It had been a while since we'd been down that way and the first thing I noticed is that the prices in the local beach restaurant there had doubled. As usual on the weekend it was fairly busy with Thais but not too crowded, the beach is wide and long and the sea was clear. Some huge jellies washed up deterred many from swimming and those that did go in, myself included, ended up a little itchy from the sea lice - these tiny harmless critters are prevalent in most coastal waters on the Gulf side.
Another observation was the amount of litter on the beach; plastic bottles, crisp wrappers, straws, plastic bags, polystyrene, coke tins ... it seems that no effort whatsoever has been made to keep this nice little slice of beach clean, I got a few funny looks picking up some of the crap myself - preserving nature is a lost concept on the Thais.
Took the road back to Paknam and was amazed at how many resorts had popped up in the last 2-3 years, naturally most of these unknown places were empty, in fact the only one that was bustling with activity was the Evason. This was quite amusing also as the beach had been completely swallowed by the incoming tide along this stretch of coast ... I bet they didn't put that in the brochure!
Also along the coast road were a number of half built property developments boasting villas at 'only 36 million baht'. I don't imagine they tell potential buyers that the nearest civilization is 'dried squid village' aka Paknampran where the smell alone will knock you off your bike!
The kids had a great day though, maybe I'm getting old and cynical ... or maybe those hidden slices of paradise I remember discovering a few years ago are slowly disappearing. Imagine what they will be like when the kids are my age!
It's amazing what you can find washed up on the beach these days!
Khao Kalok - still not a bad little corner of the world
This is not the beach you get if you book at the Evason!
