Sticky Rice

Take Me To… is an ongoing series of travel recommendations provided by the experts – Peace Corps Thailand volunteers who have been there! If you’ve traveled to or live somewhere interesting in Thailand, submit your recommendations to us at pctm.stickyrice@gmail.com.

Lilly Hromadka, Samantha Stolworthy, and Alyssa Strong, 135 TESS

Lilly: Okay, here we go! One of the most beautiful and reassuring things that the Peace Corps does for its volunteers’ support and well-being is providing in-service training. This includes a Mid-Service Conference a year into service and Reconnect, which comes only 3 months after volunteers go to their sites. For our cohort, Reconnect happened a little earlier than usual but was no less appreciated.

In early June, Group 135 headed to Bangkok for 10 days. The first week was volunteer focused, with more info sessions and language training. After a lovely weekend break, our counterparts and co-teachers joined us for a 2.5-day conference, ending at noon on Wednesday. While many volunteers headed back to their sites, equally as many (like us!) took advantage of already being in the capital to take a few of our vacation days and travel to those harder-to-reach-from-our-sites places! Alyssa and I are in the far reaches of the northeast, where a trip to Bangkok already takes (nearly) 12 hours, which means a trip down south easily takes two days. Samantha finds herself all the way north of Chiang Mai, where the beach is a distant fantasy. 

(Samantha: Wait, there are beaches in Thailand?)

We are all water babies and happened to be one day instead of two days away from the beach. So we decided to head down to Khao Lak and a beautiful little beach just north of Phuket, where our friend Nina and the promise of the best beginner surfing in Thailand awaited us.

Samantha: It was one of those travel days that began with the best intentions but quickly turned into a race against time. We had meticulously planned our 15-hour bus journey from Bangkok to Khao Lak, bags packed and ready. But I made a crucial mistake – I forgot to buy a ticket, assuming we could purchase them at the station.

The realization hit me as we arrived at the Southern Bus Terminal (Sai Tai Mai) with 10 minutes to spare. Never having been there before, it was a frantic sprint to find the correct ticket counter. Thankfully, I managed to grab the tickets just in time and rejoined the group. 

PRO TIP: If you buy from 12GoAsia, you still need to collect a physical ticket from the counter, so give yourself extra time. Lilly and Alyssa both found themselves sprinting back into the terminal to convert their tickets as I spoke to our driver so the bus would not take off without them.

(Lilly: Okay, so we could’ve read the fine print a little better, but also it was FINE, and I doubt we’re the only ones who’ve done it.)

Samantha (Cont.): The bus was surprisingly comfortable, with snacks and decent reclining seats. Unfortunately, Alyssa’s seat had water dripping from the emergency exit hatch directly onto her. Luckily, a kind passenger behind her helped seal the leak and we settled in for the long journey south. Bangkok’s cityscape faded away, replaced by dark stretches of highway as we headed toward the coast.

After what felt like an eternity, we arrived in Surat Thani, where we had to switch buses. Our timing was perfect – the new bus arrived almost immediately, saving us from an extra three-hour wait. The last few hours were the toughest, with a bumpy ride that made Lilly’s and my pedometers register nearly 10,000 “well-earned” steps. 

Lilly: It was actually horrible, but sometimes as a PCV you have to save a little money and that’s okay. It’s just part of the experience! Of course, after all this, Khao Lak’s weather for most of the trip was decidedly not happy – it rained nearly the whole time. 

But the first night it was clear, perfect weather to visit the nearby Phang Nga Elephant Park!

Alyssa: Ah yes! The elephants! A bucket list item for anyone traveling to Thailand. One cannot live in Thailand for two years and not hang out with the elephants at least once. The elephant experience is a little pricey, aka roughly half of our Peace Corps living allowance for a month, but it is worth every baht. 

Our experience started with a little meet and greet, where we observed the elephants from a distance. We were told their names and stories. Most of them had been rescued from exploitation for shows and unethical tourism. 

As Peace Corps volunteers, we try to hold ourselves to a high standard and want to be responsible travelers. We did our research on Phang Nga Elephant Park, and after our visit we can confirm that the owners care for the elephants well and allow them to live as independently as possible. The elephants in their care have relied on humans for most of their lives, or suffer from injuries, so they cannot be released into the wild because they would not survive. Phang Nga Elephant Park provides the ability to roam freely in large spaces, while also making sure their basic needs are met.

For anyone who wants to see elephants in Thailand at an ethical place, this website is a great resource: https://www.responsibletravel.com/holidays/elephant-conservation/travel-guide/elephant-sanctuaries-which-we-do-and-dont-support. Also, any place that promotes riding the elephants is unethical. 

Ok, back to the experience. After our debrief, we got to observe a short daily health checkup done by the “mahouts,” the elephant caretakers. Each elephant has its own mahout who cares for it for life. 

