Khao Kho, Pino Latte Resort & Café, Heavenly

Astonishing

Took my breath away, it did the first time and every time I returned to this venue. Long before she opened her doors, I stumbled onto the half completed structure of this café and resort. The onslaught of wind threatened to knock my tripod over. I fought to take some spectacular shots of the morning sunrise among what seemed like futuristic space docks. The childhood in me was so hoping for USS Enterprise to materialize from warp in the horizon so I could shake hands with Spok. Anyways, from that moment on in the past, I committed to myself, must come when she opens. And I did, and so very glad I had.

Where Clouds are Born

In my decade long travel of Thailand, this place had attained instant status of having the best of all things in one spot. Firstly her cabins labeled with larger than life numbers like those seen on Gundam told an approach of boldness. That was strongly enforced by the design of these units themselves. Like the main structure of the café higher up the mountain behind, they looked like stations where starships could dock. 5 units were built and their balcony opened out to the nature reserve front and beyond into the east. On the hour before sunrise when the entire region was tinted in a blue hue, a spectacular vista of low clouds beneath with the stark silhouettes of mountain ranges breaking out from the misty white. The giant Buddha right of the horizon shrouded in fog revealed Himself, a mystical canvas evolved. It was like looking at one of those spiritual paintings we seen so often in Chatuchuk, except better. My pupils dilated wider than what my cat was capable of to take it all in. It was live, it was in 3D, it was a moving canvas and it was better than 4D Max. It was all real.

So many People

The day before, we had arrived just after noon. And because it had rained the night earlier, the region was still enveloped in fog to the delight of many who came. By many, I meant a throng of people resembling that of a pilgrimage without discount. Cars were parked messed and everywhere on the narrow ascending road. The owners had built quite a sizable parking lot, unfortunately it was no match for the pilgrims arriving in their vehicles. Some parked inconsiderately along the narrow road which was meant for two way traffic, it caused congestion as vehicles then tried to tightly maneuver among each other in opposite directions. I was eagerly waiting for some to roll off the high terrain, my iPhone video was on standby. Staffs in the café were overwhelmed by the crowd, seating was next to impossible. Fortunately for us, we had ourselves checked into the villa, and that itself, was something to elaborate about.

Laze

The traveling style of Thais are, once we check into the hotel, we will leave the very next moment to venture out exploring the region. The villa we checked into however, was one that once in, we never wanted to leave. Most resorts in the mountainous region of Phetchabun were erected just for the sake of being in the tourism game without thoughts for making one have a pleasant stay. They were of inferior built material, void of quality control, simply a cramped cubicle built in a rush with a hard bed and simple furniture thrown in. Pino Latte had took the direct opposite approach and invested heavily turning every bit of the designer’s plans into reality. We succumbed to a heavy sense of being pampered the moment we stepped in from her side door. A living room tastefully furbished with a sofa a large LED TV, a separated bed room with a stylish wooden cabinet and a marbled tiled elegant gleaming bathroom that one finds in 5 star hotels. Out the front, glass doors allowed full light into the futuristic cabin, a large deck extended out into the open heavenly landscape. I had the best unit of the 5, and I am gonna keep that a secret which number it was. Two large bean bags on the porch out front which we engulfed ourselves into and just sat there the whole afternoon without leaving the resort. Nescafe Dolce Gusto made me an espresso, sipped the acquired taste of bitterness with a front row seat to the land where clouds are born. The scene changed from minute to minute all the while accompanied by the sometimes very strong gust of coolness. My slippers were blown off the deck and I had to lazily plucked myself out of the bean bag to go retrieve it from the lawn below. At times we were infused with the omnipresence of white mist, others we watched the wispy clouds raised from the shadows of the valleys like emerging white horns that extended upwards, soon to move in on us again to embrace us in her dreamlike beauty. Blissfulness.

Cafe before Guest Arrives

I so wished the café above had served dinner, but their restaurant was not ready and still in the plans. Dinner served on the front porch accompanied by the fall of dusk would have been excellent. Someday I will do that when Pino Latte’s menu is ready. They do made an exception for breakfast however, food was served only for us resort guest up in the café. Incredibly, the pilgrims arrived even before the place was opened. Pleasantly, they had reserved us best seat in the house which overlooked the morning landscape unobstructed. It took however 2 hours for my hot meals to be served, I could tell they had tried their best. I was so enchanted by the sea of morning fog that the thought of complaint or hurrying the staffs did not even crossed my mine. Espresso chilled fast in the gusty 20 degrees air. No quad copter which flew the day before dared take on the skies. The panorama ever changing, the different scenes of heaven, the rising sun failed in her attempt to break through the mystical fog.

