Khao Lak -- 25 Years of Friendship

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Coconut Homes is a cozy family bungalow resort located only 900 meters from the beautiful and all year round accessible Coconut Beach on Thailand's west coast near Khao Lak. Five family bungalows, each with 2 bed rooms and kitchen, plus 2 studio and one family apartment carefully placed around a large swimming pool in a tropical garden invite families, couples and singles alike for a relaxed and enjoyable holiday amongst coconut palm trees close to the crystal clear waters of the Andaman Sea. The adjacent Coconut Cafe provides fresh coffee brewed by trained staff and offers home made cake, snacks and cocktails around the day. Nearby, visitors will find atmospheric beach restaurants serving local Thai cuisine right at the beach. Your perfect holiday in the sun and candlelight dinners with picturesque sunsets painting a firework of colors into the sky of Khao Lak are just a mouse click away!

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The new bungalow resort Baan Chong Fa is situated right in the center of the village of Bang Niang, it is surrounded by a tall wall. 9 comfortable and luxuriously furnished bungalows are set in two rows, all are exclusively equipped with very beautiful furniture. Inbetween there is a swimming pool with jacuzzi and several areas for sun bathing. Furthermore, a breakfast restaurant and a salon are available. The resort offers many services such as free bicycles, free transportation in the area of Khao Lak from 9 am to midnight and free internet. Breakfast is included in the room rates which are considered upper price range with 3900 Baht per night. However, at the opening there is a 50 % discount, therefore the rooms are just 1950 Baht.

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Dieser 7eleven an der Abzweigung zum Bang Niang Beach ist DAS Landmark von Bang Niang. Es gibt gewiss niemanden, der in diesem 7eleven noch nicht eingekauft hat. Er ist immer belebt, auch mitten in der Nacht. Die Preise sind sehr angemessen wie in ganz Thailand, und immer gibt es Sonderangebote, denen man nur schwer widerstehen kann. Die Auswahl an Säften und Milchprodukten ist ungewöhnlich gross. Fertiggerichte kann man sich jederzeit in der Mikro oder im Grillofen heiss machen lassen. Das Personal ist zumeist freundlich und zu einem Spass aufgelegt.

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Die fünf- bis sechs-köpfige Band von Num in der Degree Bar spielt für meine laienhaften Ansprüche den besten Thai Rock in ganz Thailand. Erst ab 23 Uhr füllt sich der zur Strasse offene Laden so richtig. An manchen Abenden gehen die Thais mit, dass sich die Tische biegen. Vor allem Frauen jeden Alters tanzen zu den Stücken von Carabao und Job to do, dass der Boden bebt. Da lassen sich sogar die paar alternden Farangs anstecken und tanzen sich in Schweiss. Mit wenigen Baht fuer ein Sprite und einen Teller geröstete Cashews kann man ein paar tolle Stunden erleben. Pünktlich um 2 Uhr nachts wird aufgehört, was die Musiker auch brauchen, die sich da fast ohne Pause in Hochform spielen.
Immer mal wieder sind Gast-Musiker aus anderen Orten Thailands da und bringen einen anderen Sound mit, mal zum Guten, mal eher zum Abwinken. Auch Farangs, die eigentlich ganz bieder aussahen, haben schon mal die Instrumente und den Saal in Stimmung gebracht.
Sollte es mal an einem Abend nicht so funken -- macht nix, einfach wieder kommen.
Hier habe ich noch nie einen Fight erlebt und noch nie Betrunkene die Stimmung verderben gesehen. Auch Gatoeys sieht man hier nie. Allerdings auch nur ganz wenige Touristen, die in Khao Lak eben um diese Zeit schon in der Heia liegen.

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In the new office in front of Sita Garden the very friendly German Paul offers all the tours guided by his partner Gang who is even more friendly and speaks good English and German. Every afternoon from 14 hours Paul gives insider information about tours around Khao Lak. You can book any tour from him, but he can not go below his cost as other tour agencies. Most customers book the tours that Pauls partners guide themselves: -- Phang Nga Bay Tour, -- Khao Sok Tour, -- Koh Tachai Tour.