We then got to feed the elephants some snacks, aka multiple baskets of fresh fruit. The elephant’s trunks were dancing for all of the mini bananas and cut-up pineapple. They inhaled their fruit baskets, and I’m pretty sure they swallowed everything whole (no time to chew when your sweet treats are so good).

After their snack, we got to help the mahouts bathe the elephants. You could tell they loved the water as they splashed all over the place. They also loved playing games with us when we got in the water with them. They would nudge their little trunks wherever they wanted and never hesitated to spray you in the face. The elephants might have bathed us more than we bathed them, but thankfully we had time to take a quick shower before the final leg of our elephant adventure. 

Alyssa (Cont.): We went on a sunset walk into the forest to tuck the elephants in for the night as our last task on the tour. We literally trekked over a river and through the woods to walk each elephant to their assigned area of the forest. (Fun facts: elephants only take power naps throughout the night that total up to about 4 hours of sleep. The rest of the time they spend eating. They also sleep standing up.) 

We said our goodbyes in the forest and headed back to enjoy a classic Thai-style feast surrounded by the serene nature of the sanctuary. Then the sanctuary van drove us back through the winding coastal hills so we could rest before our much-anticipated surf day. 

Lilly: Okay, given that it was 4-hours, transport and a meal included, and I got to spend time with good friends and some of the most amazing creatures alive, I think $100 was worth it. And we know our money is being used to support elephant conservation and education efforts throughout the country.

But we could only spend so much time at the nature park, and we still had two full days ahead of us!

Khao Lak is home to Memories Beach, proclaimed to be one of, if not THE best surfing beach in Thailand, especially for beginners. Lucky for us, we had a connection at Better Surf Thailand, an incredibly friendly local surf shop – our good friend Nina, who worked with the Peace Corps while we were in training!

We all signed up for the Try Surf lesson and headed to the beach early Friday morning. It was stormy and the ocean was a lil’ angry, but the beautiful thing about Better Surf is that they take care of you, assigning you a one-on-one instructor. After a 30-minute group theory session, we met our personal instructors, who stayed with each of us in the water the whole time. 

Lilly (Cont.): The hour-long lesson progressed from completely hands-on to as hands-off as we were able to handle. They helped us walk out deep enough, even pushing us part of the way towards the end, turned the board for us, pushed us into the wave, and yelled when we tried to stand up. I have good balance and was able to stand up right away, so after a few runs I was shown how to use my body to gently turn the board. After I was comfortable in the water, free to just try to surf again and again, my instructor challenged me to start mounting and turning the board myself.  And oh boy, suddenly it was a different game.

If I had been thrown out there with a bunch of other people and no instructor focusing solely on me, I would have given up way quicker. Like immediately. It was my first time! I had no clue what I was doing. Surfing is HARD and trying to fight aggressive waves and winds as a newbie is beyond tiring. I didn’t realize how much skill went into just trying to time the waves correctly. I was even paddling wrong the first 3 times I tried (aka I might as well have not been paddling, that’s how much I was moving myself in the water). Luckily, I had my instructor with me the whole time. He was able to gauge when I was frustrated and offer a little more support, sometimes in the form of a demonstration, sometimes in telling me to hop on the board so he could push me back out after a run, and sometimes just cracking a joke to make me smile. It was a really comfortable and encouraging experience.

(Samantha: The gentle roll of the waves definitely made for a less stressful surfing experience. This was not my first time surfing, coming from a surfing family. However, instruction from someone who isn’t my dad made me less frustrated, maybe? I have never been good at surfing, but my instructor was able to assist me in making enough adjustments that I caught several good waves and was paddling out on my own by the end of the lesson. I even made haphazard turns without falling off the board or hitting other surfers. I definitely recommend it for any newbies to surfing.)

Lilly (Cont.): I felt so safe the entire time, and even though I wasn’t able to put all the skills together successfully by the end of an hour (who me? A prodigy?), I felt confident and excited to get back in the water! After some pad thai, beer, and a nap of course.

Alyssa: Like Samantha, this was not my first time surfing. It was my second time. I had done a similar lesson in Hawaii about 5 years prior, but I had to share an instructor with my siblings. This time around, I spent half my time surfing and the other half cackling with my instructor. 

He didn’t speak as much English as the other instructors, but the Peace Corps trains us well in speaking Thai, so it worked out. Before even entering the water, my instructor turned to me to ask if I could swim. I answered, “Well, of course!” To which he responded, “Well, I can’t.” Eyes wide, I was absolutely shocked that someone could surf for years yet never learn how to swim. Thankfully the beach was a long stretch of shallow water, so my instructor could walk me out to catch a wave, and I could ride it for a while before hopping off my board. 

