Easy Day Thailand Staff Party at Khao Sok – Part 4

Easy Day Staff Party 2012: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Once the necessary pictures had been taken we gathered for the quick transfer up river in the van and cars, only about 10 minutes, where everyone boarded canoes for a guided tour down the river. The river skirted along the cliff walls and past the resort and everyone had a relaxing time.

Canoeing at Khao Sok

Upon our arrival down river, a hardy lunch was served and after the ride down river, everyone was hungry. Not to rush things, everyone relaxed for a couple of minutes to let our food settle before moving on to our next river voyage with Tubing. This time we decided to actually enjoy the river water and use large inner tubes to float down the river. One problem was getting in a starting the journey, the other was how cold the water was, by the time we were getting out everyone was looking to warm up.

Tubing in Khao Sok, Phang Nga

All in all, it was a good day on the river and everyone agreed it was great fun and a different kind of adventure then they are use to. After a brief discussion, Diego decided since we got out of the river right at “The Cliff & River Jungle Resort” Restaurant, we might as well relax a bit and have dinner there before getting on the road to head home to Phuket. Dinner was very good and we all got to choose what looked good on the menu. Everyone’s hunger satisfied and warm again, we load into the various vehicles we came in for the long ride back, I was glad to be in the minivan and not driving. Everyone arrived home safe and sound after what was a great two day adventure to one of Thailand’s beautiful Nature Parks.

Easy Day Thailand Staff Party at Khao Sok – Part 3

Easy Day Staff Party 2012: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4


After a leisurely ride back across the lake to where our vehicles were parked, we all headed to “The Cliff & River Jungle Resort” to check in to our individual cabins. Once we get checked in some relax in their cabins while the more energetic soles head to the pool for a quick dip.

The Cliff & River Jungle Resort

We are in the peaceful, calm Garden Zone near the restaurant overlooking the river we will enjoy tomorrow.

A couple of hours of free time to relax and recharge our batteries bring us to the dinner party at one of our guide’s house. He has setup a great BBQ pit and has already started the slabs of pork tenderloins, jumbo shrimp, hot dogs, and plump sausages. The table is covered with various beverages on one end while the other holds the steamed rice and noodles along with several Thai dishes and condiments. In no time everyone is helping themselves and serving others the various delights from the BBQ.

 I enjoyed the BBQ Shrimp and hot dogs while my girlfriend filled her plate with noodles and traditional Thai dishes to begin, but wasting no time peeling and eating the BBQ Shrimp. Diego brings out several large loaves of bread and cut up the pork to make nice thick sandwiches. The music is loud and fills the air with a rhythmic beat that provided a great opportunity for some karaoke after the kids have eaten their fill.

Easy Day Thailand Staff Party at Khao Sok – Part 2

Easy Day Staff Party 2012: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

After our initial stop we headed to the middle of the dam to await the arrival of several members of our group that had trouble getting started as early as the rest of us. Again the views from this vantage point were incredible and we all enjoyed relaxing on the grass while we waited patiently. Taking advantage of this opportunity, we took some pictures marking it as the “Easy Day Thailand Staff Party 2555”. It took several attempts to get the pose just right.

 
After this brief respot and once the entire group was together, we headed down to the “Long Tail Boat” docks to board our boat for the trip across the approximately 1,500 sq Kilometer lake. Getting down to the boats and then boarding them proved to be an adventure in itself for me, but once on board the breeze and spray from the bow of the boat as it cut through the water were very pleasant.
 
 




Once we reached the far end of the lake, we arrived at a restaurant/cabins resort where we had both breakfast and lunch.

While the adults relaxed and ate, the kids in our group enjoy a refreshing dip in the lake and tried practising their kayaking skills.

Easy Day Thailand Staff Party at Khao Sok – Part 1

Easy Day Staff Party 2012: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Every one at Easy Day Thailand was very excited and really looking forward to the two day outing to Khao Sok National Park. After all it was 2 days away from work, staying at the beautiful “Cliff & River Jungle Resort”, with lots of great activities to keep us entertained. All in all we had a wonderful two days of excitement and adventures.

Tuesday started out at the marvellous hour of 4:00 am for yours truly, when my alarm awaken me so I and my girlfriend could be ready for the minivan pickup at 4:50. Unlike most minivan drivers in Thailand, ours was right on time, perhaps 5 minutes early. I am not sure what time he started, but he had already picked up two others. We headed over to Kathu to pick up several more people before heading north to Khao Sok for our first day of relaxation. We did make several stops along the way for fuel and provisions before arriving at picturesque Rajjaprabh Dam. First we stopped just off the dam to take some pictures for our scrapbooks.

The Easy Day  folks checking their cameras and stretching their legs after the long ride.

