Day 9 - Tuesday 24 March 2015

Diamond Resort……..photo. According to the signs Diamond Resort is new. I doubt it. The shower heater doesn’t work. As a cool shower suited me fine last night, it’s just about bearable this morning but there is no need to ask them to turn the water on. The quality of the accommodation is barely average for the price with nothing for breakfast. I do order a coffee though and added to what I brought in from 7Eleven it’s enough for now. Luckily there’s no need to return to Diamond Resort tonight. However that doesn’t mean I’m leaving the area anytime soon. The reason I’m in the area is to add a new dimension to my visit to Nakhon Si Thammarat Province. That means mountains, lakes and waterfalls at least.
Katun Reservoir……..Orientation has been a problem on this tour through lack of detailed maps. When I do find a map it’s often not to scale. According to my Thailand national map, I’m in Chang Klang but I’ve only seen one reference to that name and it wasn’t on a road sign. Google map clearly shows the railway station here as Klong Chandi. So where exactly am I? Well for a start I’m in Chawang District of Nakhon Si Thammarat Province. Does that help? Well yes if I drop any reference to Chang Klang. However road numbers seem to be more useful here and the resort is located on the 4194. In that case I can follow it north to the next province, Phipun. Phipun lies deep in the mountain region of the province and I’ve identified two potential sites to visit. They are at the furthest point relative to my direction of travel today so I’m heading there first. The sites are similar. First I take a left turn and follow the signs to Katun reservoir. It’s not too far away and I’m there just after 11am. Not surprisingly there is nothing there but an open stretch of water with mountain views. It’s still worth the effort though.

Din Deang Reservoir……..Just a few kilometres away is Din Deang Reservoir, not quite as impressive and equally deserted. A glance at the water level reveals a dire need of rain. The water course below the bank is practically dry. What’s important is that little time has been used up. The plan is to make my way back to Klong Chandi and east to Lan Saka district. I good number of interesting sites should appear on the way.

Chet Chan Waterfall……..One thing this area is not short of is waterfalls. Despite signs promoting these, I’ve been rather disinclined to pay a visit to any of them owing to the general assumption they are quite dry and uninteresting this time of year. Yet it’s hardly possible to turn a blind eye to all of them. I need to check if the advice I was given is correct. Chet Chan Waterfall is just one of the falls signposted as I head back to Klong Chandi District. With these waterfalls you never know what to expect. If they are in the national park then usually you have to pay the park fee. Otherwise there’s often a small charge while others are free. I decide to take the 5 km detour to Chet Chan Waterfall. At the end of the road there is a kiosk where I would expect to pay a fee but the lady just smiles and offers food to feed the fish. OK I’ll take the fish food. Not surprisingly there are a number of visitors. It’s the long school holiday in Thailand now. Expecting little water from what I’ve seen of the river further downstream, I’m surprised to see some substantial rock pools and I’m really tempted to get my swimming shorts on. Any other day and I probably would but there are just too many sites left to visit. I leave the kids to enjoy themselves. It’s time for lunch and I need to make this a brief stop.

Tha Phae Waterfall……..I pick up Highway 4015 heading east to Lan Saka and there are no shortage of sites to visit. The Khao Men Range is off to my right but I took some wonderful photos from the resort nearby yesterday. Should I try another waterfall? Tha Phae Waterfall is the next. Given its short distance off the highway, it’s worth a look. Wrong! The place is teaming with humanity with hardly a place to park. Yes there is water enough but with litter strewn everywhere I’m not interested in staying. When I do stop to take photographs a lady bolts out of a doorway to collect a parking fee. She won’t get one from me. I leave her alone stony faced and head back.

Phor Than Khlai Wajisit Shrine……..Opportunities to stop appear at every turn. It’s more like a roller coaster ride. Phor Than Khlai Wajisit Shrine is next to appear. I introduced this monk yesterday when I visited Wat That Noi. What is special about this roadside shrine is the reverence the local people still hold for him. When I parked up near the shrine vehicles passing blew their horns. It soon became clear that they do this out of respect. It’s nothing to do with my inconsiderate parking.

Khao Tong Viewpoint……..Just a kilometre further on is the Khao Tong Viewpoint on the right. There is parking space here and a pogoda from where the best view of Khao Tong in the Men Range can be had. This location also takes advantage of the fact that here is the best air quality in the region, which they refer to as ‘ozone’ is right here. Strange I can’t smell anything! From here the highway descends from the mountains to the town of Lan Saka. There is still no shortage of sites to visit. Off to my left is Khao Luang (yellow mountain) National Park. Yet another waterfall is signposted, the Karom, but here there is the park fee to pay which is always out of proportion for foreigners. I was happy with the freebee.

Ban Kiriwong (Kiriwong Village)……..Kiriwong Village is located via a turning to the left, heading for Nakhon Si Thammarat, in Lan Saka. When I arrive there, there is little to see except street food vendors and the river. However at the community centre a board explains the origins of the village and its importance for growing a variety of fruits. The board tells of how 100 houses were swept away here in the great flood of November 1988. Today it is the base camp for those who wish to go trekking to Khao Luang. Porters and guides are available here. It’s now around 4pm and there have been an amazing number of sites to record along the 4015 yet I’m only 20 minutes from NST now. The thinking today was to complete the tour of the mountain region and use NST for overnight accommodation. Could I have extracted another hour from this day surrounded by gorgeous scenery? Certainly, but from Lan Saka I could also put myself in a better position to head back north tomorrow.

Wat Mo Klang Archeological Site……..At NST I take the ring road around the city and follow the route I used coming here to Surat Thani. There was I much easier route north but there are still a couple of site in the provinces I need to record and the base for doing that is Tha Sala. Having located the junction leading to the town it’s now a case of finding accommodation and that should be the end of the day’s activities. Well not quite. Unrecorded on my maps is another ancient ruin dating from 7-9th century in Hindu style. Wat Mo Klang Archeological Site is about 8 kms from Tha Sala and lies in the grounds of a working temple. The footprint is larger than anything similar I’ve seen in the province so far. The brick base has been partially restored after archeological digs to indicate where the doorways were. A number of stone items, including pillars, frames and sills as well as pedestals and sculptures lay nearby. Important items found at this site have been removed to the national museum in Nakhon Si Thammart. This has been a real bonus today but I have to find a room soon.

No food at Tescos……..Fun and games start again but by 6pm I’ve settled for a resort not far from the main highway. Essentially it’s another discrete guest resort but it does have a traditional wooden VIP room and that VIP is me! What’s missing is a fridge but I can make do. As is often the case, I have to prioritise and head straight back out for dinner. There is a Tesco Lotus supermarket on the main road and I head there but the food court closes at 5pm. Brilliant! So it’s street food tonight and a beer to take home. As the previous night I have to abandon my blog and get some sleep. Tomorrow will be a long day travelling north. My original plan would have seen me in Bangkok tomorrow night and this tour would have ended. However it’s been easier on my budget the last few days and I will be making one more stopover. That means I can still add a few last sites tomorrow morning. Next Page.