Khao Lak, Thailand 21.11.25

 Travel day/ Day 1 - Friday/ Saturday -  21.11.25/ 22.11.25.

Due to hurricane Malissa in Jamaica we had to change destination, we chose to go to the other side of the world to Thailand..

Long arse 12 hr flight, got here at 7am Thai time, very overcast and showers, however this did not make any odds to us as is super humid and 26+ degrees, such a lovely hotel, it is our 1 year together anniversary on 24th Nov so even more special, only been here a day and we love it! Rain or shine doesn't make any odds to us ❤️💚.

Once we checked in and got to our room we unpacked, the room was lovely, very spacious, the bed was massive! I needed a taxi to get over to Chris’s side 😂, we had a balcony that overlooked the swimming pool, large bathroom, was just right, we then rested for a couple of hours before going to get some food, the restaurant is different to normal all inclusive as you don't go up to a buffet for lunch and dinner, you order from the menu what you would like, you can do this in the restaurant or to your sunbed which is fab, don't even have to move! I had the lamb rack and Chris had spicy white snapper, we both loved it, the food was just so good.

Once lunch had gone down we had a walk round the complex and local area to get our bearings,  back to hotel for a relaxing dinner, we were lucky to catch some of the entertainment that night which was traditional Thai boxing and a singer.

Day 2 - Sunday - 23.11.25.

First proper full day, we are struggling with the time difference. We were awake pretty much most of last night between 12-4am and had a few hours before making our way down to the pool, overcast still but super hot just chilled out on the beach most of the day.

In the evening we went out for a walk, found the English type bar to watch footie, the 12.30 Sheffield Derby was on so watched that as it was 8.30pm here. Lovely little bar called Moose bar, was only £2.80 a pint.

Day 3 - Monday - 24.11.25.

Not much to report today, overcast but again proper humid, my glasses steam up every time we leave the room. Relaxed most of the day again as jet lag is still making us tired, we did go to Bang Niang Market tonight though to have a look round which was pretty cool and surreal as it's like what you see on the tv shows.

Day 4 - Tuesday - 25.11.25.

Excursion day today is hammering it down today but didn't bother us at all, it's odd as although it's big heavy rain it almost dries on you straight away.

1st stop was the elephant sanctuary.

When we got there we had a walk around, our guide told us some info about the sanctuary, there are 8 elephants, all the elephants are female and range from 1 to 60+ in age. They are all rescued from working on farms or circuses, each elephant has their own carer. We then got to feed them before getting in the water without them scrubbing them down, was one of the best experiences I've ever had. They are just amazing animals, they also loved to squirt you with water which was funny.

2nd stop was the turtle sanctuary.

There were so many, from tiny ones right up to the big massive ones, the biggest ones they can't release due to their injuries they wouldn't survive but otherwise once ready they let them back into their natural habitat once recovered, the sanctuary was at the naval base on the beach which was lovely too as we got to walk down to it.

3rd stop food then bamboo rafting.

We stopped at a lovely little restaurant for some traditional Thai food, we had rice, a chicken noodle soup, chicken with veg in a sauce, battered onion rings and shrimp, was all very tasty, outside the restaurant in the tree we spotted a snake, just a small one and our guide said it wasn't poisonous. After a 2 min drive we reached the raft, we got onto our raft and made our way down the river. We had a guy steering the raft with a bamboo stick,it was really good, we got up some speed in some parts where the water was rushing down.

4th stop Wat Lak Kaen temple.

Really impressive buildings, our guide was brilliant, telling us the history, how it all works in each town/ city, what the rules are for the monks, we really enjoyed the visit.

Last stop was the Khao Lak waterfall.

Not too much here, just a small path down to the waterfall which I didn't go down as it was slippery. I didn't want to hurt myself but Chris went down and had a look.

Back at the hotel and there is a temple fair night tonight, we paid the extra tonight to have the full seafood and meat BBQ night which was totally worth it. The range of food was great, freshly cooked in front of you, you can choose your cut of steak and lamb. Chris tried lobster as well, could literally have anything, even some fried silkworms if you're brave enough which we are not! Whilst you were working your way through all the yummy food there was entertainment, we had traditional Thai music and dancing as well as a fire show on the beach, we had a super long day but was one of the best EVER!!

Day 5 & 6 - Weds/ Thurs - 26.11.25/ 27.11.25.

Couple of relaxing days again before our next excursion on Friday. We spent both days by the pool, sun was out and over 30 degrees, we spent pretty much all day at the pool bar.

In the evening I went out and had a walk round the market whilst Chris was suffering in bed after drinking a few too many long island ice teas. I stopped off and got a tattoo whilst I was out, with a bamboo needle, got a cool sea turtle to remember Thailand by and only cost £28 which was a bonus, of course made sure all needles were new and the shop was clean, had a good talk with the owner as I'd never go anywhere i didn't think was clean. 

