Last days in Huay Yang

Back online after some computer issues! Here comes a recount of our adventures from the final days of the Huay Yang part of our honeyquarter journey.

Huay Yang Waterfalls

Part of the thai-burmese border is naturally formed by the Tanao Sri mountain range, encompassing 1670 km of densely forested granite peaks, older than the Himalayas. A 160 square kilometer area in that mountain range close to Huay Yang was made a national park in 1991, the Namtok Huay Yang National Park, which apart from emerald green jungle also is home to a very nice tiered waterfall.





Soaked in mosquito repellent and wearing proper shoewear for the first time in three weeks, we set out to explore it. We had packed plenty of bribery snacks to lure Max along the way and Saga was comfortably seated in a carrying harness. Once Max saw the mouth of the forest path, he immediately took point and kept the pace for all of us.

The forest was absolutely beautiful with well kept paths, including tree-root shaped waste bins at regular intervals. Apart from the vegetation, there were plenty of various bugs running around on the path, keeping Max busy for quite some time.

The waterfall tiers are separated by some distance and altitude and we did not expect to be able to see all of it with our young co-explorers along. The tiers were all quite different in character - some wide and some narrow. Some with large pools suitable for swimming, filled to the brim with fish.

We found ourselves in the midst of the jungle with a picturesque waterfall in the background, gorgeous forest all around us and a large amount of butterflies playing in the sunlight that filtered through the forest canopy. Very much worth the walk.

Our youngest explorer did what any explorer worth her salt would do - take a nap mid-adventure.

After the fourth tier, the path got a lot steeper and the vegetation thicker. Max spirits started to wane and we were all soaking wet from sweating, so we decided to make it back down again with some fresh mosquito bites and a great experience. If you ever pass through the Huay Yang area, do not miss this one!

Tap Sakae village

We spent a day in the nearby village of Tap Sakae. We were told that the buildings would have some degree of cowboy western design resemblance, and that turned out to be true. It had a nice main street with said building types, shops with varying levels of esoterica, like one that sold live decorative fish in old jam jars, plush toys, electric fans and other, more unidentifiable things.

We also stumbled upon a small coffee shop that apart from serving great ice coffee also retailed café-related stuff like paper cups, napkins and condensed pre-sweetened milk in tin cans. And they had some nice toys for Max and Saga to play with while the parents enjoyed a quiet moment with their frappes and small cashew-stuffed pastries from the adjacent bakery.

For lunch we went to a well frequented local restaurant that served one dish, and one dish only: stir-fried chicken with steamed rice. And as so often, when you venture into the non-touristic venues, the food was simple but delicious.

We got company!

At the beginning of our final week in Huay Yang, Satu's bridesmaid Tiina with her family Daniel, Erik and Matilda from Stockholm arrived and we greeted the jetlagged bunch with a surprise evening visit and a home made banana pancake breakfast the following morning. The following days we spent with beach hangout and shared dinners.

They gave us a wonderful wedding gift earlier this year in the form of a gift certificate for a tête-a-tête dinner at the best resort in Huay Yang, with babysitting included. After a nice long day at the beach, it was time to redeem it. We booked a beachside duo aroma-massage to be followed by the dinner. Tiina took care of the kids and Daniel drove us to the resort with our saleng. We arrived just on time and could just lay down on comfortable matresses while the therapists started working skillfully with jasmine scented oil. We held hands, closed our eyes and listened to the ocean gently lapping at the beach while feeling a soft, warm evening breeze.

One hour later we were gently nudged into consciousness, just in time to see the sun set behind the coconut palm trees.

The following dinner was enjoyed at a specially dressed table by the beach, where we had a nice steak, allowing ourselves a small pause in the chili-laden local cuisine. We finished off the evening with some tiramisu and espresso while gazing at a blood moon waxing over the ocean. That feeling when an evening is so perfect that it almost feels staged.



And the kids have had a great time playing with Erik and Matilda and were sound asleep when we returned with the resort's taxi service. Thank you again, guys!!




We finished our first chapter of the honeyquarter journey with lots of lazy pool-time, beach hangouts and playing in the heavy surf (belly-surfing is fun, albeit an effective way to involuntary swallow seawater) and a snorkling trip to a well-hidden lagoon an hour south of Huay Yang that allowed us to revisit the Green View resort in Bankrut to get some quality espressos while our friends explored the temple with the golden buddha.

The last dinner in Huay Yang was easy to pick - we revisited our favourite restaurant Jack's Beach Resort and had one more Paeneng Curry, and got lovebombed by the staff when we told them this was goodbye. There were lots of hugs and waving from the lovely people when we made our way to the saleng for the final trip to our house in Thailand.