Less than two hours from Phuket, a true Thai beach paradise can be found

Is the holiday romance a myth? I’d always thought so until my trip to Thailand and Khao Lak, which has a reputation for being a family-friendly beach destination where everyone is tucked up in bed by 9pm.

The object of my affection is not the most svelte of creatures. Weighing in at around 2200 kilograms, Thungthong is statuesque, to put in mildly. With tough wrinkly skin and massive feet, she is not exactly the girl of my dreams. Until, that is, I heard her sweet, high-pitched laugh.

“Happy, happy, happy,” shouts Mr Tee, her attentive handler, or mahout. On this signal, Thungthong lets out a giggle of delight. I am smitten.

As you have probably guessed, the object of my affections is a five-year-old Asian elephant. Rescued from the mean streets of Bangkok, Thungthong is now a resident at the Khao Lak Elephant Home, where her daily routine consists of going for gentle walks, taking leisurely mud baths and eating huge quantities of bananas.

“More bananas, more bananas,” instructs Mr Tee as we funnel handfuls of the fruit into her mouth; her tongue is soft, pink, and dripping with saliva. After each mouthful, Thungthong swishes her trunk.

According to her profile on the company website, this “cheerful and spirited” creature has a mania for bananas, getting through about 200 kilograms a day.

Her other great passion is rolling around in a mud bath followed by a bit of gentle massage, and then an obligatory photo session. Each experience is punctuated by a little whimper of delight – like the whoop of a peacock. As I rub mud into her forehead, I am shocked to discover a large but contented eye looking up at me. I feel like Dr Dolittle trying to talk “elephant” for the first time. But is she listening?

The answer comes a few minutes later, when Thungthong rises to her feet, inhales a large quantity of muddy water and promptly drenches my wife and me with her surprisingly agile trunk. It is her party piece, and she follows up with another high-pitched scream of pleasure.

“Happy, happy, happy,” choruses Mr Tee. As are we.

Walk on the wild side

Like the majority of things we do on this trip, our excursion to the elephant home, a 40-minute drive north of Khao Lak township, is a personal recommendation from Mr Por, our softly spoken driver.

One of his many cousins manages the elephant sanctuary, and Mr Por naturally organises our tickets and refreshments and acts as our official photographer for the morning.

Mr Por is everything you might wish for in a local guide – punctual, reliable and never pushy. Our trust in him was amply rewarded.

Having witnessed first-hand the 2004 tsunami that devastated this entire stretch of coastline, Mr Por has a profound sense of his own luck in having survived and, I sense, a quiet pride in the way his community managed to rebuild its fortunes.

“I was down near the beach when the wave came,” he tells me. “I stood and watched the ocean disappear, but some older men shouted at me to run to higher ground. So I went quickly. They saved my life.”

The physical scars of that terrible day, which claimed more than 5000 lives here, have long healed, but several parks, museums and memorials keep their memory alive. The most poignant is the wreck of a naval patrol boat now marooned hundreds of metres inland, quietly rotting in the tropical sun.

For the younger crowd, the appeal of Phuket, 107 kilometres to the south, is understandable, but Khao Lak is ideal for some gentle outdoor adventure, clean beaches and authentic Thai cuisine.

A highlight of our 10-day trip is bamboo rafting on the Phang Nga River, a whitewater experience that begins in a leisurely fashion but delivers plenty of thrills and spills along the way.

The simple flat-bottomed craft, fashioned from long bamboo poles, offers no protection from the elements. It is the rainy season, so we get drenched, but there is a delicious hot lunch (and an ice-cold beer) waiting for us at rafting HQ.

Once again, Mr Por has arranged everything, from the tickets to our paddle master, who manoeuvres the craft expertly through the rapids.

Thai families watch us from their riverfront shacks – waving and shouting through sheets of rain. Then we spot a large snake dangling from the jungle canopy above our heads. Luckily, the river sweeps us downstream before it wakes up. Who said Khao Lak didn’t have a wild side?

A Taste of Old Siam

Staying at a self-contained resort, such as the impeccable JW Marriott Khao Lak, it’s tempting to spend the entire holiday around the pool, taking massages or just lazing around, but it’s worth exploring the wider Phang Nga province, which has some of the country’s best national parks and several offshore islands popular with snorkellers.

During the wet season, Surin and Similan islands are closed to visitors, so we content ourselves with exploring the hinterland, which is a rural idyll that seems to belong to a much gentler age – unlike the area around Khao Lak township, which has been largely rebuilt over the past 20 years.

The new coastal settlement is a charmless place with a few mediocre restaurants and souvenir shops, but the night markets are entertaining and there’s plenty of street food for hungry shoppers.

For a taste of traditional Thai culture, venture out to Takua Pa Old Town, 27 kilometres from Khao Lak, where you have a ramshackle Old Town full of mildewed shop houses, tiny bars, empty lots and a bustling street market held each Sunday afternoon.

Dating back to the 14th century, the township began life as an international trading port, attracting Arabian and European merchants. The discovery of tin brought a new influx of settlers – and its distinctive Sino-Portuguese architecture dates from this period.

While the Sunday market does attract a good number of tourists, the town still feels like a hidden gem or, perhaps, an abandoned film set. Traders do a brisk trade hawking hot snacks, sweets and fresh juices, but there’s a gentle pace to life in Takua Pa, which retains a laid-back cosmopolitan atmosphere; it would be worth returning for a mid-week tour.

Sadly, we need to summon Mr Por for the return trip to Khao Lak township where we’d reserved tickets for an evening of Muay Thai boxing. The purpose-built stadium is already heaving with people by the time we arrive, but I am shocked to see boys as young as nine climbing into the ring.

Known as the “art of eight limbs”, Muay Thai is the country’s official national martial art, but tonight’s crowd is largely Western and, like me, looking a little underwhelmed by the spectacle, which is noisy and highly choreographed. Anyone expecting a good old biff will be disappointed.

Amid the cacophony in the stadium, my thoughts drift back to our time at Takua Pa Old Town, which is a beautiful antidote to modern Thailand, a nation so focused on development and prosperity.

With its crumbling facades, Hindu temples, spice warehouses and abandoned tin workings, the town will soon be swallowed up by the surrounding farms and rubber plantations. But for now, it drifts enigmatically along, as though trapped in a different age.

THE DETAILS

TOURS
The 45-minute elephant bathing experience at Khao Lak Elephant Home costs THB1800 ($86). Visitors can also help to prepare food and feed the elephants. See khaolakelephanthome.com
Bamboo Rafting Adventure offers combined rafting, jungle walks and lunch from THB2500 ($119). See [email protected]

STAY
JW Marriott Khao Lak Resort & Spa has deluxe lagoon pool access rooms from $199 night. 41/12 Moo 3 Khuk Khak, Takua Pa District, Phang Nga, Thailand. See marriott.com

FLY
Thai Airways flies direct from Perth, Melbourne and Sydney to Phuket. See thaiairways.com

The writer travelled at his own expense.