Leaving the best for last?

Heading for Porn
The town, néé the province of Ranong, is synonymous with hot springs. However this link is entirely focused on the existence of Raksawarin hot spring, located not far from downtown Ranong. Developed and overdeveloped, this hot spring is hardy a natural feature anymore, even though it is a magnet for passing tourists, mostly locals.

But Ranong province is well-endowed with many other hot springs. On a relative scale. Including the above Raksawarin, Porn Rang (or Phon Rang) hot spring is the third hot spring on a 10 km stretch; Phu Lam Phi being the other. Elsewhere within the province are more hot springs with little or no information available.

Porn Rang seems to have survived the scourge of over-development or inadept development as it is located within a national park (Namtok Ngao N.P.). Though in Thailand that's not necesarily a guarantee, the hot spring of Porn Rang is certainly tastefully developed.

Hoopla
Not so long ago, much was made of pumping in more money to develop Porn. See Soaking in Siam's short exposé of last year. The ambitious Ranong Provincial Administrative Organisation chairman is quoted as hoping Porn Rang would become a major tourist attraction.

Gracefully, other than a well-signposted smooth entrance road and a big car-park, the bus loads of tourists have not added this soaking site to their stop-and-go loads of to-be-experienced sites. Because, despite all the hoopla, Porn Rang is a hot spring worth a visit. And a soak.


The car park looks ominous, but beyond the small entrance gate, one walks along a small stream towards a weir. This being late afternoon, there are many locals, but only locals.

Beyond the weir, but on the same bank, are a few sala's with really nice hot pools. After a soak, one can jump in the adjacent stream to cool off and let little fish nibble your toes, no need to order the Dr. Fish treatment here!


Crossing the weir, there are more wells and roofed pools. Downstream are some older constructions, and a new foot bath. Even further downstream is a nice section with hot pools on either side of the stream and across the stream, rocks have made a nice pool.

Just one of the pools, waiting for soakers (or simply too hot?)

Changing facilities and even toilets are located near each villa. We change and go for a soak. Problem no. 1 is the intense heat, especially in the smaller pools. On the opposite side the bigger pool is more bearable and a great soak ensures whilst the evening encapsulates the surroundings. Slowly the sun is setting.

Porn Rang really is an exceptionally (for Thailand) attractive place for an evening soak. It's odd that tourists are yet to wash up here, why on earth would masses head for cemented-over imitations of what was originally there? Beats me.

Two of the springs

It may seem odd, but the above mentioned web-links are actually the only info available on the internet ...

Getting here: From Ranong town, head south on the main highway 4 for roughly 6 km and take the signposted turn towards the hills. The road winds itself up into the rolling foothills about 1,5 km away. The road finishes at the hot spring car park (see below). Follow the link on panoramio.


Soaking experience: With the wide choice of different pools, all very clean and the opportunity to soak in the adjacent stream this must be heaven. However if clothing optional were even a distant dream, heaven would have been a step closer. For me that is.

Overall impression: Well-organized, well thought through, not over run, excellent experience, a must.

The river

Slurpy

The lesser developed
With the differing levels of to-be-expected development concerning hot springs in Thailand, there seems to be no rule, bar one: the more remote, the less developed. But even this rule will have to thrown out of the window.

Chaiya district's (Surat Thani province) distant claim to fame is the Suan Mokkh temple. Established just 50 years ago (or earlier) this forest temple was home to Ajahn Buddhadasa Bhikkhu, one of Thailand's most famous monks (source).

But besides the attraction of the road side temple complex, just a one km walk away is a hot spring; delitefully deserted and undeveloped with exception of a stair and an overflow.
Less nice is the small paved street which nearly runs over the spring. And the overflowing garbage bins which give an indication that maybe not mid-morning but certainly at other times of the day, the hot springs see their fair share of visitors.

A familiar Thai natural phenomenon: trash at scenic (soaking) spots!

Guided by spirits?
As said ,it's not too difficult to find. But chugging up or down the highway, one is once more mind-boggled by all the signs pointing to this attraction, though the final signboard indicating that you need to "stop now!" seems to have been omitted. A sudden break and a blind turn-off later we are at the rather busy parking space just outside the temple complex.

Slightly bewildered, we enter the temple site and at the first crossroad inside the busy temple complex we are accustomed by a foreign disciple, totally clad in white gowns.

