What to do in Phang-Na ?

[recom273]

I rode down from Chumporn to Songkhla in a few months back, and I suggested to the wife we shoot up to Phang-Na over the forthcoming bank holiday.

Does anyone have any ideas of essential attractions to visit ? A visit to a waterfall, cave, temple, beach, a ride to the top of a mountain, a must-visit-restaurant and a good evening market to catch the local specialities would be ideal. She found an OK bungalow resort just out of town.

Thanks in anticipation.

[Seligne2]

You are talking about Phang Nga, the town? Or the province?

[South]

I lived there years ago, my favourite province -

1. Phangnga Bay is a must if you haven't done it. Organise an early (miss the hordes from Phuket/Krabi) boat from the MT Hotel (great name for a hotel!) and do the mangroves, Ko Panyee, Koh Hong and Ko Tapu (007 island). No beaches to speak of on the east side, only mangroves. Best beaches on the west coast north/south of Khao Lak.

2. Wat Tham Pung Chang temple. A deep walk through the bowels of the mountain. One minute you are on all fours, then in a huge cathedral and bamboo rafting. Found at the entrance to Phangnga Town coming from Phuket. There is also another temple not far away on the 'high' road, Heaven and Hell Temple which is also quite unique.

3. A few nice restaurants by the river. (Phangnga Town)

4. Head out of west out of town and take the 4090 towards Khao Lak. Beautiful scenery and make a little detour through Kapong. Quite high roads but be careful, they also have some tight bends.

5. There was another place (can't remember the name of it) just a kilometre or so down the 4090 across a bridge. Take the right turn there and follow it the end.

Ride safe and enjoy.

[recom273]

You are talking about Phang Nga, the town? Or the province?

Well .. The town in the province, doesn't really matter too much, we have an big enough bike to munch through the km's well capable of gravel tracks, but I doubt we want to go as far up as khao Lak in this adventure.

Edited July 12, 2015 by recom273

[recom273]

I lived there years ago, my favourite province -

1. Phangnga Bay is a must if you haven't done it. Organise an early (miss the hordes from Phuket/Krabi) boat from the MT Hotel (great name for a hotel!) and do the mangroves, Ko Panyee, Koh Hong and Ko Tapu (007 island). No beaches to speak of on the east side, only mangroves. Best beaches on the west coast north/south of Khao Lak.

2. Wat Tham Pung Chang temple. A deep walk through the bowels of the mountain. One minute you are on all fours, then in a huge cathedral and bamboo rafting. Found at the entrance to Phangnga Town coming from Phuket. There is also another temple not far away on the 'high' road, Heaven and Hell Temple which is also quite unique.

3. A few nice restaurants by the river. (Phangnga Town)

4. Head out of west out of town and take the 4090 towards Khao Lak. Beautiful scenery and make a little detour through Kapong. Quite high roads but be careful, they also have some tight bends.

5. There was another place (can't remember the name of it) just a kilometre or so down the 4090 across a bridge. Take the right turn there and follow it the end.

Ride safe and enjoy.

Wicked .. Thanks for the info! .. We have done Ha-Long bay and Ninh Binh in VN along with the Trang/Krabi islands (emerald cave), I showed her pics of the bay and she said she wasn't impressed.

The temple sounds awesome .. I know the road from Kapong !! Thats one of the reasons I'm heading back !

Whoa - heaven and hell temple looks way trippy.

5. There was another place (can't remember the name of it) just a kilometre or so down the 4090 across a bridge. Take the right turn there and follow it the end.

Can you enlighten me, sounds interesting. What am i looking for ?

I also found something on the GPS, something like, the highest point in the area, but I can't seem to find it again.

[Pinot]

I like going to the market on Fridays. Probably another day too, I don't know. Nice place to visit.

[Remi080]

What the H@ll your doing there, get out of there! Run!!

