Khao Lak is a much much more laid back part of the tourists zones that we have been to.  The area is really a zone of about a half-dozen long beaches spread out along a 20 mile stretch of coastline.   Different than most of the other beach areas we have been to, the main road (and therefore the town) does not go right along the beach – and in some places is about a kilometer away from the coast.   This means that most of the hotels are more ‘resort’ style and away from the bustle of the town, and creates a much more relaxing atmosphere.

We spend our first couple of days here doing just that – relaxing.  The hotel we are staying at is right on the beach and there are lounge chairs set out right on the sand where you can sit back under the shade of a palm tree and listen to the surf roll in and out.  There is also a nice large pool in the center of a large courtyard, and between the beach and the pool we are able to just lounge about and enjoy the tranquility of this place.

Because this is the low season, and it seems to be even slower here than other places we have been, there are very few other tourists around, and at times it feels like you have miles of beach all to yourself.  We discover a nice spot at one end of the beach we are on, and the kids spend a few hours just playing in the sand, writing messages, and splashing about.

For our third day here we decide to venture out past our hotel and go into the town area and check out some of the shops, another beach area, and one of the local markets.

Our first stop is at the Tsunami Museum and the patrol boat.  Thailand was hit by a large tsunami on Dec 26, 2004 at about 10:30 in the morning.  Khao Lak was one of the hardest hit areas of the country with about 80% of the casualties in Thailand coming from this area, and more than any of the other places we have been there are reminders all around of the events of that day.

One of the largest remnants is a large patrol boat that was washed ashore by the wave.  The boat was on patrol about 1/2 kilometer offshore when the wave hit, and it’s final resting place is about 1.5 kilometers inland from the beach.  The boat itself has a 6 foot displacement, so at the place where it now rests the wave had to be at least 6 feet high!!

All around this area are blue posts set into the ground warning of the tsunami zone, and also marking the estimated height of the wave at any given point.  The one pictured here is several hundred feet from the beach (you can see the water in the distance) and the height is marked at 5 meters (about 17 feet) – and at this point the drop down to the beach is also about another 3-4 meters.  It is staggering to think about a wall of water 3 stories tall moving directly at you, and it is hard to not look around you and think of the tragedy of that day.

After all that it is off for some shopping.  We do the usual browsing in the various vendor shops, and then take some time to go into the big street market that is here.  The market runs 3 days a week and Mrs. Columbus and the girls are rubbing their hands together with visions of bargains to be found….  We get to the market and discover that rather than a tourist market full of trinkets for sale it is actually more of a local market where the locals in the area would come to buy their goods, fresh meats and vegetables, or perhaps an afternoon meal.  We did try out a couple of items from one of the stalls, but after walking down the fresh meat aisle, it was hard to convince anyone to try some of the roasted treats 🙂

Back to the hotel for a refreshing dip in the pool, and then off to Jo Seafood Restaurant just down the beach for another great dinner.