Khao Lak is a resort town in Phang Nga province on the western Andaman Sea coastline of southern Thailand, about 100 km north of Phuket Town. When the disastrous tsunami of 2004 struck South Asia, Khao Lak was the hardest-hit area in Thailand with over 4000 fatalities. It has since made an impressive recovery despite many hardships along the way, and is once again a popular tourist destination. Khao Lak mainly caters to families and those looking for R&R - party people prefer Phuket.
Get in
By plane
The easiest way to get to Khao Lak is to fly into either Phuket (the closest alternative) or Krabi and go to Khao Lak from there. Both airports serve international as well as domestic destinations.
A taxi from Phuket airport to Khao Lak costs between 1100 and 1600 ฿. If you think this is too much and prefer to take a bus, you will have to get to the main road about 3 kilometers from the airport. Hop on a bus headed towards Takua Pa, Ranong or Surat Thani, they all stop in Khao Lak. It's about 70 kilometers from Phuket airport to Khao Lak.
By train
The nearest train station is at Surat Thani on the east coast, making this an inconvenient option.
By bus
From Bangkok, buses go to Khao Lak from the southern bus terminal (Sai Tai). The trip, which costs less than 500 ฿, takes about ten hours and runs overnight. Don't buy bus tickets from Bangkok travel agents - they will most likely make you go via Surat Thani where you have to change bus.
From the bus station in Phuket, take a bus towards Takua Pa, Ranong or Surat Thani. It will set you back about 50 ฿.
From Krabi there's a daily minibus to Khao Lak. All travel agents in Krabi sell tickets.
See
Eat
Drink
Sleep
Get out
Khao Lak (เขาหลัก) is a resort beach in Thailand, located 100 km north of Phuket in Takua Pa district, Phang Nga province and popular as a departure point for liveaboard scuba diving trips.
The coast line here has a west-facing, sandy beach with tropical forest and rubber plantations on the hill slopes beyond the sand. A road runs roughly parallel with the beach and the town has grown up as a ribbon development of shops and dwellings, with tourist hotels between the road and the beach.
Economy
The local economy in the town is based on the tourist hotels, local shops and restaurants, and the diving trade. Most of the foreign tourists are European, many from Scandinavia, Germany and the United Kingdom. The wider area produces some rubber and palm oil; there is also a small amount of subsistence agriculture.
After the tsunami in December 2004 (see below) the economy was ruined. 90 percent of the hotels were seriously damaged and many needed to be completely rebuilt. However, now 2 years after everything has been rebuilt, the resorts carry an even higher standard now, and all the hotels are fully booked during the high season (November to March). Prices have also gone up and today one can expect to pay from baht 4,000/night and up for the beachfront cabins. Today Khao Lak is "upper class" compared to the more shady hotels on Phuket island.
2004 earthquake and tsunamis
Khao Lak was the area of Thailand hardest hit by the tsunami resulting from the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. Many people died including many foreign tourists. The final death toll was over 4000.
Most of the coastal landscape i.e. beaches, resorts and vegetation was completely stripped back by the power of the tsunami. Some replanting programmes have been initiated, however very little has changed in the past two years. Studies suggesting that coastal vegetation may have helped buffer the effects of the waves have ensured that replanting and maintenance of the coastal vegetation have become a priority in the reconstruction of the landscape.
Among the casualties were Bhumi Jensen, grandson of the King of Thailand and well-known Finnish musician and TV-host Aki Sirkesalo and his family. Almost four years old at the time, a young girl was swept away at Khao Lak and remains the subject of a media-covered intensive search despite being formally identified in August 2005 as a victim.
A memorial to the tsunami victims is being planned there.
External links