[UKJASE]

the journey on that relatively new road from just south of surat thani, across to krabi / phang na way would be a nice trip on the bike too. new road, bump free (really!!), not much traffic and very scenic. Not much gasoline stops if remember right, so fill up surat way. we did it last year in the car and it was a pleasure to drive on.

it will be a fun trip man - we really like it down there too. there is a good back packer / young drinkers scene too in the town, with loads of bars and western eateries

[phuketsub]

You are talking about Phang Nga, the town? Or the province?

I rode down from Chumporn to Songkhla in a few months back, and I suggested to the wife we shoot up to Phang-Na over the forthcoming bank holiday.

Does anyone have any ideas of essential attractions to visit ? A visit to a waterfall, cave, temple, beach, a ride to the top of a mountain, a must-visit-restaurant and a good evening market to catch the local specialities would be ideal. She found an OK bungalow resort just out of town.

Thanks in anticipation.[/quot

Takuapa Town and the surroundings are on of my favorite parts of Thailand. Perfect for a bike tour with just one caveat: it is monsoon season now and Phang Nga gets hammered. ..

[fiddlehead]

the journey on that relatively new road from just south of surat thani, across to krabi / phang na way would be a nice trip on the bike too. new road, bump free (really!!), not much traffic and very scenic. Not much gasoline stops if remember right, so fill up surat way. we did it last year in the car and it was a pleasure to drive on.

it will be a fun trip man - we really like it down there too. there is a good back packer / young drinkers scene too in the town, with loads of bars and western eateries

I'm missing something then.

I spent a night in Phang Na town about a month ago.

I was alone so, looking for something to do at night.

I drove around that town 3 times and saw nothing worth stopping at.

Yes, there were 1 or 2 Thai style karaoke bars with one or two girls and I found one bar that claimed they were farang friendly and advertised how good their coffee was. (it was instant Nescafe)

The bar was empty.

So, maybe you are talking about another town.

But Phang Na seemed dead as could be for such a lovely town and their beautiful surroundings.

[Remi080]

Whaha !!! @fiddlehead.

Sounds like a fun trip, i like your post specialy about that coffee.

I had this kind of coffee couple of times to, so yeah, quite funny. I was there to for 1 night, all dead there, next week i go try out hua hin, Cha Am, was very dead to, but i stayed at some quality resort, so that was very nice, but the province itself is ....boring.

I had good times in Rayong, right in the city, one long street of disco's , clubs, bars and restaurants, not to far from the bangkok hospital where i ended up cause of knoked myself out, toilet door stuck at some club, with my drunk head try to open it with some force, wham slam it open right in the face.

Great people, and support, no spoiled place filled with foreigners and bar girls, you should try it once, i will join you.

[recom273]

Takuapa Town and the surroundings are on of my favorite parts of Thailand. Perfect for a bike tour with just one caveat: it is monsoon season now and Phang Nga gets hammered. ..

That looks great mate !

I don't think I want to travel that far tho'

If I went that far I would head back past Cheiw larn and back down the opposite coast from Nakhon, thats a long trip and will keep for another day.

Rainy season - pah! We aren't afraid, it's hardly started ( ask me that after next weekend )

Edited July 25, 2015 by recom273

[taninthai]

if your coming from chumpon you be better taking the 401 of the 41 across and past koh sok national park then down through khao lak into phang na,if you drive all the way downthe 41 to highway 44 and use that to cut across its a pretty boring long straight road,the other route is a lot more interesting for bikes.

[Rhys]

^{The amphur muang is nice... very little tourism..}

[phuketsub]

if your coming from chumpon you be better taking the 401 of the 41 across and past koh sok national park then down through khao lak into phang na,if you drive all the way downthe 41 to highway 44 and use that to cut across its a pretty boring long straight road,the other route is a lot more interesting for bikes.

Highway 44 is the weirdest road I've ever driven in Thailand, by far.

I don't believe in ghosts, but it nevertheless is very creepy.

