My Attempt To Walk To Freedom Beach

[phuketrex]

Common knowledge that the people who like to control Freedom Beach as if they owned it and not the King make it very difficult for visitors to get there other than an expensive ride for a few minutes by longtail.

So I decided to try and walk to it today using a trail that starts between TriTrang Beach and the Merlin Beach Resort>>>

It runs down to the coast and then the idea was to scramble over the rocks around the headland to the beach. I've walked the trail many times before and until a few months ago it was a lush green picturesque nature trail with some lagoons with storks and cranes in them...lots of lizards scurrying about...the occasional snake...birds of prey soaring overhead...and what I think were sounds of monkeys up in the trees...

...now look at it :-( It is being heavily scraped of all the vegetation and the trees are coming down and it now looks like something out of a disaster movie...

...it's a huge area too. I suppose this is the prelim to some resort complex going there...

[phuketrex]

...here's where the trail comes out at the coast...Freedom Beach off to the left around a headland...

So I started climbing over the rocks...

...and got to this point...

...when one of my trainers decided to disintegrate big time...

...so with the finish line in sight I had to stop and struggle back up the trail to my bike dragging one foot behind me.

[phuketrex]

...this is off to one side of the track too...another huge area of land raped...

I'll make another attempt soon...maybe try the track that starts near the elephant trek near Safari Pub but last time I came up against a very high wall with a locked metal gate half way along it...but has anyone successfully made it to Freedom Beach over land in recent times?

[hkt83100]

but has anyone successfully made it to Freedom Beach over land in recent times?

Yes, I did.

But I advise against going the Safari Pub way, because you will pass a house with very friendly people, but they get a lot of trouble from the 'beach owners', because they let (in the past) people cross their land on the way to this beach.

For the sake of this family, please forget about it.

[ScubaBuddha]

but has anyone successfully made it to Freedom Beach over land in recent times?

Yes, I did.

But I advise against going the Safari Pub way, because you will pass a house with very friendly people, but they get a lot of trouble from the 'beach owners', because they let (in the past) people cross their land on the way to this beach.

For the sake of this family, please forget about it.

That is wrong in so many ways. The greed exhibited by Thai's on this island is at times staggering. "beach owners"'? Funny, and here I thought HM lived in Bangkok.

[WOOHOO]

I enjoyed that post, cheers. Not enough threads with photos as far as I'm concerned. It reminded me of the ride reports you get on motorbike forums. Love the picture of the trainer, are you going to try and repair it?

[hkt83100]

Quoting your JustSayNo...

Well, just say Nono to Longtails like to Tuk-Tuks, don't use them. Basta. But does it make sense to create problems for a poor family just because you don't like the Longtail-nose? If you don't want to pay for the boat to the beach, just go to Bang-Tao or Nai-Yang, nice places, too. Just don't get too excited. (Chai-yen-yen falang)

[ALFREDO]

I was once with the Motobike down at Freedom Beach, 1990 or 1991 ?

There used to be a way up the mountain to the right on the way to Karon and friendly opened a gate for me and I went for a Coke to the Freedom.

Some years later in Summer, Freedom beach was closed to customers, I tried to come with a waterscooter to the beach.

I saw no people, but guarddogs let me stop trying to set foot on the beach.

Yeah the good old times!

Can somebody say how is the situation on other hidden beaches, the -Hingkway- Banana Beach south of Naithon B. (By the way Naithon B. is one of the last nice less crowded beaches)

Hingkwak B. which is since long time fenced, but has a beach Rest. And rents chairs and umbrellas.

Or the -Nuy Beach- south of the Viewpointhill-near Kata-Kataneu B. Only reachable by land on a bad road-so it was.

Who has been more than once in the news for unfriendly incidents and the land owner charged good money for passing threw his land to reach the beach?

Thanks.

[phuketrex]

I enjoyed that post, cheers. Not enough threads with photos as far as I'm concerned. It reminded me of the ride reports you get on motorbike forums. Love the picture of the trainer, are you going to try and repair it?

I've posted a load of "road trip" round Phuket videos on Youtube. Not allowed to post a link here so if you look at this one then click on phuketrex you will see all the others listed>>>

[phuketrex]

Banana Beach is still very easy to get to and in my Top 5 favourites on Phuket. Just park your bike above it and walk down the steep path. Here's a pic of mine from last year in high season>>>

...and in low season had it all to myself>>>

There is a very long thread on another forum with lots of pics of most of Phukets' beaches but again no links allowed :-(

Edited March 12, 2010 by phuketrex

[Ping]

Slightly off topic, but I recall that a BM posted early last year about being made to either pay or leave when he went to Paradise Beach. I think I may have commented that this had never happened to me in many years of going there, but lo and behold, 3 or 4 months ago I decided to make a visit there and have a meal at the restaurant (prices and food are quite reasonable, esp considering the location).

