A family trip to Thailand in which we visited Khao Kho, a new hot destination. It had the excitement of a fresh new destination. But our experience fell short of expectations as we did not see the ‘sea of clouds’ Khao Kho is famous for. The peak season to see its ‘sea of clouds’ is from July to September, perhaps we had really visited at the ‘wrong’ time of the year.
Day 1
Upon reaching Bangkok, we dropped off our luggage and headed off to Baiyoke Sky Hotel, the tallest building in Thailand. We enjoyed Thai cuisine buffet lunch at its 75th floor floating market restaurant. Thereafter we made a trip up to its revolving deck for a 360 degree bird’s eye view of bustling Bangkok.
Overnight at Mercure Bangkok Siam. We took their executive rooms with lounge access and made full use of that.
Day 2
We set off for Khao Kho straight after breakfast.
Lopburi is a town enroute our journey to Khao Kho. We were so lucky to be in Lopburi during its annual Monkey Festival. On this day, the monkeys at Lopburi Phra Prang Sam Yat temple are treated to mountains and mountains of their favourite fruits and food stuff. These monkeys are held in high esteem by the locals who believed that this annual treat to the macaques will bring them good luck.
After visiting Phra Prang Sam Yat, we continued our journey to Khao Kho. Along the way we had late lunch at one of the rest stations. It was a 4 hours long car ride before finally reaching Khao Kho, reaching at around 4.30pm. First attraction we visited was Wat Pha Sorn Kaew, a beautiful white temple with multiple statues of Lord Buddha atop it.
Then it was early dinner at Rai Chanram Restaurant before heading to Kiri Pura Resort for a memorable night stay. A cabin style accommodation, each room is stand-alone with a terrace in front. With only 8 rooms available, early booking is recommended.
Overnight at Kiri Pura Resort.
Day 3
Rise and shine in the highlands of Khao Kho. After breakfast, we visited Phu Thap Boek Mountain, famed for its view of ‘sea of clouds’. The peak season for ‘sea of clouds’ is from July to September. We were hoping to see at least a thin layer of clouds but all we saw was just thin fog.
Next stop, Wind Turbine Park, a project where 110 metres tall turbines were installed to harness wind power for production of electricity to serve around 20% of the province. Tram services are available to bring visitors through the vast park. There is a small recreation park, Black Diamond, that kids will like, with colourful characters and animal-feeding.
Late lunch at Pino Latte. Heard its Eggs Benedict is always a favourite among diners but it was sold out when we reached at close to 4pm.
Thereafter we headed to Kanchanapisek Pagoda. By the time we reached at slightly past 5pm, the place was already closed, so we missed that.
We checked in to Blue Sky Resort’s Family Villa only to be told that the villas are in another part of the resort that is quite a distance from the main facilities. Frankly, it is not practical to be staying there unless you have access to a car or driver-on-standby. Tip: There is no restaurant, cafes or room service to the villa cluster of the resort. Be prepared to check in on a full stomach and relax in your villa till the following day when your driver picks you up.
Overnight at Blue Sky Resort
Day 4
We had buffet breakfast leisurely before spending time in Blue Sky Resort’s European-style gardens.
Tanrak Talaymok and Golden Hill Village were struck off our list; decided against going to the former as we reckoned we were full from breakfast and the latter as we don’t think the little ones will be keen to shop. We then headed for Bangkok ahead of schedule.
We reached Saraburi in the early afternoon but were disappointed to see the sunflowers were still in their buds and had yet to bloom.
Since we had time, I thought it was a good idea to visit a nearby vineyard for the experience. From Tourism Association of Thailand and a few other websites, I found Khun Malee Vineyard. The driver also agreed to drive us there given that we were early. To our great disappointment, we reached there only to find that the place is defunct and we wasted 1.5 hours going off the main route.
Reached Bangkok in the early evening and overnight at Mercure Bangkok Siam.
Day 5
The last day of our trip was spent at Sea Life Bangkok. Located in Siam Paragon mall, the aquarium has a commendable collection of aquatic creatures over 10,000 sq.m space. We had just enough time to tour the aquarium with regrettably no time for the 4D movie.
Afternoon flight to head home.
*****************************************
How much we spent on a trip like this?
Air Tickets = $900
Hotels = $1,500
Transport = $600
Admission = $130
Meals = $310
Sim Card = $12
Total = $3,440 or $860 per person
*****************************************
The amount spent on hotels is on the high side for a 5 days 4 nights trip.
Accommodation does not come cheap in Khao Kho. Unless you are planning to camp under the stars, most rooms in Khao Kho come with a higher price tag. Our cabin style room at Kiri Pura Resort cost $270 each for a night with breakfast. A rare splurge for us, as we prefer to stretch our dollar for more travel opportunities. Blue Sky Resort’s Family Villa is worth the $390 paid but do note the maximum occupancy per villa is 5. Our travel was in end November so if you are traveling in December’s super peak period, the prices are likely to be even higher.
After blowing much of our accommodation in Khao Kho, we spent more time searching for ‘affordable’ hotel rooms that fit into our usual budget for our 2 nights in Bangkok. We struck gold with executive rooms in Mercure Bangkok Siam at $160 a room per night. Shopping and crowded streets added together is a formula our two footsteps from Mars avoid as much as they can. In this aspect, executive rooms with lounge access suits them to a tee. Plus the finger food was able to fill us to the brim for 2 dinners, definitely value for money.
*****************************************
How did we get to Khao Kho?
We took a 3 days 2 nights transport package offered by Klook. The packages offered come in 2 option: car for maximum 3 pax and van for up to 10 pax. For 4 of us, we took Klook’s 3D2N Private Van Tour package for $523.
Upon booking and payment made, we were requested to send our draft itinerary by the day before travel so that they can make arrangements on their end. Our driver speaks and understands very limited English and followed our itinerary to a tee. So it’s good in some thoughts when planning your itinerary.