Thursday we was in the pool most of the day as it was mega hot 🔥 🥵  before going out in the evening, we ended up having an Italian meal which was nice and just up the road from the hotel, we are both a bit burnt despite constantly topping up the sun lotion, early night ready for our alk day excursion to phi phi island tomorrow.

Day 7 - Friday 29.11.25.

Another early start as we were being picked up from our hotel at 06.15. We did have an hour and 40min taxi ride to Phuket Marina which at that time of the morning was fine, not much traffic so we got there in good time, especially as our boat tour didn’t actually start until 09.30.

We got a free breakfast buffet to choose from before we left, not a massive selection, mostly toast, sandwiches, chicken porridge/rice thing…. Cakes, biscuits, tea, coffee and juice but was good way to start the day. It was packed, 3 or 4 different areas to wait, everyone had a coloured band on to say which group you was in and which boat you needed to be on, was all a bit of organised chaos in the beginning to get to the boat but we got there eventually and was on our way to our 1st stop.

Sea stop 1.

1st stop we stopped our in the seas near Khai island, they lowered the slide so you could go in the sea, normally i’d be right in there but didn’t fancy it as the sea looked pretty strong, although i am a confident swimmer and would have been fine, I preferred to relax with Chris, we went to the front of the boat and had a couple of pics instead and admired the view. 

Khai Island.

2nd stop, Khai island. Lovely white sandy beach with clear waters, some people went out jet skiing but we had a little walk on the beach, grabbed a beer and relaxed. We were here around an hour before we had to get back aboard our boat.

Monkey Bay.

Monkey island was our 3rd stop, it wasn’t one where we got off but had photo opportunities, you could see the monkeys on the side of the cliffs. There were some beautiful views at this stop.

Phi Phi Don Island

Phi Phi Don is an island located in the Krabi Province of Thailand

This was our 4th stop and food time, when we got here we was taken into a large room where they had a buffet, mostly rice, chilli chicken, tandoori chicken, noodles and lots of other food to choose from, we were here about hour and a half, the food was awesome, really really enjoyed it, could have just eaten all day but we was on a time limit so just the 2 plates 😜before again relaxing on the beach waiting to board our boat, the sea was crystal clear and the beach was immaculate, the place is just so clean!

Viking cave.

Viking Cave, also known as Tham Phaya Nak, is a unique and intriguing cave located on the northeastern side of Phi Phi Leh Island in the Phi Phi Islands archipelago of Thailand. We stopped here just for photo opportunity again.

Pileh Lagoon

Pileh Lagoon, also known as Pileh Bay, is a stunning natural lagoon located in the southwestern side of Phi Phi Leh Island, part of the Phi Phi Islands archipelago in Thailand. This was our penultimate stop, such a lovely lagoon, real clear green/blue waters, incredible views and we paid the extra to go on a long boat through the lagoon, this was an extra 4,000 bhat but 100% worth it, we had a good amount of time on the longboat as well, must have been around 45-60 minutes

This was certainly another one of those once in a lifetime experiences that I will never forget!

Maya Bay

Last stop for the day Maya Bay,another beautiful picturesque island, you are however not allowed in the sea in the bay as one, it drops really deep and is dangerous, secondly it is full of black tip sharks, although each of these places are absolutely stunning, I just feel a lot of it is spoilt by the amount of tourist there are (of course us included), it is packed full of people, lots of boats on the beaches and around the scenic areas, though i do very much recommend a visit!

Again back to the boat and on our way back to land, it took around an hour from Maya bay back to Phuket marina,we were kept well hydrated on our trip, always handing out soft drinks along the way.

What an incredible trip once again, when we got back to the marina we viewed a couple of pictures that were taken by the photographer on board before finding our taxi man, was handy was only us going back to Khao Lak so was pretty much a private transfer which was nice, we didn’t have to drop off any other people. Once we got back we were shattered as we had pretty much been out from 6am till 7 pm.

Day 8 to 11 Sat-Tues 29.11.25 to 02.12.25.

Time to relax again now until we have to unfortunately go home, relaxing at the pool bar, few drinks, sun and food, what more could you want.

Saturday night we went out and went round the market again, its just a fab vibe to walk round even if not buying anything. Chris then decided to get his tattoo via bamboo to remember Thailand by.

The hotel has just been amazing, such a great location, very tidy, clean, again picturesque, we would 100% come back one day, we couldn’t find a bad word to say the whole trip.

We even got to see some of their Christmas decorations before we left.

Home time 03.12.25 (Wednesday).

Long 12 hour flight back home, although didn't feel as bad as on the way out, no delays, easy ride home, we had the best time here in Thailand and we are gutted to be going home but onto the next one.. Sofia, Bulgaria for the Christmas Markets next weekend!