IN THE PICTURE #28

The elephant is the national animal of Thailand and they are ingrained into Thai culture. 

The treatment the elephants receive when they are forced to work, either for tourism, or logging, is very cruel. Before we saw the elephants we watched a video about how they were trained,  and it was hard to watch. Thankfully this is more widely recognized now and elephants are more protected, and there are many sanctuaries for retired elephants. 

We visited the beautiful Phuket Elephant Sanctuary, which is one of the few truly ethical elephant sanctuaries around. No riding, bathing with, or touching them. You have the chance to feed them, walk with them and observe them, and it was a privilege to see them living  free, happy, safe and cared for, especially in such beautiful surroundings. Ethical tourism is so important.

A beautiful sunset sky on Nang Thong Beach on Khao Lak. I will never tire of this view, and the different colors the sky can turn.

My favorite destination in Thailand is currently Khao Lak. I’ve been there twice, and it’s a beautiful part of Thailand with enough to see and do, but has kept it’s authenticity and is not too busy or built up. I love the laid back and friendly atmosphere, and beautiful scenery.

I would love to visit Koh Samui and also Bangkok. I went to Bangkok in 1999 which was a great  experience. At this time they were building the BTS Sky Train. I’d like to go back as I’m sure a lot has changed.

We loved visiting some of the islands, including the Similan Islands. Swimming, snorkeling, and enjoying the beaches and nature, it really was like paradise. This is Sail Rock, on Koh Similan, island 8. A great day out enjoying the beautiful Andaman Sea.

The beautiful tranquility of the Surin Islands. Lush greenery with white sand beaches. I loved the colorful rows  of fishing boats on the shore. The Islands do get busy in peak season. It was nice to see the Surin Islands before it got busy to appreciate how peaceful they can be.

We visited the Royal Thai Navy Third Fleet Turtle Nursery in Khao Lak. It’s a conservation center who care for baby turtles and then release them into the wild. It’s a great few hours spent learning about them, how they’re cared for and released, and the opportunity to feed them.

Khao Lak was one of the areas worst affected by the Tsunami on Boxing Day, 2004. Police Boat no. 813 was at anchor about 1 nautical mile off the coast of Khao Lak. When the tsunami struck, the boat was swept inland almost 2 kilometers, to where it sits today. This is where the International Tsunami Museum is. It’s a small, informative and interesting place to visit, and it amazed and humbled me to see how the community has slowly rebuilt Khao Lak to still be a beautiful, exciting and authentic place to visit.

We did an excursion which included a canoe trip along the Sang-Nea River, also known as the “Little Amazon.” If  you’re  lucky you’ll see some of the local wildlife including monkeys, snakes and birds. We saw a couple of snakes high in the trees, and a couple of birds.  We didn’t see any monkeys, but we could certainly hear them, they were very loud!!  I loved the jungle sounds! The canoe trip was fun, very tranquil and the Banyan trees of the rainforest were beautiful, I loved how they twisted and made a cover over the river. The trip included browsing the local market of Takua Pa, visiting the Tam Nang waterfall in the serene rainforest of Sri Phang Nga National Park, and a visit to the Old Town. 

Another beautiful sunset on Nang Thong Beach. It had been raining most of the afternoon, and as we were heading back to our room the sun came out and lit the sky a glorious colour.

We had a trek through the rainforest of Sri Phang Nga National Park to the Tam Nang waterfall which which cascades down a 60 meter cliff face, and was surrounded  by lush greenery. It was beautiful and so peaceful.  You were able to join the Mahseer Barb Fish in the pool if you wanted too!  

There is beauty everywhere in Khao Lak, from the stunning beaches, amazing rainforest, and gorgeous sunsets. I saw this bare tree on White Sand Beach which I thought was a beautiful contrast to the lush green trees in the rainforest.

A Nikon 5300.

On my Instagram page and Flickr account.

One of my favorite things about Thailand was the amazing sunsets.  Photography cliche maybe! The Lighthouse on Nang Thong beach makes  for beautiful sunset pictures, I literally took hundreds! 

We went to Khao Lak at the end if the rainy season. The mornings were sunny, and as the morning moved into afternoon you’d see the clouds coming over from the rainforest. It rained most days, but would rarely stop you doing anything. We still liked to go for a walk along the beach. These storm clouds were awesome, it absolutely poured down a few minutes after taking this, with thunder and lightning, we had to run for cover! Luckily we found it in a lovely little beach cafe, and watched the rest of the storm over a tasty lunch.