It took a few years of traveling in Thailand before we went to Khao Lak, for many reasons I have to admit, one of them was preconceived opinions.
It felt like it's where everyone goes and then it has to be super exploited, but you can not actually walk around with a lot of opinions without being there.
So finally ¨we took the bull at the horns¨and went there.
And yes, there were a lot of people in some places, and yes! they were there, the mandatory shopping streets with sarongs, flashing electronics and the pizzas.
But there was something else too, there were amazing beaches, which were almost empty.
There is a cozy "city" with many restaurants and bars, some with live music.
Like so many other times nowadays we choose to live in the village, and take the motorbike to the beaches during the daytime.
It's more nice to have walking distance in the evening when you are out and mingle, then you can go around in the daytime on the motorbike and make "beach stops”, we can not sit still all day in the sun anyway, it's also nice to get a little wind in the hair.
We have stayed in Bang Niang village when we been there and it suited us perfectly, we have stayed at a guesthouse a few hundred meters from the beach which costs about 800 baths overnight, where we have also rented the motorbike.
Bang Niang also has a long wide beach if you do not want to go away for sun and bath.
Otherwise there are smaller and more cozy beaches if you want to make excursions, our favorites are Pakarang and Coconutbeach.
In the evening you will have plenty of restaurants both on the beach and inside the village.
And if you want to go somewhere after the dinner, the selection of cozy bars is great.
Our favorite has become Lazy house, located on the main road (opposite the "tsunami boat on the city side"), small, cozy, friendly staff and live music.
Bang Niang also has a big market, selling everything, food, clothes, shoes, bags, electronics and almost everything you can possible want to buy.
There you can make a lot of bargain, especially if you are coping properly with a eye glimts and a smile on your face.
The market is also outside the road just opposite the "boat" and if I remember correctly it is open monday, wednesday and saturday.
We will definitely return to Khao Lak, and now we have no preconceived opinions anymore, now we know.
Khao Lak has something for most tastes I think it's only (like in most places) to get around and look for what you want, if you get to a place that does not feel good for some reason, take the motorbike and go around and look for your special beach or place to stay, book the next night there instead and go home and check out the following morning. This is one of the reasons we love to travel light and not planning so much, and not to book as many nights in advance. Usually it is enough to tell your accommodation the day before you checking out, then it's easier to change your plan if needed.
Be sure to take the motorbike to Koh Ko Khao, it is a full day trip, and it's a "fun" adventure. When you get to the pier you take a longtail boat and you get transported over the short way to the island ( with your bike ) and it will cost you about 50 bath p / p. highly recommended.
so if you never been to Khao Lak and you not are a person that must be in a deserted island to enjoy life, then maybe Khao Lak can be a nice stop when you are travelling around Thailand it was way better than we thought.
I am sorry for the bad quality of some of the pictures, it is taken With my old mobile camera a few years ago, but I still think they could give you a small experience and feeling about Khao Lak and I hope you could enjoy it anyway
as always 🌺☮️❤️