Local experience around Takua Pa

An “almost casual Friday” in Bang Niang: On tour in the lost zone and in Takua Pa old town

Local experience around Takua Pa

New tour – new experiences – for sure I’m in!

Our thai tour guide Nueng and our nice guests from Plauen, Germany

Our Thai tour guide Nueng with our nice guests from Plauen, Germany

This morning Nueng, Dahm and I picked up our two guests from the hotel around 8:30 a.m. and firstly stopped at the cashew-nut-factory.

Here learned a lot about the extremely complex process of processing cashew nuts. The cashew is not in the fruit of the tree but grows under the fruit. The fruit is also called cashew apple and remind me on red a mini pepper.

Only twice a year the cashew apples get pruned. The nuts obtained are processed all year round: firstly they are dried to make them tockable. It is important that the nuts are not heated too much during the drying process because the quality of the nuts can be lost at too high temperatures. Unlike other nuts, cashews cannot simply be sold in the shell because they contain toxins.

In the cashew-nut-factory we could get an insight of how the shell is cut off with a special nutcracker. A very complex process –now you might understand why the nuts have that certain price. At the factory it is possible to buy fresh cashews as well as honey. Those who buy the nuts here not only have delicious snacks in their pocket, but also support the family business itself.

First stop on the way: The Fresh Market in Takua Pa

The day went on with a sTop at the Fresh Market in the nearby town called Takua Pa. Far away from any tourism, the guests and I were definitely the only Europeans. Even though there are many markets in Khao Lak, it is always interesting to see what food is offered here. I always see new things that I want to try. Today, for example, I bought small dried fish that Nueng had recommended to me. Very salty, nice lyrand and certainly a healthier snack than a bag of chips in the evening! Good choice though!

Let us do some canoeing!

German trainee Johanna paddling by herself

German trainee Johanna paddling by herself

As soon as we got back into the minivan we started the canoe adventure. In the “Little Amazon” Jungle with its breathtaking nature we rode by canoe along the “Klong Sung Nae” river. Besides a family of monkeys we saw a black snake with yellow spots for several times. We didn’t panic – because a local guy told us that the snake falls into a kind of hibernation during the day. So at daytime the snake can neither hear nor see. At night she gets active and hunts for food.

On the approximately 50-minute canoe tour we were almost permanently surrounded by beautiful Bayan trees. The Bayan tree is not just any tree – it emits air roots that evolve over time into a dense net as soon as they reach the ground. In this way, the Bayan tree can occupy a floor area of up to several hundred square meters. As the tree grows older, it will eventually be crushed by its own branches and dies. With the Bayan trees with the interconnected branches, I had a real “ok, I’m really into Jungle” feeling!

There is always time for a coffee, right?

Very nice cappuccino at the chinese pharmacy.

Very nice cappuccino at the chinese pharmacy.

Before we visited the Khong Kha Temple we stopped at a Chinese pharmacy. In addition to the sale of medicine and great herbal tea blends, the pharmacy also offers very tasty coffee and cappuccino. When I saw the cappuccino with its milk foam like this, I shortly felt like home. From the outward appearance it could have been a cappuccino from the Paderborn bakery, but the taste was waaay better than a cappuccino from Paderborn! Sooo delicious for coffee freaks like me – airoi mak kaa!

Kong Kha tempel – a visit is worth!

Our next destination was the Kong Kha temple where we found 9 different Buddha statues. The statues differ in the positions of the Buddha. According to a tradition in Thailand, the different positions are assigned to the 7 days of the week.  Wednesday is presented in two statutes. The first represents the morning, the other the evening. The last statue of the 9 statues is dedicated to people who do not know on which day of the week they were born.

An insight in the buddhism culture…

Glamorous Khong Kha Temple.

Glamorous Khong Kha Temple.

The background is that certain events in the life of Buddha took place on certain days of the week. I know that I was born on a Wednesday morning. On this day, the Buddha holds a bowl in his hand. The bowl represents the “give and take” principle. According to Buddhism culture, I should give a lot to others and automatically get a lot back at some point. By the way, if you are interested in your personal Buddha, have a look here.

Next: Great local lunch…

For lunch we traditionally had pork with rice and spicy sauce in a small, local restaurant on the street. I still have to get used to the spicy things here – hopefully my taste buds get used this the next months! I will work on it 😉

Ready to refresh – ready to visit the Sai Rung waterfall

Sai Rung / Rainbow waterfall.

Sai Rung / Rainbow waterfall.

Last but not least, we stopped for a nice refreshment at the approximately 60 meter high Rainbow (Sai Rung in Thai) waterfall. In the water pool you can swim a bit. If this is too wet, you can also simply rest on a stone and enjoy the sound of the waterfall.

Another day with many impressions comes to an end – now I will do a round of sports and then it is time for some Vietnamese spring rolls at the Built Market 😊

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