Tag Archives: Discovery

Thailand: Early Morning Boat Ride On The Chieo Larn Lake

Posted on July 23, 2013 | Leave a comment

Early morning wake-up to attend the sunrise

over the Chieo Larn Lake. I love these furtive hours, when there is an absolute calm. The water surface is as smooth as a mirror. We leave by boat from the hotel (pictures 2 & 3) to go to Klong Saeng, Klong Ek and Klong Yee.

The scenic beauty is breathtaking! More enigmatic and wilder than during our boat safari, the day before in the late afternoon (pictures 8, 9 & 10). More or less we pass through the same places today. No matter: I do not get tired of the haunting atmosphere around the Chieo Larn Lake … 

Exciting to play explorers (lol!). And for big fans of trekking with leeches and other extreme sensations, you can organize trekkings with a guide in the area. Some of us tried the experience!

And well let’s say… when I saw them coming back – after just a couple of hours – like wrecks (red as tomatoes, breathless, super dirty with bites of leeches and so on…), I was SO happy not to have participated to this great trekking of hell! Of course they explained me all the WOW things I missed! LOL!

Now the bottom of the air is fresh, while the sky is between cleared and threatening: the rainy season in Thailand. Slowly the mist surrounding the mountain tops, dissipates (pictures 1, 4,5, 6 & 7). Cold light, output of an array of a Seicento master. Sometimes the landscape reminds of Chinese prints. Next stop in the Khao Sok rainforest : Elephant Hills …

Photos : © Mademoiselle Le K – Tous droits réservés  

Follow my whole trip in THAILAND and Twitter. You can also discover my other pictures in the Facebook of the Tourism Authority of Thailand and the Facebook of the Royal Thai Embassy in Belgium. ENJOY!

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DESTINATIONS & HOTEL REVIEWS

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Thailand: 500 Rai Floating Rafthouse, A Bungalow With A View

Posted on July 20, 2013 | Leave a comment

What a fantastic view

when I arrived by boat at the 500 Rai Floating Rafthouse, a small hotel with 11 floating bungalows in a remote cove nestled in a pristine nature! Unlikely oasis in the middle of nowhere (not exactly Mademoiselle Le K, we are in Chiewlarn Dam, in Khao Sok Natural Park, lol!). And you can not play the jaded!

I’m so excited, I’ve never slept on a floating hotel! The setting is awsome and I’m euphoric! Let’s face it, comfort is very basic, but in front of such a view how I couldn’t be charmed! The hotel serves a very good Thai food. The staff is nice and the owner is a former Buddhist monk turned into a successful business man.

I discover my bungalow after the distribution of the rooms. Naively, I chose a room without air conditioning. Which would perfectly suit me, if there were nets on the windows, especially in the shower and toilet half open to the outside and lined with insects at nightfall. For the evening the slightly cooler temperature is perfect to sleep without air con. But repeated attacks of my “buddies” mosquitoes quickly become unbearable!

Not to mention other insects, I had an invasion on my bed of insects that looked like “flies”. This is the name given in Hong Kong to these tiny insects like small black dots. Anyway I sprayed the repellent all over the room several times. As the product is super harmful, I went to dinner while it was indeed. 

And finally I slept in front of the fan in two super large and comfortable armchairs, with the windows closed (pictures 1 & 2). And guess what? I slept very well! The must is to watch the sunrise. I opened wide the windows and put my seats in front of the landscape! Just amazingly beautiful! Pictures 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5: the view from my bungalow. Pictures 7, 8, 9 & 10: the public areas of the 500 Rai Floating Rafthouse. Photo 10: pontoon where we dined by candlelight in the evening.

Photos : Mademoiselle Le K – copyright 2013, tous droits réservés.

Follow my whole trip in THAILAND. You can also discover my other pictures in the Facebook of the Tourism Authority of Thailand and the Facebook of the Royal Thai Embassy in Belgium. ENJOY!  

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DESTINATIONS

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Perfect Thai Massage in Surat Thani

Posted on July 14, 2013 | Leave a comment

We are finally in Surat Thani city. It is 6-7 p.m., everything is closed and desert! Not a soul on the sidewalks lining the main street that we took. Strange … I’m so used by Asian megacities that teeming of people and full of non-stop activity that this empty scenery is a bit disconcerting to me! Dinner at the hotel and good surprise: a Thai massage is provided at the other end of town. We cross streets where shops are still open and I feel reassured (lol!). Quiet life, passersby. Our driver seems to be lost. After some hesitation, phone calls and turns, he drops us  in the most lost area of Surat Thani (lol)! The surroundings are pretty charming. The massage salon is adjacent to a lovely restaurant with a terrace. Once barefoot, I enter the large room that serves as both waiting room and rest room (pictures 1 and 2). I chose a traditional Thai massage (ie no oil), high intensity (not recommended for beginners). My feet washed, I joined two other members of our team in a room with several mattress separated by curtains. My masseuse doesn’t look easy and hands me the traditional Thai blouse and pants. The air conditioning is super cold and without further ado the massage begins. The atmosphere is cool, my masseuse chats with other masseuses, while I talk to my friends. Soon the massage is gaining intensity (well it hurts). And I can feel very precisely each of muscles! Not a muscle is spared. Methodically, she stretches up muscle by muscle and honestly it is not very pleasant. But little by little, I feel the benefits: my body becomes more flexible and I dozed. The massage will last one hour and a half. I think it was originally 2 hours. But for some reason I still do not know, all the masseuses stopped their massage at the same time. End of this perfect Thai massage, undoubtedly the best and most traditional I’ve ever had.

Photos : Mademoiselle Le K – copyright 2013, tous droits réservés. 

Follow my whole trip in THAILAND. You can also discover my other pictures in the Facebook of the Tourism Authority of Thailand and the Facebook of the Royal Thai Embassy in Belgium. ENJOY! 

Related posts : 

Thaïlande: A Beach between Chumphon and Surat Thani   

Thailand: The Pak Tako Estuary in Chumphon   

DESTINATIONS

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