Night at Pino

Now writing this blog was really stressful. A million words wanted to spill out faster than how fast I could type, a million other thoughts buffered up behind the queue so wanting to described how spectacular my stay was at Pino Latte. On occasions, my nervous system hung, and my thoughts had jammed. I needed a reboot much like how you encounter the blue screen of death on any Windows systems. Back to the statement why I gave “best of all things in one spot”. Unlike the many other alternatives in the region where the view were normally interrupted by shoddy rooftops of countless other resorts, Pino Latte had herself a private view of the magnificent landscape beyond. It was like having a high circle seat without having to look at the heads of the other patrons below while watching the scenic parts from Lord of the Rings. Being at the fringe of a nature reserve, the vista is immune to future developments that could pollute the beauty of it all. Having only 5 units, privacy was at its best without the loud chatter of sometimes unavoidable ill mannered visitors. My travels to this region, normally I can’t wait to get out from the room the moment I checked in. There will usually be no creature comforts in anyways that made me want to just stay in and indulged in the immediate surroundings. Pino Latte, each villa so lavishly and boldly decked out. They were spacious and there will be no claustrophobic sensation I guarantee. I was so contented just staying put without venturing anywhere. Complemented by the trendy café up above with an equally amazing view of the dreamscape, this establishment had in a very short time become one of those places where, if you have never been to Pino Latte, you have never been to Khao Kho.

Cafe

Bed Room

Awesome

Living Room

Balcony

Midnight Sun

Morning

Temple in the Clouds

View was Awesome

At the Cafe

Seat to Heaven

The Landscape

The Cabins

Window to the World

Koh Chang, Somewhere in the Middle of it All

Ice Cold Beer with Sunset on Koh Chang

It sizzled, the perspiration that fell onto stone floor of Mercure Koh Chang Hideaway as I dragged my luggage towards the reception. The blazing noon sun scorched the island south east near the Cambodian border. One of the last few islands I had yet to adventure, one of the islands that never crossed my mind. My perception of Koh Chang had always been not a good one. The water not as crystalline as that in western Adaman, it was tinted green and my experiences with Ao Thai often ended up with scores of itching spots on my body after a swim. Ao Thai is like a ginormous bay where the Chao Phraya and her sister rivers drain into. Carrying silt from the northern farms, the “treated” waste water from the numerous industries, and the sewers from the many uncharted black water klongs of Bangkok metropolitan area. No major ocean current passes into and out of this bay, only the sun and moon working in tandem pulling the seas in and out. What’s in the bay stays in the bay. That said, waters of Ao Thai had never been my favorite.

Twist and Turns

Like how Burma is separated by mountain ranges from Thailand, there is actually Western and Eastern Koh Chang separated by high terrain. Unlike Koh Samui where the road went one big round along the fringes of the island, on Koh Chang, the road forked away starting from the north where we arrived, and did not join up on the southern trip. That said, wrong turn meant ending up somewhere far far away and having to turn back. That was why GPS was invented, and we were blessed with in car GPS. The western side of the island was more popular in every way, an abundance of secluded resorts from cheap to the luxurious, stretches of shores and breaking waves, plenty of restaurants, loads of both hip and rustic pubs, and homespun coffee shops. Driving was fun and frustrating at times. The fun bit was negotiating the twisty up and downhill roads. The frustrating bit was when we encountered drivers who drove what seemed like cars powered by squirrel in their exercise wheel.

Sunset at Sea View Resort and Spa

Food, well if you are a farang, all Thai food will taste nice to you on Koh Chang. As a seasoned foreigner here, food was not strikingly good. Plenty to choose from, Thai food from the common shops, exquisite cuisines in the hotels, or that tried to be western food so hard by the beach cafe. First day, we had lunch at Jea Yu Seafood (Sister Yu), trusting the reviews on the ever so popular Pantip Website in Thai. It was bang for buck. It was the better than average Thai food going at mainland prices. And one day we had a salad dinner high on top of this hotel called Sea View Resort and Spa, and that’s where I discovered that Thai avocado was very bitter. Best sunset view however, and they even had a tram that goes down to the beach below where another beach bar and restaurant was located. For one of our lunches, we hopped into Nong Bua Seafood at Klong Prao Beach. It felt like eating in a seafood restaurant in Bangkok, the prices the same too. But I have to say, this restaurant has standards, it was the best meal I had (because I am from Bangkok??).

