Midsized and decidedly unromatic, Trang was every bit as ordinary as Khao Lak was touristy, more of a gateway to tourist hubs than one itself. This suited us perfectly. That night, we walked the couple hundred meters to the night market. For the first time since Chiang Mai we found ourselves at a market designed primarily for locals. We had a really enjoyable time sampling some tried-and-true favorites like papaya salad as well as a variety of new dishes. Trang is known for having heavy Chinese and Muslim Malay influences, all of which were on display in the food at this market.
The following morning, we rented scooters--one for Ryan and one for us. We got some dim sum (Trang is known for its local take on this dish, and it was good but not overwhelmingly impressive) before heading south towards our first stop of the day, Thung Khai Botanic Gardens. This was an absolutely gorgeous little park replete with unadulterated tropical forest as well as some areas of landscaped plants. At one point, the trail morphed into a series of increasingly elevated suspension bridges supported by tall metal towers. At its highest point, we found ourselves some 60 feet above the forest floor, nearly even with the tallest trees.
We rode on to Kantang, a smaller, sleepier version of Trang located on the estuary of the Trang River. We had a really nice time putzing around, getting a look at the old train station, and eating a delicious seafood lunch before crossing the river on a car ferry and continuing to wind through beautiful, jungle-covered hills. After about another 45 minutes, we arrived at our final destination, Hat Chao Mai National Park.
This park consists of a beautiful stretch of coast, framed by somewhat incongruous-seeming pine trees (like it's Oregon or something). We scooted along the coast for a while, ending up at a famous area where there's a small sandbar connecting the mainland to an enormous karst jutting out of the water. The park was very quiet, with only a few Thai families setting up to camp for the night. Above the campgrounds, we spotted a few monkeys hanging around in the trees, our first on the trip!
The water around the karst was so shallow that we could easily wade around it, making it to the opposite side of the rock, where we swam around a little in a tiny, secluded bay, enjoying the tremendous view of the Andaman Sea as well as watching thousands of tiny crabs scurry over the rocks. At one point, we swam through a short tunnel in one of the rocks and were "assaulted" by what felt like millions of tiny fish that we had surprised and were now running haphazardly into our bodies, jumping in unison from the water, and even once slapping Michelle in the face. It took us a minute to recover from the shock, but we resumed chilling in the water for another 45 minutes or so before wading back to shore and getting back on the bikes.
We cruised up the coast for another dozen or so kilometers, stopping briefly at Pak Meng, a famously beautiful little beach town, to watch the sun set over the karsts as we ate some fresh-grilled skewered chicken. Finally, we scooted the remaining 45 minutes or so back to Trang, making it just in time to catch the end of the night market where Chandler and Ryan shared two amazing fish meals (one of which was a pla pao, his first since Day One in Bangkok) and we all partook in some spicy curry, then sweet roti for dessert. Early to bed once again, relishing the freedom of not having to wake up at the crack of dawn.
Next up: Koh Muk & Koh Ngai
Street market fare in Trang
Canopy walk at the botanic gardens
Golden dugong
Hat Chao Mai National Park
Pak Meng Beach
No comments:
Post a Comment