…Ban Nang Kam Eco Walk Revisited.

These days, if you need to do something outdoors, it’s best to do it early. The temperature dips briefly to about 27° at around 5am and then starts rising again. By 9am it’s 30, and reaches the mid to high 30s during the afternoon. It hasn’t rained for at least two months, and I doubt it will in the next two months. In a nutshell, it’s hot!

A while ago I visited a place about 25kms northwest of here. “Here” being Khanom. I wrote about it in this article.

The village of Ban Nang Kam has a pretty beach, plus a jetty and fishing village at one end. Behind the fishing area, across a small bridge, there are signs to an “Ecology Trail.” I figured I’d better check it out.

So, this morning, shortly after eight…

Note: He thinks 8:55am counts as “shortly after eight”…

As I was saying, shortly before nine, I was on the road, not really knowing what I was heading to. The only article about the place that I could dig up with a Google search was mine!

I’d already had a small disagreement with myself over what one was supposed to wear for an Eco Walk. Part of me said “It’s damned hot. You only need shorts and flip flops” whereas my more persuasive self said “Eco could mean jungle. Think undergrowth, leeches, snakes, and worse.” That almost put me off going.

So it was my nice lightweight Tilley Endurable pants, that are so endurable they’re now older than many of my friends, plus some sensible sneakers. I think – I’m not sure – but I think that was the right choice.

As you can see here, it all looks quite organized. Lots to see. Plenty of walking to be done. But, as so often happens, that was the only sign. Where the hell am I supposed to go?

I trudged off alongside the fishing village…

… and given that most of the “to see” places were beaches, I hugged the sea shore as much as possible.

At times, it was necessary to go in the sea, which is when the flip-flops and shorts might have been the better choice.

But the path was really rocky, so the good shoes prevented a twisted ankle or worse.

Pretty views along the way…

…but I’m not sure if I found any of the places listed on the signboard. I don’t think I’d gone 1450 meters, and what is a “Viewpoint” anyways? There’s a view from everywhere, but it sort of implies a high point. There was no real pathway to anywhere. I feel like I was in the right place because all the trees had labels, which is something you might expect on an Eco Walk.

However; I reached a point where the only option to continue was to swim! Not about to do that! So I headed back over the rocks, through the trees, into the sea, and emerged at the fishing village. Here, I wandered away from the beach and took a few river photos…

After taking the second of these I turned around and found a little wizened old lady, with her face covered in the white paste they use to repel the sun, standing right behind me. For a split second I thought “Arrgh, Ghost.” I think that was her intention because she had an evil grin on her face that said “Gotcha!”

Anyhoo, I guess the whole walk took me about an hour, and it was a pleasant, not-too-hot, way to spend a morning, but I do feel the sign hints at something a little more interesting.

I need to see if I can find someone else who has done the walk. Maybe I missed something.