For those of you interested here are some facts about the dam; the crest length is 969 meters, with a maximum height of 94 meters; and a volume of 6.5 million cubic meters. It is a hydroelectric dam and produces a maximum of 240 MW. At its normal high water level of 95.0 m, the reservoir has an active storage of 5 050 million cubic meter and a water surface of 165 sq.km2. After project completion the Chiew Larn Dam was conferred by His majesty the King to be called the “Rajjaprabha” Dam which means in English the “Ligth of the Kingdom” Dam.

Here we see the inside and outside faces of the dam and down into the valley below it.

But I must admit that these shots out over the lake Behind the dam are the most beautiful views. The pictures do not do this scene justice with the gigantic limestone cliffs rising out of the earth all around the lake.

Reviews from Customer No. 1000 - Jennifer & Laurie

Easy Day Thailand had something special in mind for our customer 1000 - A free tour ....

And our "no. 1000" Jennifer & Laurie wanted to book our popular Phang Nga Bay sightseeing tour,  when we told them it's for free ....

First comment from Jenn ... "That's amazing! I've never had such good luck, or won anything! :) Thank you so much, and congrats on your business achievement!"
 
Comments after the tour:

"Francesco, Diego & T,

Thanks again we had a wonderful day..."


 Jennifer who is a professional photographer allowed us to use the pictures she took during the trip. Here a few examples...

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Reviews - Christian e Lucia

"Buongiorno Sig. Bianchi, 

Innanzitutto grazie a Voi, il servizio che ci avete offerto é stato molto buono, non abbiamo niente da dire sull'albergo e sulle escursioni che ci avete organizzato, anzi per quanto riguarda l'albergo abbiamo riscontrato un servizio molto efficiente e pulito così come le escursioni da voi organizzate, le guide sono molto cortesi e preparate e gli autisti sono gentilissimi. 

L'unico appunto che ci sentiamo di sollevare é sulla crociera subacquea alle Similan che, come già detto a voce a Francesco, ci ha lasciato un po' perplessi sul servizio, visto che in cabina mancavano le lenzuola e la stessa cabina non era il massimo in termini di pulizia, sotto l'aspetto tecnico delle immersioni non c'è niente da dire, guide molto preparate e immersioni molto belle. Speriamo di poter un giorno tornare in Thailandia e di usufruire ancora dei vostri servizi. 

Cordiali Saluti

Christian e Lucia"

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Surviving SongKran & Bike Week?

The past two weekends have been very busy indeed, first another Water Festival has come and gone, were you able to survive the weekend’s water fight on Soi Bangla?  How is your wrist watch working, any problems after getting soaked as you walked down the street?  No problems while you were driving from place to place in Patong, a bucket of water in the face can be very dangerous if you are driving a motorbike.  Were you able to find and purchase an adequate water gun to deliver a nice stream of water or were you one of the unlucky people who had the guns with the weak streams, ensuring you always got the worse of any duels?  And just when you thought it was safe to go out again in dry clothes, there was a die hard soul that insisted on carrying Songkran that extra mile.  I know there were some that chose to start a day early, I got wet on my way home late Thursday afternoon, even though I tried yell “mai Ow” (meaning not want).  Were you one of those hardy souls that play well into the night on Friday, wondering up and down Soi Bangla, both getting wetter and wetter as you repeatedly reloaded your water gun at 10 bath a refill.

I am wondering how many people like myself forgot that Monday was a national holiday as far as the government offices were concerned.  I ventured over to Phuket Town from Patong early Monday morning in an attempt to get in and out of Immigration quickly, only to be met by closed doors and a sign telling me the obvious that the offices were closed for the Songkran holiday.  OH Well, what is a little gas wasted on a nice Monday morning.

How many of you actually observed the true meaning of Songkran and visited a temple?  Did you get the traditional blessing from the monks?  Perhaps you as a foreigner, went with your beautiful Thai “girlfriend” on Sunday out of respect.

So you made it through Songkran and your wardrobe is finally dried out when the peace and quiet of the day is broken by roar of big motorcycles descending on Phuket from all over southeast Asia, such as Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Vietnam as well as expats from Holland, Canada, England and the USA.  Some of you may have noticed that several clubs actually came to Phuket on the original dates of the Phuket Bike Week, driving around Patong with a special police escort. 

For those of you that braved the frequent rain storms that marred the festivities were treated to a rare display by the Royal Thai Navy and marines as they demonstrated their skills by storming Patong Beach using smoke grenades and firing blanks to simulate a real amphibious assault.

The scheduled Beauty Contest and Tattoo Contest were fit in between rain storms, picking the most beautiful Phuket lady along with the most colorful, spectacular tattoo.  Notice the interesting choice of outfits the contestant in the beauty pageant.

All of you that made the effort and dodged the rain drops to look at all of the spectacular big bikes that were on display were rewarded with some great bikes.  Along with some beautiful women adorning the bikes.

Luckily, the gods decided their continued celebration of Songkran was on hold for Sunday afternoon, allowing the tree planting along Beach Road to take place, plus the big ride around Phuket to celebrate togetherness.