I’ve always been able to stand up on the board. I just get a little too excited when I pop up, and my feet get caught up in some awkward positions. My instructor so beautifully demonstrated how I love to pop up and immediately stick my lil’ booty up in the air and ride the wave “bottoms up” for a bit. When my “bottoms up” form didn’t throw off my balance, I was able to move around and have some fun in the waves. Surfing a wave is similar enough to wakeboarding, which I practiced religiously back in America, so I did know how to maneuver side-to-side in the wave, at least a little. I honestly never wanted to leave the water. I could’ve surfed all day but there was plenty of other fun waiting for us near the surf shack, like the friendly dogs and the training board set on top of stability discs to practice walking back and forth. Something I would need a few more lessons to be able to do in the water. 

Samantha: When we weren’t surfing or frolicking with elephants, we took the time to explore the town of Khao Lak with Nina and her friends. We went to a local restaurant for dinner the first night, although it “wasn’t good Thai food,” according to Nina. We did, however, brave eating jellyfish, which was an interesting experience that I won’t be doing again. 

(Lilly: Or me, thanks very much.)

Alyssa: After dinner, since Nina and the Better Surf staff have all of the connections in Khao Lak, they took us to a beach bar to indulge in a free drink and admire a classic Thai fire show, where the fire benders twirl and throw various types of fireballs and fire sticks for an hour.  

(Lilly: We explored the beach bar and attached hotel a little bit after the show. It was one of the places Nina recommended we stay, and we might have to next time!)

Samantha: Day 3, our free day in town was spent wandering aimlessly about searching for a laundry facility, which did not exist – you can’t always trust Google Maps in Thailand. Poor Alyssa had the most clothes and struggled with the added task of carrying an umbrella. 

(Alyssa: My arms almost fell off, but it was honestly just another humbling Peace Corps experience.) 

The rain truly never let up the entire trip. Giving up on the task for the afternoon, we stopped off at a little Italian cafe, Little Italy, to indulge in some really good wood-fired pizza for lunch. A great refuge from the rain while we waited for Nina who assisted in helping us find a proper laundry facility afterward.

Alyssa: While waiting for the laundry, I took a walk on a sidewalk along the coastline to a viewpoint and the entire walk was breathtaking. I also stopped in a little cafe called “Valhalla Teahouse” and had just enough cash for a refreshing glass of kombucha, which you don’t find often in Thailand. The kombucha and the view were to die for.  

Lilly: Meanwhile, Samantha disappeared to get a massage, while I spent some time reading on the beach in front of our hotel. When the tide was out, I walked about a minute to a small lighthouse perched on some rocks, always visible, but not always accessible. When Alyssa returned from her walk, we all met outside the front of the hotel and headed to the grocery store for some snacks before getting ready to meet Nina again.

We were all craving burgers of course, so Nina and her friend Tor took us to a popular farang spot, where they serve giant burgers and 5 different kinds of potato sides. We indulged to our hearts’ content.

Samantha: Afterward, we drove about 30 minutes through the mountains and ended up at a random, quirky vintage shop so Tor could have… hot soy milk? 

(Lilly: Yes, hot soy milk. The shop also made fried dough (like a donut), and ice cream, and was attached to a vintage shop!)

It was also in the middle of nowhere. However, I was enthralled because there was an adorable shop cat standing guard in a sparkly dress. It made my day. 

Alyssa: I was amazed by the window sill lined with rubber ducks. I wanted to buy them all to add to my Jeep collection. There were also a few cute ‘small world’ things. I found a small University of Michigan sweatshirt, which was the cutest little ode to my birthplace. 

Lilly: I found a Florida State University t-shirt (my alma mater!)! Crazy cute place, it was a fun spontaneous adventure.

Samantha: And I bought a few vintage beanie babies to decorate my Thai home.

Given its proximity to Phuket, it would have been worth adding an extra day to explore the big city together. 

Khao Lak, a sleepy beach town on the Andaman Sea, offers little beyond surfing its local beaches. The lack of public transport and walkability made getting around challenging. For regular tourists, renting a motorbike is a much better option to explore the surrounding area and nearby national parks. There are several options to take out boats to islands just off the coast for diving excursions. But overall, not much to do on a stormy weekend.

Lilly: Despite the rain, and lack of rain-friendly activities, we still had fun and got time to relax after a chaotic Reconnect conference. Our adventure ended at 5 AM Sunday morning, when Nina picked us up and drove us the short hour to the airport.

(Samantha: Fortunately, Phuket serves as a primary airport hub, making the journey back to our respective sites much easier than the journey to Khao Lak. While a direct flight to Chiang Mai is available, travelers to the Isaan region will need to make a quick stopover in Bangkok, but it beats another 15+ hours in a bus.)

Lilly: This quick beach trip is a memory that will stay with us forever. There is so much to do and see around this little town, that we hardly got to touch on the natural wealth that is Phang Nga province. Next time you’re heading south, take a moment to meander over north from Krabi and the beaches of Phuket, or west from Koh Samui, and catch a glimpse of this breathtaking little corner of Thailand.

---

Read Lilly, Samantha, and Alyssa’s previous articles and contributions.

Read more from the Take Me To… series.