Day 7 - Sunday 22 March 2015

Charoen Si Resort……..This is the third Sunday since I left Bangkok meaning I’m entering my third week living out of a backpack. By my reckoning, I now have only three full days left on tour. I have a plan for today, sort of but I need to decide about accommodation first. I thought to stay at Charoen Si Resort another night but there are concerns. Soon after I woke the water was off. Last night I noticed the pressure was low and now the mains water is off completely. However Thai houses still use water storage tanks to guard against shortages. I learnt from the news that Nakhon Si Thammarat Province is particularly affected by low water levels. The resort has to turn on the pump so I can have a shower. The odd thing is that the conditions are partly cloudy since I’ve been here and there is light rain this morning. With the water issue over, I’ve also managed to get an internet connection. It would be a pity if I have to move again with no other reason than these issues. When a cooked breakfast is provided, I decide to stay put and do a day’s touring from here. The resort is 6 kms from Pak Phanang but not far from the beach road. As planned I turn south heading along the beach road in the direction of Hua Sai in the next district.

Hua Sai……..Heading along the beach road ensures I have travelled the length of the coastline in Nakhon Si Thammarat Province. Really, as I expected, there is nothing particularly exciting to report. The long, almost featureless coastline usually littered with debris, continues into the next province. There are a few resorts but in the main the coastline is deserted apart from the activity of the fishing community. In Hua Sai, as if to break the monotony, I stroll along the pier where even the fishermen seem bored. At this point you would question why I wanted to visit the area. So would I, but I can reveal that this was never my primary objective. My primary objective isn’t even in Nakhon Si Thammarat Province and I’m aware of a divergence from this tour’s objectives. With only three days left on tour there has to be a good reason to leave the province yet it’s still only a hunch. As I continue south, instead of crossing a bridge over one of the canals that run inland, I head down to the bank and further inland where a number of fishing vessels are tied up, some still unloading their cargo into refrigerated trucks. I’m fascinated by the antics but I don’t need to stay long. I continue across the provincial border.

Ranot……..Moving on I see a sign to a floating market, a few kms on the right. When I arrive the village is practically deserted. I soon learn that yesterday that was far from the case. I’m a day late. Every Saturday the traditional floating market, here at Khlong Daen, is heaving. However there is a good photo opportunity here and there is one more thing I can add to my knowledge which I will reveal later. It’s now time for lunch. It’s just a short distance now to my next destination.
Ranot is a small town just a few kilometres from the ocean and its here I hope to play my wild card for today. Ranot lies close to a vast inland lake, The Songkhla, separated from the coast by a huge sand bar, punctuated only at its southern end at Songkla Town, nearly a hundred kilometres away. I’m looking for the lake and from Ranot, skirt around to the north. When I do finally locate it, there’s very little to see. It’s just an expanse of water surrounded by mangrove. Without the internet connection I was unable to carry out careful research so I had only my map to work with. Has my hunch failed me this time? It’s still quite early with four hours of daylight still left. Should I call it a day and head back? Katoon believes we should carry on around the lake but much further and even Songkla Province will disappear. What will replace it is Phattalung Province. This was never in my thinking!

Nok Nam Talay Noi Park…….. According to the map I should enter Nok Nam Talay Noi Parkland. I don’t need a translation. Apart from ‘park’, there are three nouns and an adjective, which in Thai follows a noun. The three nouns are Nok (bird), Nam (water) and Talay (shoreline). The verb, Noi means small. Very soon I pick up signage that looks promising but it points to Phattalung Talay Noi. It’s about 20 minutes away. I check we’re on the right road then another interesting sign appears. Is reads, ‘elevated roadway, 1 km’. Soon the few trees lining the road disappear, as do the wooden structures, their vendors selling dried fish products. The road then rises a few metres onto concrete supports and winds its way like a snake as far as the eye can see. But it’s not the roadway itself, impressive as it is, that fascinates its users. I’m now entering surely one of the world’s top wetland sites and I can’t be exaggerating if I can’t see where it ends. If this is protected land then surely it should never be drained. From what I see in the distance and from signage on the roadway, the wetland supports a huge variety of birdlife. And did you ever see those nature programs with the cattle egrets perched on the back of a water buffalo? This is all surreal. What enhances the experience is the way the planners have arranged parking areas at intervals along the roadway. I took a bit of a gamble today but surely I've hit the jackpot.

Talay Noi……..Yet according to the signs, Talay Noi is still some ten kilometres ahead. What is it, I wonder? I find a turning on my right and find myself in a village much like any other till I reach the lake itself. Here vendors are doing brisk trade then as I park up I realise that long-tailed boats are offering trips around the lake. There is an official fixed rate per boat of 450 baht so negotiation is not possible but this seems a real treat this time of year. With low water the pink lotus blooms smother the lake almost as far as the eye can see. The morning is when the flowers open. Of course, wildlife is attracted here too. Further along the pier is the Wildlife and Nature Education Centre. This is a modern complex offering wonderful views across the wetlands and easily the most impressive building is the observation tower. The wetland experience has taken up two fascinating hours that nearly didn’t happen. It’s turned and average day into memorable one but I must make my way back now. Understandably, as I re-cross the elevated roadway, I take my time then far too soon the visit is over. This interesting rece into two of Thailand’s southern provinces will surely elevate them onto a future tour list. I decide to take dinner not far from the resort but its 6pm and daylight is fading. The dinner today is not budget but still cheap given what they’ve conjured up. Absolutely delicious! Back at the resort they’ve turned the pump off. Well it’s different having to order water for the bathroom. I still have an internet connection but at 8.30pm that stops, presumably they’ve turned off the router. I wish they wouldn’t do that! Next Page.