but definitely not for the
claustrophobic.  We had to completely lay down as we entered and exited the caves as the entrance usually only cleared our noses
by a few inches.

A quick stop at James Bond Island.

We had lunch at Koh Panyee, a small fishing village built on stilts over the water.  Parts of the village are floating, including a
stadium.

The clouds rolled in as we said goodbye.

Khao Lak was awesome and we will definitely be headed back to Southern Thailand in the near future.  There is just so much to see and
explore.  And although we missed our pup, Chloe, like crazy, we had one more stop before heading home.  Next up…Hong Kong.
Happy Thursday!