I'd barely got out of my car when a bloke (Thai, obviously) approached me about a beach chair. I told him I didn't want one, and before I could say anything else, he told me I had to leave. Rather than explain I was only there for a meal in a pleasant location, I thought 'Up yours too, Somchai' and left. They can now count on one less customer permanently (the food's not all that great, after all). I have noticed that Paradise Beach has become increasinlgy more popular as the improvements to the road have been made, so they can obviously now afford to be more about chasing the baht without being too concerned about losing the occasional customer. They used to be so friendly there years ago...

[phuketrex]

That was me. Had the treat like sh1t treatment from the restaurant/landowner. After 3 of us ate and spent 600baht or so in his restaurant we went down onto the beach and stripped off for a swim. He came running over demanding we pay 100 baht each for beach chairs that we didn't want...we just wanted a swim. We had a right argument with him trying to point out to him that we had just spent money paying his exorbitant prices in his restaurant...one of the few Thai restaurants I know that adds service charges on to the bill...and that he did not own the beach and we could do what we liked on it. He kept on saying the restaurant was seperate from the beach and we had to pay for chairs.

After about 5 minutes he gave up...but then his wife? came and took over and started having a go too. We just ignored her and went into the sea for half an hour fearful though that our bikes would be tampered with but all was ok with them when we left. While we in the water saw them make the same demands to a woman who walked onto the beach and sat on a towel near the waters' edge.

Never been back since.

Edited March 13, 2010 by phuketrex

[phuketrex]

The "track" that starts near the Safari Pub is no longer a track...it's a wide graded road that runs for 2kms through the hills above Freedom Beach and comes out between TriTrang and the Merlin. Someone is expecting some serious development to go on there in the next few years>>>

The gate blocking access down to the beach>>>

[phuketrex]

Here's the full length of the new road>>>

South Patong new road behind Le Meridien and Freedom Beach

This is a new road cut through the hills...around 2kms long starting from opposite the Elephant trekking site near the Safari Pub going behind Le Meridien Resort and Freedom Beach and coming out between Tri Trang Beach and Patong Beach. Note the only traffic was one heffelump on his way home after a days work humping tourists around and a pickup truck parked in the middle of the road. Within 2 or 3 years probably be lined with guesthouses/7-11s and beauty salons!

Bit bumpy in places as it's not tarmaced and is still down to a single car width about halfway along around the cliff edge.

[tonglen]

Great post, very cool. This is a great place for adventure - the kind of adventure apart from taking the 4233 after dark. Thats a very different kind of adventure.

Your travels remind me of a poem by Robert Frost.....

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,And sorry I could not travel bothAnd be one traveler, long I stoodAnd looked down one as far as I couldTo where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair,And having perhaps the better claim,Because it was grassy and wanted wear;Though as for that the passing thereHad worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally layIn leaves no step had trodden black.Oh, I kept the first for another day!Yet knowing how way leads on to way,I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sighSomewhere ages and ages hence:<A name=17>Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by,And that has made all the difference.

[tonglen]

Great post, very cool. This is a great place for adventure - the kind of adventure apart from taking the 4233 after dark. Thats a very different kind of adventure.

Your travels remind me of a poem by Robert Frost.....

Sorry for the really messed poem post I thought it would turn better. dam_n copy and paste!

[tonglen]

Slightly off topic, but I recall that a BM posted early last year about being made to either pay or leave when he went to Paradise Beach. I think I may have commented that this had never happened to me in many years of going there, but lo and behold, 3 or 4 months ago I decided to make a visit there and have a meal at the restaurant (prices and food are quite reasonable, esp considering the location).

I'd barely got out of my car when a bloke (Thai, obviously) approached me about a beach chair. I told him I didn't want one, and before I could say anything else, he told me I had to leave. Rather than explain I was only there for a meal in a pleasant location, I thought 'Up yours too, Somchai' and left. They can now count on one less customer permanently (the food's not all that great, after all). I have noticed that Paradise Beach has become increasinlgy more popular as the improvements to the road have been made, so they can obviously now afford to be more about chasing the baht without being too concerned about losing the occasional customer. They used to be so friendly there years ago...

Experienced similar happenings at Freedom and Paradise beach. Depends on who's there, I suppose.

[hkt83100]

Here's the full length of the new road>>>

I went this road to chase a sunset last month, here are two samples of the outcome. (I love my new Pentax K-x).