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The first legal taxi in Khao Lak with a green number plate, the famous Number 1, was the Honda Civic of Miss Jiab. It took her 10 months of painstaking steps through the Thai bureaucracy before she received her taxi license. After she had shown the way, many more taxi drivers received the legal status as a private taxi driver.
Miss Jiab drives very carefully. She follows the rules of the law and never drives more than 90 km/h. On the route from Phuket Airport to Khao Lak she really takes her time and overtakes only if it is absolutely safe. Her taxi has a passenger accident insurance, and she goes to car inspection once a month during the high season.
Miss Jiab drives mainly for the Internet Booking Service Khao Lak, bringing tourists from Phuket Airport to Khao Lak and back. For safety reasons she makes only two trips per day. Per trip she gets 1600 Baht which barely covers the cost, the regular maintenance, and the depreciation of the car, so that something is left for a decent income in the season. In the off-season she makes her living tapping rubber in a rubber plantation, a very strenuous work.
If you did not book your hotel with the help of Internet Booking Service Khao Lak, you may still use the taxi service of Khun Jiab by mailing to khaolaktransfer@gmail.com
In Thai you can also call her personally at 063-2518324, in English you may book her taxi at 098-3433475

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Das Drei-Frauen-Team Phung, Pi Pon und Mama Phung macht seit drei Jahren Thai-Massage direkt am Strand von Bang Niang auf dem Grundstück von Sita Garden. Dieser Service wird von allen Gästen sehr geschätzt, kann die entspannende Massage doch gleich neben dem Strandbungalow genossen werden, ohne erst durch die Gegend laufen zu müssen. Die liebenswürdig freundliche Art der drei Frauen lässt sehr schnell eine freundschaftliche Atmosphäre entstehen, die den Urlaubsgenuss spürbar erhöht. Viele Gäste freuen sich schon monatelang darauf, bald wieder diese wunderbaren Massagen erleben zu dürfen, und das für 300 Baht pro Stunde, einen Preis, den sich jeder alle Tage leisten kann.
Die Frauen arbeiten als Freiberufler und bezahlen für die Bambushütte mit allem Zubehör eine Tagesmiete von 150 Baht an den Grundstücksbesitzer sowie eine Betreuungsgebühr von 150 Baht an die Aufseherin. Ihnen bleiben dann durchschnittlich 750 Baht pro Tag bei 3 bis 4 Massagen am Tag.
Anderswo in Khao Lak ist allerdings eine Miete von 50% der Tageseinnahmen üblich, was den Verdienst der meisten Massagefrauen auf 525 Baht pro Tag reduziert. Das klingt zwar auch noch wie ein üppiges Salär von über 15000 Baht pro Monat, ist aber bei nur 5 Monaten Saison nicht gerade viel, zumal auch die Lebenshaltungskosten in Khao Lak vergleichsweise hoch sind.
Die Frauen der Sita Beach Massage haben seit Jahren einen sehr guten Ruf und können deshalb auch einen höheren Anteil vom Massagepreis von 300 Baht beanspruchen.

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Without any doubt, this is the best Thai restaurant in Khao Lak. Every Thai person here has already eaten in this restaurant, chosen from the 20 steel bowls and been served Lad Kao (on rice). This is Thai fast food at its best! Drinking water with ice is offered free of charge and the plate with typical green leaves and raw veggies is included anyway. Occasionally there is also Hom Mok Pla for 10 Baht, very delicious and if you eat it together with rice it is not too hot. The side dishes from the steel bowls are freshly cooked from 9 am to 1 pm and from 6 pm to 22 pm.
In the evenings, a clear rice soup is served. Customers can also order some specialties from the menu: Cooked morning glory, 100-year-old eggs, slices of Chinese sausage, all these below 50 Baht and the plate always generously filled. Most of the time I can order my favorite dish: Moo Pat Hed (fried pork with mushrooms). The owner and staff are always very friendly!
The English signboard was removed, but

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Banana offers fan rooms at 700 Baht, with garden views, aircon rooms for 900 to 1100 Baht near the pool. There are a swimming pool and internet access.

