Trip out of bangkok - lomsak and lomkao mountain phu thap boek part 1

With frequent travels to bangkok, ive always wanted to explore the nearby towns. Last i went was my local friend hometown in rayong and it was such a good experience.

So as i did my search, i chanced upon khao kho - strawberry farm, wind farm etc and the mountain phu thap boek which i realise after its nearer to the town of lomkao instead. So i decided that the mountain will be what ill explore: phu thap boek ( with multiple versions of its name: phu thap buek; phu tub berk). 

Upon arrival at the bangkok airport, i made my way to the mochit 2 bus station where it said will have a direct bus to lomsak since there was no direct bus to lomkao but it will be near enough. ( i tried taking a local bus in bkk so it stops directly in front of the mochit 2 from makkasan station but forget abt it, the timing is inaccurate and the bus didnt arrive after 1 hour and so i took the train -note that from the airport if you are changing to another color line you need to exit the airport line and cross the bridge)

The thing about the train : stopping at kampheang phet station, you will need to walk to distance to get to mochit 2. Then once you reach the entrance, walk all the way in pass all the touts and external ticket counters to the aircon counters ( if you follow google find the kfc) and purchase your ticket ( for lomsak there are 2 timings 1 in the morning and 1 at 830pm) it will take around 8 to 9 hours depending on traffic and its in seating position but very very comfortable ( at least for me) 

So since it was a friday and i wanted to rush for the saturday lomsak popular street market, i bought the tickets immediately.

While waiting for my bus to lomsak at 830pm, i went to the nearby famous jj mall to chill relax and eat and charge my phone at its free charging outlets.

I arrived in lomsak at around 4am sat outside my accomodation at rabbit hotel and called the number at the entrance. And boy was i in luck the owner answered the call and helped me check in early and rest. The owner is so welcoming and accomodating. And so i returned to the place to stay again after my adventure. 

Oh yes important to note: do not disembark at lomsak bus station ( this is a long walk away from town) but instead at the next checkpoint which is in front of a 7-11 lomsak town ( a tip: always switch on your google map so you know exactly where you should stop) 

The lomsak street market was awesome and had lots of local delicacies ( my kind of thing)

And in the afternoon i made my way ( 40 min walk) to the lotus supermarket to stock up on snacks and drinks 

and the nearby witch cafe ( which had awesome desserts) though not cheap in local terms. That strawberry tower was around 175 baht but i felt it wld be really worthwhile if you want to sit there enjoy free wifi and just chill in the aircon and its environment and slowly savouring the delicious strawberry milk tower with bread and honey in it -  but advisable to share+the servers were so helpful and friendly) The other cafe patrons were eating the local food and it really looked great too but i was too full from the dessert. 

So now the adventure began.

The owner suggested me to rent a car or a motorbike to the mountains but i didnt have confidence manuevering it so i decided to find alternatives. I tried looking for a bicycle shop but no luck. And so the only way was by foot. To get directly to the mountain would take 8 hours and im not sure if it was doable. So my plan was to trek for around 4 hrs to do the base of the mountain and stay for 1 night and ask the owner of the hotel if there was a way up. 

So thats what I did

Walk walk walk 

Was manageable and quite enjoyable and actually i cld have tried hitch hiking some distance if i dared to and cld speak the language. ( oh yes reminder didnt realise it but google translate audio does not work for thai language so its better to download one usable one before going to the smaller towns) else its only you trying to communicate but not being able to understand their response) 

 

So i began my trek. Bit by bit. And i finally got to the base of the mountain. Imagine my joy!

But alas it was not meant to be.

There is usually no receptionist for the hostel or hotels as the owners stay elsewhere and we have to call the nunber in front of the hotel before they will arrive. But for this hotel, i called and he didnt understand me. I added his line he didnt reply. And i waited for half an hr and yet no appearance. So i got fed up and decided to see if i cld walk up the mountain

#omg

Haha its uphill and so even a short few metres still takes one's breath away. I did that for around half an hour before a nice female motorcyclist asked if i needed help. And she called the number that i think is a motorbike rending assistance grp to send you up the mountains this guy was so nice tel 0952794525 and its cost is around 200 baht ( you need to bargain but i didnt was too tired) 

And when i got to the place i wanted to stay at

phu thap boek suansawan with the beautiful tents and view that was on the top of the hill i was dropped off at. I was told its full. Can you believe it! I was flabbergasted. And so i made my way down and just got whatever accomodation was within reach which was at the foot of its hill. And it was great! GOD SENT. The owner worked in taiwan before so he could communicate fluently with me. Boy was i in need of some communication. Anyway that night the wind howled and rain was heavy and i was glad i was in a nice accomodation and a beautiful one that still overlooked the scenery. If i stayed up the hill, i wld not have bothered to leave the place to explore the remaining areas. So a reminder everything happen for a reason. 

And omg the amazing morning breakfast that was included. Oh yes the price of the accomodation was 900 baht for the one with shared toilet. If you are afraid of the cold thouhh, my advise is to get one with the toilet lol but the shared toilet here is really very clean and i prefer not having the toilet in the room haha