"We are looking for the hot spring".
"Ah, cross the road via the foot bridge, walk up the road for 100m and then take the sideroad for another 10 minutes walk".

So we cross the busy highway and walk up along this source of noise and stench. Between two shops, follow the country road away from the highway towards the railway and beyond the sea. A not too high mount seems to be the point where this road heads first.
We continue the much longer than 10 minute walk, asking along the way, yes, yes, it's not too far. As the road comes close to the mount, the hot spring appears on the left.

Is this all?
It's a pond with embankment on the far side. From the roadside a stairway leads down which supposedly enables the entering and existing. Along the road side of the pond is an underwater sitting space. There's a huge slurping sound, coming from the overflow, in the middle of the pond. Where the overflow flows to is unknown as the surroundings are devoid of any stream.

The roadway is silent, no changing spaces, hmmm. I take a good soak, especially as I am covered in sweat from the walk here. The water is very hot, but also slightly salty.

After the soak we continue onwards hoping to find where the overflow leads to. But to avail. Further on there 's a meditation centre, whatever that may be.

More
A good source of information on this hot spring comes from a regular visitor on thaipulse blog, in which the contributor adds some more info on the surroundings. Specifically he mentions that the Dhamma Meditation Center (the center which lay beyond the springs) has it's own hot springs. Actually, it's called International Meditation Hermitage.

Em and Trev mention the existence of separate hot springs (separate from what? Oh I see, men from ladies ... (picture on men's soak) at the centre:

'The hot springs are in secluded natural settings, and are a welcome relief after evening tea, loosening up those tired back muscles just in time for one last stretch of sessions'.

Friends of Suan Mokkh describe there being two for men, one for women. A piece of advice:

'The water is slightly odorous, so you'll probably need to bathe afterwards'.

Annete mentions a specific problem with separate soaks and meditations retreats:

'We can’t walk back from the hot springs with wet sarongs as the shape of our wet thighs underneath might spur the men into thinking unutterable thoughts ...'.

Another aspect overlooked, described by Roaming Elephant:

'Had a dip in a hot spring. It was like taking a bath. Then it became annoying that we weren't allowed to speak to each other - this was supposed to be a social activity'.

Anyway, that about the other non-public hot springs.

Despite the area being a magnet for spiritualists other than a wooden cushion and a cement bunk, there's little or no accommodation nearby.

Getting there: Chaiya is 590 km from Bangkok, 140 km plus from Chumphon or around 50 km north of Surat Thani. The temple site of Suan Mokkh is 6 km south of Chaiya town along the main highway. Take a small lane towards the sea and after about 1 km you will arrive at the hot spring. More specific directions here from suanmokkh.idh.org.

Soaking experience: Aaaaah, a Thai hot spring, hardly disturbed by mankind. A luxury, a wee bit hot, for the hot and humid season ...

Overall impression: Suan Mokkh hot spring, a great enchanting place (if there were no slurping sounds from the overflow ....)

Ranong = hot spring!?

Royal reverberation

Rated as one of Thailand's most popular hot springs (source), Raksawarin hot spring has become the province of Ranong's no. 1 natural attraction. Such that the hot spring is often referred to as Ranong hot spring.

But the real name is Raksawarin. It's claim to fame harks back to a visit by King Rama V more than a century ago. Since then, it's waters have been revered and development of the site to host ever-increasing number of visitors has gained pace.

Some science (?)
Pawanrat Saengsiriroj (2011) in his case study notes [1] that Raksawarin is

'ranked as one of the best three in the world because the water from this hot spring is pure, without the smell of sulphur. It is also considered the best in Thailand ...'.

Whether or not soakers are put off by sulphur smells and whether or not the absence of smells makes it a top 3 world soak, seems debatable. However, despite the recent nature of the study, it mostly results in opening open doors. For instance, more than half the visitors are reportedly nationals whose opinion of worldwide soaks would be deemed slightly insignificant.

A more scholarly effort was undertaken by Suwicha Komaladat (2010). He finds [2] that many tourists come to Ranong's hot spring as it was part of their journey, not a destination in it's own right; a problem which seems to stick to Ranong town. Another significant difference, foreigners are interested in spa facilities with little interest in souvenir shopping; Thai are interested in the freebies (foot bath) and the opportunity to purchase local food specialties.