[taninthai]

if your coming from chumpon you be better taking the 401 of the 41 across and past koh sok national park then down through khao lak into phang na,if you drive all the way downthe 41 to highway 44 and use that to cut across its a pretty boring long straight road,the other route is a lot more interesting for bikes.

Highway 44 is the weirdest road I've ever driven in Thailand, by far.

I don't believe in ghosts, but it nevertheless is very creepy.

i love driving it in the car ,but its a little boring on a bike .......its an interesting road it has its own wiki page .you know the huge gap between the two on coming carriageways was originally left so far apart as there was plans to build a railway track linking krabi to surathanni.

[recom273]

if your coming from chumpon you be better taking the 401 of the 41 across and past koh sok national park then down through khao lak into phang na,if you drive all the way downthe 41 to highway 44 and use that to cut across its a pretty boring long straight road,the other route is a lot more interesting for bikes.

Agreed - the 401 is a cool road, especially on the run up to the dam turning. We have done it before - but we are coming up from our house in Songkhla province.

[UKJASE]

the journey on that relatively new road from just south of surat thani, across to krabi / phang na way would be a nice trip on the bike too. new road, bump free (really!!), not much traffic and very scenic. Not much gasoline stops if remember right, so fill up surat way. we did it last year in the car and it was a pleasure to drive on.

it will be a fun trip man - we really like it down there too. there is a good back packer / young drinkers scene too in the town, with loads of bars and western eateries

I'm missing something then.

I spent a night in Phang Na town about a month ago.

I was alone so, looking for something to do at night.

I drove around that town 3 times and saw nothing worth stopping at.

Yes, there were 1 or 2 Thai style karaoke bars with one or two girls and I found one bar that claimed they were farang friendly and advertised how good their coffee was. (it was instant Nescafe)

The bar was empty.

So, maybe you are talking about another town.

But Phang Na seemed dead as could be for such a lovely town and their beautiful surroundings.

sorry man - my mistake - i wasnt talking about phang nga being a good town, i meant Ao Nang..... not far from phang nga i remember (erm...... same province)

and definitely a lot more to do than phang nga

doh

[South]

the journey on that relatively new road from just south of surat thani, across to krabi / phang na way would be a nice trip on the bike too. new road, bump free (really!!), not much traffic and very scenic. Not much gasoline stops if remember right, so fill up surat way. we did it last year in the car and it was a pleasure to drive on.

it will be a fun trip man - we really like it down there too. there is a good back packer / young drinkers scene too in the town, with loads of bars and western eateries

I'm missing something then.

I spent a night in Phang Na town about a month ago.

I was alone so, looking for something to do at night.

I drove around that town 3 times and saw nothing worth stopping at.

Yes, there were 1 or 2 Thai style karaoke bars with one or two girls and I found one bar that claimed they were farang friendly and advertised how good their coffee was. (it was instant Nescafe)

The bar was empty.

So, maybe you are talking about another town.

But Phang Na seemed dead as could be for such a lovely town and their beautiful surroundings.

sorry man - my mistake - i wasnt talking about phang nga being a good town, i meant Ao Nang..... not far from phang nga i remember (erm...... same province)

and definitely a lot more to do than phang nga

doh

Phangnga - Phangnga Province

Aunang - Krabi Province

An hour apart

[recom273]

2. Wat Tham Pung Chang temple. A deep walk through the bowels of the mountain. One minute you are on all fours, then in a huge cathedral and bamboo rafting. Found at the entrance to Phangnga Town coming from Phuket. There is also another temple not far away on the 'high' road, Heaven and Hell Temple which is also quite unique.

Owww .. Sign of the times.

We arrived at 3.00 PM there was 6 Chinese tour buses in the car park so we went for a walk, and watched the boats load up.

The bamboo rafts have been upgraded to yellow inflatables, my wife enquired on the price - 200b for 75 mins. No jungle left, just a concrete path.

We returned the next day, planning to arrive before the tour buses - 10 boatmen were sitting around - the price had gone up over night, 500b for the 'farang' ..

