A real treat

Just a few photo's to celebrate the passing of the old year.

Starting off with Krabi and a cheeky byline:

 Natural hot springs #skinnydippers #nudestspa #hotspring

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One might intentionally take this top be true, but the following reveals [not] the dress code of Krabi's Klong Thom hot spring:

Note the difference in soaking styles, from the travelleur

Up north in Pai hot spring, Mae Hong Son province:

#tochkarazborki #Pai #Thailand #hotsprings #источники

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Not far away, but different province:

ที่อาบน้ำแร่ #HotSpring #PongDued

Chiang Mai province, source

Then a not often mentioned soaking place, Mae Umlong Luang hot spring, 13 km from Mae Saraing, Mae Hong Son:

'And finally...A real treat for the legs, they deserve it after all the ascents of late. None of the sulfur smell that usually accompanies such places the water was crystal clear'.

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Finally, near to Bangkok, this photo captures the soaking life of Hin Dad hot spring, Khanchanaburi:

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Waterwars

 

 Meditation & nature time #paithailand #paihotsprings #asiatrip #relax

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Staying hot
How does a top ranked hot spring stay popular in Thailand? 
Exactly that. By being top ranked: tourists, be they local or from overseas, tend to stick to the well-trodden paths. 

That said, we see that in the updated Top 10 of Thai popular ranked hot springs, the private hot spring Nattha Waree in Krabi province is a fresh newcomer, ranked fifth. Obviously this being a private facility, it means the need to advertise and socialize. While having overnight facilities means every hotel site in the world carries a reference. No wonder Nattha Waree shoots up the rank. 
However being highly ranked is no guarantee for quality, just check at the booking.com and tripadvisor sites for Nattha Waree. One person on tripadvisor even complained that the hot spring was too hot!

#foreveryoung #hotsprings #sankampaeng 

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Listing
This most recent ranking list is dependent on relative weights from hits / mentions on pininterest, tumblr, instagram, google past year search, bing, youtube and tripadvisor, with a relative weight adjusted to each depending on what would be a more important aspect. For instance google search carries more weight than pininterest.

The list below also shows little to no change in the most popular hot springs in Thailand. Besides the above mentioned, other newcomers are Rock Valley and Chiang Dao's cement pipes hot spring.

Oddly Phabong hot spring (Mae Hong Son) failed to score any point relative to others, while in 2013 it was ranked at 6. Raksawarin (Ranong; last year ranked eigthth) would drop to no. 11. Other just under the Top 10 bubblers are Wiang Pa Pao (Chiang Rai), and Chaeson (Lampang).

Something else noteworthy is that the Top 10 comes from 5 provinces: succes breeds more succes? Or tourists tend to stick together ...?

Life in Pai. #hotsprings #Paigang #waterwars #SEA2014

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Tops

The top 10 as of November 2014:

      1. (2013: 2) Pai, Mae Hong Son

      2. (4) Fang, Chiang Mai

      3. (1) Sankampaeng, Chiang Mai

     4 (5) Klong thom, Krabi

     5 (-) Nattha Waree, Krabi

     6 (3) Hin Dad, Kanchanaburi

     7 (7) Betong, Betong

     8 (-) Rock Valley, Kanchanaburi

     9 (-) Chiang Dao, Chiang Mai

     10 (9) Pong Duet, Chiang Mai

#hindad #familygathering #relaxing #hotspring 

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ilovewhatido

 recharge your energy at the free local tub hot spring. birthday travel #chiangdao #travelbug #ilovewhatido #hotspringchiangdoa #hotspring #seabackpacking #birthday #scorpio #october #ilocetravelling #amazinghailand #norththailand #ilovetravelling #life #explore

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Stinky
In all honesty there seems to be little to update to you: rains come, rains go, Governments come, governments go. Basically nothing changes.

Prices go up. And up.  In this case the entry prices to Thailands national parks. Which by the way host to many a natural soak.

If you are an obvious non-Thai then the authorities believe that a 10 fold entrance premium is required to see some of Thailand's natural secrets. 
But this does not mean that whatever national park / natural secret you are visiting is well-managed. Very often they are either overrun or visitor facilities are non-existent.

Now once more there is a new government in place, a military one which is very careful not to suggest tough measures for their peoples: the quick fix is to tax the foreign looking visitor.

Such that the government is now proposing a new fee structure with respective parks being able to charge fluctuating fees: non-transparent. TTR (Oct. 10) lists an overview but I'm pretty unsure what you pay where. What does seem pretty clear: 

'It just stinks of greed and opportunism'.

What's this to do with hot springs? Many a hot spring in Thailand has remained public and become a national park, f.i. the popular hot spring of Pai. It means that visiting a hot spring has become more expensive and one must understand the underlying message: your welcome is only genuine if you are willing to continue to pay ...

More info on the price structure of Thailand's national parks can be found on Waterfalls of Southeast Asia, here and here.

