After a two-hour ride from Aonang (where we stayed in Krabi, at BlueSotel), we finally got to move our butts after arrival at our first destination for the Krabi tour; the hot spring waterfall.
That's the entrance by the way where you are supposed to pay the admission fees (said to be 90 baht per foreigner) but in our case, all admission fees are already included as part of the tour package. Hence, do check with your agent in advance in case you are required to settle it separately.
Stalls selling drinks and essentials for you to enhance your hot spring experience; it's always recommended to bring along an extra set of clothing on a tour. In our case, i would suggest two sets as you would need a change in clothes at this hot spring and also at the emerald pool!
Hm.... hot spring waterfall or hot stream? Unlike Ciater Hot Spring at Bandung, the drain on the side didn't have steam coming out from the top.
There's the pool but it didn't seem exceptionally popular and that's strange as the hot spring was often touted as a must do, together with the emerald pool and tiger cave temple.
Closer look; more a dipping pool. So far, i think Ciater Hot Spring has set a pretty good standard on how i imagine hot springs should be like. You can click here to read more of my experience.
Kaoz, in Thai?!
Fret not, Thailand is a foreigner-friendly place and you can find the translated version on the other side. Quite common rules and regulations; nothing out of the ordinary.
Playground for kids; with the amount of dirt, i am not surprised that no one was using it although they could jolly well wash themselves with the natural, thermal water after that.
Wait, i heard noises from this side and people were also streaming towards this direction instead of the man-made pool. Maybe this hot spring attraction isn't so boring after all.
Oh my god, this was something totally unexpected; a natural stream and people were literally stepping in and out of the cascading tubs naturally formed by stones! The uneven ground was at times slippery, at times muddy; for someone who was in a safety office for 6 months, this raised a lot of red flags!
Looking around; i don't think there's a secure place for me to keep my belongings. As a kiasi Singapore, I think it's an absolute necessity to provide a locker!
With the base of the tubs filled with stones, it's common to see visitors wearing footwear when they walked across the stream. I noted it's safer but that would also mean you are contaminating the water with the dirty under your sandals / slippers.
I took a foot dip instead although for a hyperactive guy like me, i can hardly relax when i am on a non-beach vacation! Less than five minutes later, i stepped out. It helps when Alex was just standing at one side; in terms of kiasi-ism, he is worse than me!
Remember not to soak for too long; 15-20 minutes would be sufficient. For your information too that the temperature in the thermal water varies from 35 to 42 degrees celcius.
Mineral content of the spring water.
Most desirable spots would be those nearing the edge of the stream, where the temperature of the water might be also comfortable for the human body. It may not seem much from this angle but let me share with you another set of photos.
This one, which clearly, showed the hot spring waterfall which is about 5 meters tall and 10 meters wide. Honestly, it didn't feel that high but i had to admit the uniqueness on being at the edge where you can take a few photos worthy to upload to your Instagram account.
Photos for your viewing pleasure.
The river bordering the hot spring waterfall. As the waterfall isn't a major tributary, the water in the river was more greenish and i guess the temperature would maybe be just lukewarm.
Pedestrian platform alongside the river.
Pavilion facing the river as well. To be frank, there's nothing about the river and i bet boredom would kick in after looking at it for a minute or two.
Maybe we would be more interested if there's wildlife in the water.
Another pavilion housed an outdoor massage parlour and you may even opt for a 30-minute Thai massage as most tours allocate just about an hour at the hot spring waterfall. Price list as above for your reference.
Found another pool that was undergoing cleaning and maintenance.
Decided to spend our remaining time at the first man-made pool we came to earlier. Remember to wash your feet before stepping into the comfortable, thermal water!
Guess this would be the tube piping in the hot spring water.
A red dragonfly by the poolside!
Rainfall shower by the side of the pool. As we only brought one set of clothes, we were not keen in wetting our entire body and chose to just submerge our feet.
Another pool in front of the washrooms but it did look a bit unkempt. Maintenance seemed to have been lacking too. But i am curious as to whether the water would be hot or not. It's like in Hokkaido's Onsen Heaven, where each pool has different temperature.
Nope, it's normal temperature water.
Disappointing.
Walking back as it's about time for us to congregate back at the mini passenger van again.
Having fresh coconuts (20 baht each) to quench our thirst! I always find it wasteful when people just concentrate on the coconut water and throw away the husk without even attempting to eat the nutritional coconut meat within! Yes, people like Alex.
Lastly, a time-lapsed video of the hot spring waterfall!
For the summary of the Full Day Krabi
Tour with Aonang Safari, click here
For the summary of the Full Day Krabi
Tour with Aonang Safari, click here
=====
Location
Khlong Thom Nuea, Khlong Thom District,
Krabi 81120, Thailand
Map
As above.
No comments:
Post a Comment