Fishermen Village

Venturing all the way to the southern parts of Koh Chang was interesting, a placed called Bang Bao Fishermen village. There, a jetty extended out into the sea and along side of it, a settlement of eateries, shops and residential homes built on stilt had evolved. Or maybe it was the other way round, a jetty was impaled into the settlement, I don’t know. It was an alley way the jetty had become, and as we strolled thankfully in the fully covered walkway, scores of restaurants offering fresh seafood to choose from. They were Bangkokly priced however. We turned into an inviting café for a good coffee and some fruit smoothies. Yes I mentioned some, it was so hot I had to cool from inside out. This café featured a free roaming Holland Lop rabbit. We could see the critter hopping around creating long moving shadows on the wooden well glazed floor. The good side of being there on an extremely hot mid afternoon was, there were no crowds. Thais are distant relatives of ancient vampires, they do not venture out when the sun is high up. The farangs however, not too many, were there and some bare bodied to beat the heat and collaterally emitting armpit odors.

Beach Bar After Dark

There was a drinking joint slightly to the north of Lonely Beach. You need to try turn every corner to discover places like theses. They had a bar serving cocktails and booze, they had a wooden deck spread out across the shore front. Most Thai clubs and pubs have really bad taste of western music. About the only songs they played were pluses of electronic drums at 200000000 decibels to go along with euphoric minds on yaba (drugs). In cafes and chill out joints wannabe, they played mainstream over the radio songs we hear over and over again in our cars while stuck in notorious Bangkok jams. But at the place we went, KYGO was reverberating pleasantly over the air. Chill out vibes, the occasional breeze. The sound of gentle breaking waves, darkness and stars. It was unison and it drew a smile across me face. This place knows real music.

My smile was wiped into oblivion when I was served my barbequed steak. It was real bad. Like I mentioned before, many eateries tried hard to be western, but never will be. Can’t blame them. Cambodians on the grill. I had problems ordering initially as well, our common language was Thai, he spoke bad Thai, me spoke bad Thai, it was a miracle we somehow telepathically understood each other. And then came an unruly crowd of Indians, likely tourist. Fat cow sat on my table without even asking if seat was taken, me wife went to the ladies. I tried to explain to that woman seat was taken and she refused to budge. So wanted to sacrifice her in a religious ceremony then. Her husband who fortunately spoke English came to herd her away to graze on another table.

Township on Island

Never did have time to venture over to the eastern side of the island. Was told there was not much to do, but plenty of original localities one could find I guess. The shores we visited plenty. For me, best was Whites Sand Beach towards the north. Large gentle sloping shores, whitest sand on the island. The rest were mediocre, and the beach in front of our hotel, only if you like to swim with rocks and mud. Koh Chang, a change from the over infested Samed Island, a more rustic setting then Phuket and Samui. No nasty mafia ran Jet Ski touts like those on many other popular destinations and umbrellas do not grow on shores like in Pattaya. Was not overly infected by chic cafes like those all over Hua Hin and amenities were more accessible compared to stuck in one resort on Koh Kood. To get far away from Bangkok onto an island in the middle of the tourism scales, that what it was.

Ferry to Koh Chang

Ferry to Koh Chang

Ferry to Koh Chang

There a Hog there... . .

Fishermen Village

Fishermen Village

Fishermen Village

Fishermen Village

Fishermen Village

Fishermen Village

Sunset on Koh Chang

Mercure Koh Chang Hideaway

White Sands Beach

White Sands Beach

Alley in Fishermen Village

Interesting Bike for Rent

Hua Hin I-Am-On-Vacation Syndrome

Chilling Out at Hua Hin

Hua Hin does beat all places in surrounding Bangkok to top herself as the number one dress pretty and walk around to be seen destination. Bangkokians who travelled there looked like they came out from Esprit’s summer fashion posters. They dressed pretty to be seen eating as gingerly as possible on English cakes or cookies. They also feature that raised pinky when sipping from English teacups both men, women and the undefined.