Is the hot spring of Pai your moneys worth? Source:

Tha Pai Hot spring. #hotspring #thailand #pai #relax #picoftheday

Untrained

A short blog entry on trips to Thailand (Nov. 14) on a visit to Surat Thani's Chaiya district. Famed for it's religious temples and sorts it also has a few hot springs. His finds:

'I eventually ventured along a gravel road that lead to a temple on the top of a hill. Just at the foot of the hill, a couple of ponds had been constructed from concrete. But, again, the area and the facilities appeared deserted and unused. The mineral water overflow from the concrete ponds discolored the rocks as it made its way down hill for form a small lake. The rocks looked to my untrained eye somewhat like lava, but was in Thai named Lan Lonk Prachan'.

Trips to Thailand has also recently been (Aug 10) to Samo Thong hot spring, Uthai Thani province. No report on the soaking ...

A hot spring in Tak's, Umphang district (source):

#thailand #hotsprings ️

No cooling down
Bangkok Post (Jul. 25) has some soaking related news:

'Ranong municipality has prohibited people from taking a cool dip in a canal in front of Ranong's mineral hot springs, because a strong current could cost them their life'. 

So only hot springs in the offering here.

A little made visit to Krung Ching hot springs in Nakhon Si Thammarat. Tambralinga (Sep.) stumbles onto these while making his / her way to the waterfall with the same name. The site is a good site for natural secrets of this overlooked southern province.

Tarzan & Jane #thaiSland #day1 #junglegirl #gopro #hero4 #hotsprings #krabi #vscocam

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#naturally

Wow, no updates for ages. Here's a quick tour of Thailand: 

Free spa from a natural hot spring in #chiangdao.#hotspring #chiangdaohotspring #nature #asean #amazingthailand 

Chiangdao hot spring, Chiang Mai, source

Hot springs with these babes #hotsprings #Chiangmai #spellyonameltc #fnez

Pong Dued, Chaing Mai, source

#kanchanaburi#onsen#hotspring#family

Rock Valley, Kanchanaburi, source

#hotsprings #pai #hotspringspai 39degree natural spring 

Pai hot springs, Mae Hong Son, source

"Natural Hot Spring" 

Mae Klong, Umhang, Tak, source

 

Betong, source

오늘은 #핫스프링 #투어 #hotspring #krabi #끄라비 

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Seeing you

#hotsprings #lampang #beaut #thailand 

lottieamy28

 

#вместе#рядом#любовь#люблю#мысчастливыелюди!!!! #spa#hotspring#горячиеисточники#канчанабури#thailand

Rock Valley Hot Spring, Khanchanaburi. By valerie_os

มาชุบตัวที่พุน้ำร้อน #hotspring 

Hin Dad, Khanchanaburi, by dorabig

By Christinasophiapatel

After a great time down exploring part of the south. Ciaran and Marc have now left us for home. We're now off up north to explore and teach English. I'll be seeing you again in September south Thailand ️️#hotsprings#krabi

 

Concentrate

'#น้ำพุร้อนหินตาด'

Khanchanaburi's Hin Dad hot spring (source)

As is common on this website, there is little and/or very few to report on.

In recent weeks there has been quite a bit made of  RarinJinda Spa in Chiang Mai which claims to have opened an onsen. Now onsen is usually a term referring to a hot spring bath in Japan. So whether a new hot spring has opened or something which seeks to condure up an image of what may be a Japanese spa in Thailand, it's unclear. From tatnews (March 14):

'RarinJinda’s semi-outdoor Onsen area consists of three pools: Hot Springs Pool with temperature of 40 degrees celcius, Soda Carbonated Spa Pool and Cold Pool with temperature of 18 degrees. Each pool has its own unique features and benefits.

...

The Mineral Hot Springs Pool with concentrate from Japan’s Gero Hot Springs in Takayama Region, which has been recognised as the top 3 onsen in Japan with the nickname ‘Beauty Hot Spring’, cleanses and beautifies the body skin, reduces stress both physically and mentally as well as stimulates the metabolic system'.

So, as I understand it, concentrate (minerals) are added to tap water?

 

The caption says Chaing Mai. But is it? The image has since disappeared from Instagram

'Chilling ~~ #onsen #unseenthailand #chiangmai #โป่งเดือด'

Onsen enthusiasts need not to worry in Thailand. Besides the many natural hot springs, even Bangkok has an onsen which trucks in mineral water from Ranong (source).

Recent construction has taken place at the saline hot springs of Krabi, see above (source). Yourkrabi: 

'There is also an interesting salt water hot springs at Huay Nam Khao, in Klong Thom district, though the bathing pools here are shallow and have been artificially created from concrete, so the setting is not as picturesque'.

' #rockvalley#hotspring#kanchanaburi'

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'#hotspring'

Chiang Dao, northern Chiang Mai (source)