Khanom Beach

  

My first weekend in Surat Thani was eventful and pleasant.  After the Walking Street Market on Saturday, Holly I and I headed to Khanom Sunday. In Khanom there is a beach about 45 minutes from my soon to be home. I don't have a lot of words to share about the beach. I think the pictures are enough. These are the ocean views to each side of me (2 above pictures). Notice all the people, beach towels, venders, and chaos. This is about 2pm in the afternoon, Sunday.  This was a peaceful day. I spent most of my day in the salty waves, completely by myself.  If I were to guess, I would say this is a beach more for Thai's.  In which case, if Thai individual were to swim here, they would wait til the sun went down, to protect their skin.  I saw a couple locals down at the beach just before sunset, some distance away.  Thai's don't particularly like the sun, many wear hats.  To swim, it's common to see Thai's just walk into the water with their clothes on. 

The surf was clean, sandy, and with gentle waves.  I saw some fish as I went further out.  I am told that typically I would be able to see Ko Samui (Samui Island) from the beach. However due to the hazy sky, the island wasn't visible.  As I was swimming into the afternoon, I got to thinking, 'hey this is the first time I will swim in SE Asia without being stung by a jellyfish.' Just after I finished that thought, I swiped my hand through the water and caught a plastic bag on my hand. However, this object was more of a jellyfish than a bag.  Luckily it was small and not the stinging-type.  The jellyfish looked looked like a clear cloud, I didn't see any tentacles.  I now wished I would have held on to it longer to get a good look at it.  My first reaction was to get it off my hand, as I am unfamiliar with the good vs not-so-good jellyfish.  Not long after, I caught sight of something peculiar near the shore.  I walked towards one of the biggest jellyfish I have ever seen in person. I found the size of the jellyfish fascinating.  I have seen this type of jellyfish on the Discovery Channel, they are quite a site to see floating in the water.  The little sacks on its side fill up as they float in the water. 

In the evening I was looking forward to spotting some dolphin activity.  I was told that dolphins make there way back to the river at dusk, always traveling together.  They hit the gulf for hunting purposes. and then travel back to the river in the evening.  A local shop owner indicated that the dolphins area seen nearly every night around 5pm.  The Surat Thani coastal area is known for its pink dolphins.  There are only two countries in the world with pink dolphins, Thailand and Brazil.  As for as Thailand, the pink dolphins are only seen in Surat Thani, so I am told.  The color of the dolphins is believed to be related to their diet, rich in shrimp.  Some of the dolphins are all pink, while others have spots of pink on them.  It was unfortunate to succumb to the fact that I wouldn't be seeing dolphins as night hit.  However, all wasn't lost.  I was given one beautiful, quiet sunset that evening.

The food near the beach was good.  There was a small restaurant (CC Beach) on the beach where meals could be ordered. I spent a bit more on the Indian food, it was good but they completely toned down the spice nothing.  I know they did this because I am white.  I am finding that unless I specify, SPICY, Thai's assume I cannot handle the heat.  I was very surprise with the Tikka masala, as it is known to be a spicy Indian meal, had no spice. As for the dish, it was good but needed some spicy Indian flare, like real tikka. This was probably the most expensive meal I have ordered the whole time I have been in Asia. I am a sucker for Indian food, cost 260 baht.  The chapati however, was great. Chapati is an Indian flat bread, slightly thicker than a tortilla.

Cashew chicken with chillies, carrots, peppers. 80 B.

Chicken tikka masala with chapati, coriander sauce, yogurt sauce - Indian cuisine. Cost, 60 baht.

When I arrived back to Surat Thani, I had ordered 'take away,' meaning the food is to be taken 'to-go.'  This quaint restaurant might be a favorite of mine in the area.  The lady that works there has several silver pots with various curries.  The tables each have their pickled greens and other fresh vegetables to add to the dishes.  I am going to say that was one of my best take-out experiences. All food items are bagged up.  I ordered the spicy green curry with Thai noodles (white rice noodle). Cost, 35 baht! 

I got definitely got my moneys worth. Also, I received a lovely bouquet of Thai basil with my order. I was flattered. Thai basil is nothing like sweet basil that we get in the US. This basic has a non-basil-like taste, it's full of refreshing flavor and goes well with curries or sticky rice, in my opinion.  The great think about Thai basil is that it keeps well refrigerated and also can be replanted as is.  To replant, the stem is simply placed in the soil.  I am told that one does not need to put the stem in water to start roots.