Bangkokians can also been seen in their fancy I-Am-On-Vacation outfits near any inanimate object that had a hint of I-Am-On-Vacation in them such as the road signs, that old bicycle and always the bright red letter box. For some reasons, they are always attracted to letter boxes. It is believed that Bangkokians on vacation ritually wear the same I-Am-On-Vacation outfit into bed so that the next morning, the first thing they do is a selfie and a post to Facebook and Instagram.

Middle East ain;t It?

Anyway, it had been near to a year since my last Hua Hin trip. We left early, very early at just before 7 and reached in 2 hours. It was wise to do so. Saturdays are when Bangkokians make their mass pilgrimage to the seaside town. Any later and it would have taken 4 or even 5 hours to reach our destination. Stayed at Wora Bura, it was a good hotel, but pricey. Colonial styled she was and that added uniqueness of sorts to our stay. Hua Hin had changed much. On this trip we discovered that Camel Republic had sprang up. The Middle Eastern influence had arrived in this seaside town. Great magnet for seflies in I-Am-On-Vacation outfits. We had to pay get in, so we did not.

For good cheap live seafood picked from buckets and have their lives BBQed painfully outta them for our enjoyment, it would normally had been the shores of Cha Am. But we found a new place this time round. And it was the area around Khao Takiap where a small peak of a granite hill with a temple on top extended out to sea. Laid on the outcrop facing the sea, a restaurant. I think the whole town was there for lunch. So we went elsewhere. The fishing boats were all moored along the dock alongside the road leading in. The fresh catches were laid out for purchase in concentration denser than those in Cha Am. Opposite the road that divided, the row of many simple restaurants that produced a wide array of gastronomy from the fishermen’s catch.

Wilaiwan Interior

And to Wilaiwan for lunch. Nice cottage styled restaurant, yet another picturesque venue for I-Am-On-Vacation pinkie raised tea sipping. I was skeptical if the food was as good as the place looked. I took my skepticism back when I had a mouthful of the spaghetti that had dried tomatoes, bacon and grinded basil which made the dish green. Spectacular, if it can be a word for taste. That was what I would call that awesome creation. The Wagyu burger was not at all too bad, but I did not know how much of a Wagyu cow was actually in that patty. Many Thai restaurants had gotten to know of the new Wagyu word and are profusely acquainting their dishes with it. It was just like when everyone was going nano this and nano that. There was nothing nano about those products, other than naturally occurring nano bacteria. Anyway, the burger was cooked right, had that trait of juiciness within and the searing on the surface I liked. The French Fries that accompanied was aromatic in flavor, not your average fries done in normal cooking oil. Till this day I wondered, what did Wilaiwan fried them in. There was this red mysterious BBQ powder of some sort sprinkled over them which made the taste even more dazzling. Wilaiwan tasted as good as she looked. Not every themed restaurant in this country I know can achieve that.

Hua Hin Hill Vineyard

And then there was Hua Hin Hill Vineyard. Food was not impressive at all. I had the spicy bacon spaghetti. Home delivered spaghetti from The Pizza Company actually tasted better. This vineyard was located deep within the mountain range westwards and she was pretty isolated. She produces what is known as new latitude wines (aka, wines produced in the wrong climate). There was a crowd at the wine tasting station, girls accessorized like a Christmas tree in their long flow white dresses, again the I-Am-On-Vacation syndrome where iPhones and Samsungs were heavily involved. The vineyard offered elephant rides among the grape vines and I bet the huge chunks of elephant dung are use to fertilize them grapes. I did not know how good these wines were, but the last encounter with such wines by a seasoned drinker was - “please put this wine away”. Still, maybe things had changed just like how Hua Hin had evolved, and Thais had figured out the art of wine making.

Lone Monk on the Beach

Hua Hin is now filled with so many attractions. With 2 artificial floating markets now and many more artificially inseminated cultural sites such as Santorini, I wonder how long more will it be before the Pyramids of Egypt are plagiarized there. A relative of mine from Singapore who visited said “only the blue and white colors looked like Santorini she visited”. She was not too impressed with her stay in this seaside town. However, to many, Hua Hun is a place still to get excited for. For me, she is a pleasant stone’s throw away from city life. To be in a pool surrounded by clear skies not obstructed by tall buildings, the sound of the reverberating sea to accompany.

The pool in Wora Bura

Fresh Catch at Khao Takiap

The street of Khao Takiap

Where our food Comes From

Along Khao Takiap

Boats at Khao Takiap

Wora Bora

Wilaiwan