Westrick's Backyard: Exploring the Sai Yok Area

David and I at Phatad Waterfall

We hit the road early the next morning after brekkies and headed north to Phatad Waterfall - it was BEAUTIFUL! Because we are in the middle of the rainy season, there was plenty of water cascading down multiple rocky faces.We hiked around for awhile and then headed for the local hot springs - Hin Dad Hot Springs. When we arrived, we learned that for 40B each ($1.25) we could gain access to a natural hot spring. There were four hot pool areas - three were filled with locals mostly in shorts and t-shirts. The fourth was for monks. The hot pools were situated right next to the rolling river, so once you became too hot in the pool, you could cool off by sitting on the man-made steps on the edge of the river.It was quite refreshing. Besides a couple of Germans, we were the only farangs (foreigners) there. There were a couple of locals running around taking pictures that you could purchase as you exited the hot springs (kind of like a Disneyland ride).When we crossed over the bridge and through the exit, of course we had worked up an appetite and had a delightful time purchasing a variety of edible delicacies from food stalls that lined the exit (what a surprise!).

The beautiful Thai Countryside

Our last stop of the day was to Sai Yok National Park. The park is located along the river, which is lined with houseboats – not like the houseboats many of us might be used to. All sides of the houseboats were open air with no tables or furniture to sit upon. Everyone sat on the floor. There appeared to be one small, enclosed area/room that we assumed was the toilet. Each houseboat had probably 15 – 20 people on it – families and groups of friends. These groups would hire a long tail boat (long narrow boat with a motor on the end) to tow the houseboat to the location of their choosing. The long tail boat looked so fun that we hired one to take us up and down the river to see the four waterfall, the beautiful riverbank and diverse rock formations.
We ended our evening back at our floating hotel room. We booked a couple of massages that came with the room and spent the evening hearing it pour, watching an amazing lightning show and listening to the thunder seemed right outside our room.