Backdate: Khao Kho trip Aug 2018 Day 1
22/8/18 Weds: After some ding-dong and recommendation
from Jess’s colleague, we finally settled on the driver’s package for our visit
to Khao Kho, a district in Phetchabun province in Thailand, which meant “perfect
diamond”.
The 5D4N package included the driver Wit driving us around for 10hours per day (OT at 200 baht per hour), parking fees, Wit’s accommodation (500 baht a night) and tipping on the last day, and plus extra charges for fuel, it came up to 13K baht in total. (Rate of exchange then was SGD1: 24 baht)
As it was a morning 6.50am flight to Don Mueang airport, we had to share a cab to the airport in the wee hours lol~ (S$26 per person). We took Scoot TR866 and the duration onboard was 2hours and 20minutes. *Round trip air tickets costed S$286.23 per person with 20KG check-in luggage included, and we bought our travel insurance from Allianz at S$21 each.*
Upon reaching, we were ushered to a corner by
some SIM card sellers, and we got the AIS SIM for 150 baht each. The minute I
saw Wit, I thought he looked a bit intimidating honestly, but well I reckon
Thai guys, in general, are pretty soft-spoken, and yes he sounded polite and
nice in contrast to his looks haha. *Wow
at the way he’d modified his car~*
Anyway, the journey we’d expected to be about 5
hours to reach Rai Rim Pha (750 baht per person for 1 night’s stay, breakfast
inclusive) at Phu Thap Boek mountain extended to a long 7.5 hours due to
unexpected road closure and bad fog. Wit communicated with the host, and he
said the road had to be closed as it was raining much then, and so we had to
take a much bigger route upwards. *Jess
fell asleep in the car, I almost did too, but I’m slightly worried about the
road conditions too.* Some parts of the road were muddy pavements, and
there were lots of bends and uphill slopes too.
At 4.30pm, we finally found Rai Rim Pha! Saw a
few eateries there, and many colourful houses and camp sites in that area. It
took us even a while to find out where the owner was at even, as the locals don’t
really speak English there. *But
ironically, the owner could speak pretty good mandarin neh.* We took the
key to our room (A12), which is one of the green ones by the side of the
mountain. It was a small room with just a double bed and bathroom, not much
space inside.
The two blur tourists began walking around in
the small area that late afternoon, and took photos of the view. It could have
been better if not for the gloomy weather. *Oh
and my eyes got too dry at one point of time I’d tear non-stop till my eyes
were red~*
The 5D4N package included the driver Wit driving us around for 10hours per day (OT at 200 baht per hour), parking fees, Wit’s accommodation (500 baht a night) and tipping on the last day, and plus extra charges for fuel, it came up to 13K baht in total. (Rate of exchange then was SGD1: 24 baht)
As it was a morning 6.50am flight to Don Mueang airport, we had to share a cab to the airport in the wee hours lol~ (S$26 per person). We took Scoot TR866 and the duration onboard was 2hours and 20minutes. *Round trip air tickets costed S$286.23 per person with 20KG check-in luggage included, and we bought our travel insurance from Allianz at S$21 each.*
It was 9am when we started the drive from
Bangkok up northwards, where we would stop for lunch break at Wichian Buri district
in Phetchabun province. We had the famous grilled chicken over there and som
tham (papaya salad), but that 170 baht meal wasn’t impressive. The chickens
were a bit dry and skinny, while the som tham was way spicy for me la!
I went over to ask the owner where “Phu Thap
Boek” was, as it was supposedly a “16 minutes' drive from Rai Rim Pha”, but who
knew we could actually walk by foot up the peak as the owner told us we were
already at Phu Thap Boek lol!
It was a less than 5 minutes’ climb to the “submit”—1768m ASL LOL. The view wasn’t spectacular, but we saw lots of clouds!
It was a less than 5 minutes’ climb to the “submit”—1768m ASL LOL. The view wasn’t spectacular, but we saw lots of clouds!
It was pretty cold honestly, my red sweater and
jeans just wouldn’t suffice. We decided to walk back to where the owner stayed for
some dinner since they’d provide that too. I, of course ordered Tom Yam Talay
(150 baht) to satisfy my cravings for tom yam in Thailand as usual, and we also
shared stir-fried cabbage (80 baht) and a bowl of rice (15 baht). The bill amounted
to 245 baht, which wasn’t as cheap as I thought things would be at this “less-than-touristy”
place, but still affordable.
At night, it got even colder so we stayed in
our room and decided to take a warm shower. I was the first to go in, and just
after turning on the shower and heater (run by gas) a while, I could smell the gas
and I was honestly worried it might explode la. *By the time Jess went in, I “warned” her about that haha.* It was
cold in the room as there was no heater, we caught some shows on Youtube, and
then went to sleep pretty early as we wanted to try to catch the “beautiful sunrise”
the next morning (as pictured on their Facebook).
The night was not an easy one for us, as it started to rain cats and dogs, and it was unusually noisy with loud flapping sounds of metal pieces outside, and as much as I was worried about “the fate” of our shoes outside the door, that they would be blown away, I didn’t dare climb up to open the door and see la lol. *Jess even funnier… she told me the next morning that she was worried that the whole room would even uproot and fly away LOL.*
The night was not an easy one for us, as it started to rain cats and dogs, and it was unusually noisy with loud flapping sounds of metal pieces outside, and as much as I was worried about “the fate” of our shoes outside the door, that they would be blown away, I didn’t dare climb up to open the door and see la lol. *Jess even funnier… she told me the next morning that she was worried that the whole room would even uproot and fly away LOL.*
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