Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Khao Lak
Hat Khao Lak is a beach for folks who shun the glitz of Phuket's bigger resort
towns, but still crave comfort, shopping and plenty of facilities. With warm waves to
frolic in, long stretches of golden sand backed by forested hills, and easy day trips
to the Similan and Surin Islands, Khao Sok and Khao Lak/Lam Ru National Parks
or even Phuket, the area is a central base for exploring the North Andaman Coast -
above and below the water.
Tsunami Early Warning System
On the morning of 26 December 2004, an earthquake off the coast of the Indonesian is-
land of Sumatra sent enormous waves crashing against much of Thailand's Andaman
Coast, claiming around 8000 lives and causing millions of dollars of damage to homes
and businesses. In 2005 Thailand officially inaugurated a national disaster warning sys-
tem, which was created in response to the country's lack of preparedness in 2004.
For non-Thai speakers, the centre has installed warning towers along the high-risk
beachfront areas that will broadcast announcements in various languages accompanied
by flashing lights. The
call centre
( 1860)
also handles questions and tips from the
public regarding potential or unfolding disasters.
Activities
Diving or snorkelling day excursions to the Similan and Surin islands are immensely
popular, but if you can, opt for a live-aboard trip. Since the islands are around 60km
from the mainland (about three hours by boat), if you visit on a live-aboard you'll
have a more relaxing trip and experience the islands sans day-trippers. All dive
shops offer live-aboard trips from around 10,000/19,000B for two-/three-day pack-
ages and day trips for 4900B to 6500B.
On these miltiday trips, you'll wake up with the dawn and slink below the ocean's
surface up to four times each day in what's commonly considered to be one of the
top 10 diving realms in the world.
Although geared towards divers, all dive shops welcome snorkellers who can hop
on selected dive excursions or live-aboards for a discount of around 40%; other-