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Lamuan Seafood is a very popular Seafood Restaurant in the center of Khao Lak Center beside the main road. The owner Lamuan started her restaurant over 20 years ago at Nang Thong Beach. She is an always joyful lady who recognizes all her guests from many years ago. The food in Lamuan Seafood is excellent. I enjoy especially the steamed fish with lemon sauce and her unique Massaman Curry. The drinking coconuts are from her own plantation, their taste is among the best to be found in Khao Lak.

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The Mukhatha Restaurant in Khuk Khak near the petrol station offers the best value for money in the Khao Lak region. All food items are prepared in pots and plates on many tables. The guests select the items they like and take them to their tables. Here the items are placed on a Korean BBQ grill and prepared by themselves according to their taste. The variety in this restaurant is gigantic: many different types of pork, chicken and seafood, many kinds of vegetables, Suki-style Japanese food, various kinds of fried rice and noodles, even an assortment of deserts and ice cream. All this for only 109 Baht per person. If anything is left over at the table, a fine has to be paid. There are at least 60 tables under one roof, and they are always occupied by families or groups of friends.

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The Kaffee Bar is a new design coffee shop created by Gang and Mr. Watt. The Kaffee Bar is situated at the northern end of Bang Niang in a three storey shop house. The Kaffee Bar has a very attractive indoor setup and a few rustic tables outside. They serve a large variety of coffee and a great selection of cakes in a fridge with a glass door. The service is very friendly and the atmosphere very welcoming.

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Khun Jum, the owner of Na Sin Gallery, comes from an artist family in Nakhon Si Thammarat. Her father can play a large variety of traditional instruments and he is a famous Puppet Player. Khun Jum paints in her own style but for a living has to do the same job as all artists in Khao Lak -- copy paintings on order from tourists and paint portraits from passport photos.
Khun Jum has painted all the title paintings for this website, by now more than 80 paintings. Each painting has its original frame that is the jungle fruit called Lin Fah in the Northwest of Thailand (Isarn), literally translated "Tongue of Heaven", as this meter long fruit hangs down through the canopy of jungle trees.
For her inspiration to paint six typical attractions of each province and tourist destination in Thailand she used original photos taken by the t-globe team or from her own collection. Khun Jum who is a very joyful person will surely become a famous painter of Thailand in a few years.
Then the collection of 80 original paintings for www.t-globe.com will be valuable assets.
She has moved her gallery and paint shop to the lane beside Monkey Bar in the center of Khao Lak Center where she can be watched doing her daily work until late in the evening.

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The "Khao Lak Museum" was created by the long time residents Franky Gun and Richard Doring, commemorating Khao Lak's 25th birthday. In July 2015 it was renamed to "Tsunami Museum Khao Lak" and moved to the road leading to the Police Boat 813, where many more visitors are aware of its existence. The museum shows the history of tourism in the Khao Lak region. Many hotels, restaurants, tour agencies, dive centers and other businesses of Khao Lak display their history since the year 1987, when the first tourist business, the Khao Lak Bungalows, was opened in Khao Lak. Other historical artifacts, maps, pictures and documents are also presented in the 40 square meter exhibition room.
The "Tsunami Exhibition" honors the efforts of the Khao Lak people and their friends to reconstruct Khao Lak in the year following the disastrous Tsunami of December 2004. Original documents show the help of the true friends of Khao Lak, help by means of donations for specific Tsunami victims and by goods that alleviated the severe pain of effected Khao Lak residents. Videos about the Tsunami in Khao Lak are displayed.
Entrance is free, a donation can be given at the discretion of visitors.
The museum guide, Khun Id, can give explanations in Thai and English. A glass of water is offered free of charge. At a counter in front of the museum competent staff from T-Tour gives information about the attractions in the Khao Lak area. They can also arrange a taxi for visiting Tsunami related memorials.

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