Experience canal-side living at Chumphon’s Bang Son community
Easily accessible from Bangkok with its own
airport, Chumphon is a popular seaside province overlooking the Gulf of
Thailand. It gets its fair share of visitors each year who come to enjoy the
beaches and slower pace of life – although most use it as a gateway to travel
on further by boat to the nearby islands of Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao.
However, this “One Night Stay with Locals” trip
lets you get a taste of true Chumphon while avoiding the crowds that flock to
the islands. Your homestay for the night is just a short drive to the south
from the airport, located in the province’s Bang Son community. In fact, you’ll
be staying next to the community’s namesake ‘khlong’, in Thai meaning ‘canal’, which forms a pretty stretch of
water covered by greenery on each side and plenty of hidden ‘beaches’ to be
discovered along its banks. As the khlong links to the nearby sea, the waters
are full of fresh seafood – which you can enjoy trying to catch and eat as much
of it as you like!
Upon arrival, your first adventures are on land
– rather than on the water – as you travel up Dinso Mountain to spot the
migrating falcons. At a nearby temple, there’s the chance to pay respect to the
local monks. At the ‘crab pawn shop’ you can give a helping in hand to some of
the crabs trying return to their home, too.
Back to base, and it’s time to hit the water for
one of this trip’s “Extraordinary Experiences”. The evening activity involves
being towed on a raft behind a fisherman’s boat along Khlong Bang Son. Think of
it as a dinner cruise ‘canal-style’ as you tuck into an impressive seafood
buffet with fresh crab, squid, shrimps, shrimp paste and other Bang Son
delicacies. The two-hour trip takes you to the mouth of the bay and back again,
with fireflies able to be seen on the way back as dusk falls.
If dinner cruises aren’t your thing, this visit
to Bang Son also has other options in terms of trip itineraries. You can also
opt to choose Program 2, which focuses more on community activities, such as
learning about local cooking methods and seeing the nature of the mangrove
forest. Another option is Program 3, which starts much earlier in the day
giving you time to do more. Activities include touring the community, learning
how to make local snacks, experiencing the only sand dunes in Thailand (the
highlight) and visiting a beach near the mountain at Tung Sang Bay.
Depending on which program you choose, on the
morning of day-two you’ll either head out at dawn to see the sunrise at Wat
Khao Chedi (which has a stunning 360-degree view of the region), or take an
early morning boat ride out for some snorkeling fun at a nearby island off the
coast of Chumphon.
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