I turned away and got back on the bike.

We enjoyed a beautiful run out at first light on a motor long tail at Thale Noi, 500b per boat upto 4 people. Tham Khao Kop in Trang province will scare the crap out of you, being dragged through the cave by 2 guys with the roof 2" away from your nose, 300b per person, local or western.

... Nothing more to say, that hasn't been said before .. Greed, pure greed

[South]

2. Wat Tham Pung Chang temple. A deep walk through the bowels of the mountain. One minute you are on all fours, then in a huge cathedral and bamboo rafting. Found at the entrance to Phangnga Town coming from Phuket. There is also another temple not far away on the 'high' road, Heaven and Hell Temple which is also quite unique.

Owww .. Sign of the times.

We arrived at 3.00 PM there was 6 Chinese tour buses in the car park so we went for a walk, and watched the boats load up.

The bamboo rafts have been upgraded to yellow inflatables, my wife enquired on the price - 200b for 75 mins. No jungle left, just a concrete path.

We returned the next day, planning to arrive before the tour buses - 10 boatmen were sitting around - the price had gone up over night, 500b for the 'farang' ..

I turned away and got back on the bike.

We enjoyed a beautiful run out at first light on a motor long tail at Thale Noi, 500b per boat upto 4 people. Tham Khao Kop in Trang province will scare the crap out of you, being dragged through the cave by 2 guys with the roof 2" away from your nose, 300b per person, local or western.

... Nothing more to say, that hasn't been said before .. Greed, pure greed

Doesn't sound good. Used to be a pickup ride round to the back of the mountain, drop down into a small hole and then you literally made your way through the mountain eventually emerging where the temple is .... was free if I remember correctly with just a 'tip' for the guide.

[recom273]

2. Wat Tham Pung Chang temple. A deep walk through the bowels of the mountain. One minute you are on all fours, then in a huge cathedral and bamboo rafting. Found at the entrance to Phangnga Town coming from Phuket. There is also another temple not far away on the 'high' road, Heaven and Hell Temple which is also quite unique.

Owww .. Sign of the times.

We arrived at 3.00 PM there was 6 Chinese tour buses in the car park so we went for a walk, and watched the boats load up.

The bamboo rafts have been upgraded to yellow inflatables, my wife enquired on the price - 200b for 75 mins. No jungle left, just a concrete path.

We returned the next day, planning to arrive before the tour buses - 10 boatmen were sitting around - the price had gone up over night, 500b for the 'farang' ..

I turned away and got back on the bike.

We enjoyed a beautiful run out at first light on a motor long tail at Thale Noi, 500b per boat upto 4 people. Tham Khao Kop in Trang province will scare the crap out of you, being dragged through the cave by 2 guys with the roof 2" away from your nose, 300b per person, local or western.

... Nothing more to say, that hasn't been said before .. Greed, pure greed

Doesn't sound good. Used to be a pickup ride round to the back of the mountain, drop down into a small hole and then you literally made your way through the mountain eventually emerging where the temple is .... was free if I remember correctly with just a 'tip' for the guide.

Like I say, sign of the times - but thanks for the tips, we had an eventful weekend. I love the roads running up past Kapong, just to ride the roads makes such a nice change.

The place I was thinking of was, Khao Kai Nui. N8° 33.577' E98° 17.692'

We set off at 5.00 to catch the sunrise, and came a little unstuck, I didn't realise how bad the road was .. I took a tumble on the bike , while the missus was hiking up.

A guy who lives at the top of the mountain helped upright the bike, gave the missus a lift and made sure I got to a safe place.

When we got to the top you look out over the andaman on one side and the 'talay mok' on the other.

The guy operates a basic homestay operation on top of the mountain, tents, shuttle service.

When we got to the top there was a few big 4WD pickups that made it up to the top, heavy adventure bikes didnt stand a chance on that day, but I know people who have made it during the dry season. If anyone needs a number, PM me. He really helped us out, and I really had to force him to take 100B.