Free foot bathing, a cornerstone of Ranong's wellness industry

It also notes the lack of motivation

'to improve the product and service quality'.

And

'[there is] no known successful research on the mineral water healing quality, the mineral water usage'.

Despite some websites claiming the opposite.

Newer bathing facilities? Yet to be opened.

Tourist trap
If there were a natural tourist trap, Raksawarin hot spring would rank high. It's only located a km or so from the main road south which by-passes Ranong town. Take the inland road just before the bridge and head up the narrow valley. Just before hitting the hot spring you will be required to cross a bridge.

The area around the hot spring has seen such haphazard development that the road has been deemed too congested to let cars through (there is a diversion), though parking is available. On the mountain side there are a wide variety of shops as well as something called Siam Hot Spa, what seems to be a private soaking facility.

On the river side the area has been landscaped, paved over, redeveloped and is the source of the hot springs, 3 in total, aptly named Father, Mother and Child spring. Surprisingly many facilities have been constructed as well and they are free.

Evening time, there are quite a few visitors walking around, using the foot baths or the hot floor complex, a novelty yet to gain worldwide attention.

A purposely built hot floor, where you can really sweat it out. Part of the instructions read:

'4. Should not sleep on this area more than 30 mins.'

The river itself is milky white, indicating large amounts of erosion further upstream. Continue onwards beyond the hot springs, one can visit the Ranong canyon, which sounds more than it actually is; it seemed quite boring when we visited the submerged mine.

The Ranong "canyon".

Ranong
As Ranong is the best place to stay a couple hours north or south (and has a certain charm) of the hot spring, adding some info on accommodation is by no means superfluous.

Besides this, Ranong is a good place to explore more hot springs (Phu Lum Phi, Porn Rang), waterfalls (Bokkrai, Punyaban, Ngao, Chum Saeng) and off-shore islands even with the possibility of diving.

There are also two hotels with connections to the hot springs. Jansom Hot Spa Ranong Hotel claims that it is the only hotel with a

'100% direct tap'

to the hot springs. Seeing it is located on the highway next to the turnoff to the hot springs, the claim seems credible.
On Agoda there is a photo of a mineral bath (indoor). However the guest reviews repeatedly point to the faded facilities that would require a nice renovation.

Tinidee Hotel Ranong receives better reviews (Agoda, tripadvisor, sawadee) and claims to have a mineral water pool.

We stayed at the new B Ranong Trend hotel which may have lacked the mineral connection but was so out of the ordinary ("modern retro"), that paying a visit here is certainly rewarding.

The art of folding hotel towels, just a preview of what to expect at B Ranong. What about the lights in the transparent flush reservoir of the toilet?

Getting there: Located not far from the highway, the hot spring is well signposted, not more than 2 km from the turnoff located next to a bridge.

Soaking experience: Though the focus is on hot springs, soaking is less customary practice ...

Overall impression: Despite the hype I had suspected it to be worse. in general well-developed and laid back, just wish there were better soaking facilities ...

The iconic Ranong hot spring image, wife looking for the bottom.

Notes:
[1] Pawanrat Saengsiriroj (2011) Hot Spring Goers: A Case Study of Raksawarin Hot Spring, Ranong Province, Thailand. Assumption University, Graduate School of Business, e-Journal, vol 4, March 2011. Assumption University, Bangkok, Thailand.
[2] Suwicha Komaladat (2010) Health tourism destination in Thailand: a case study of Raksawarin Hot Spring. International Journal of Leisure and Tourism Marketing, vol 1, no 3, pp 238-247. International Journal of Leisure and Tourism Marketing, Inderscience Publishers, Bucks, United Kingdom.

Not so samui?

Provincial bliss?
Surat Thani is a well established province for tourism, though the fact that all this tourism is concentrated on the boutique island resort of Samui and the full-moon party island of Phangan means that the mainland part of the province is often by-passed, neglected even.

Surat Thani town itself is another typical Thai provincial town: a transfer part to the rest of the province without much charm and acting as a center of purchase symbolized by the Tesco-Lotus or Big C. Nothing in common with either island mentioned before!

Anyway, there is another side to Surat Thani province; away from the coast are extensive jungles and a national park or two (including the upcoming national park destination of Khao Sok), while the coast fringe has it's own blend of fishing villages, agricultural communities and forests.

Into the unknown
Part of the provincial unknowns is the existence of quite a few hot springs. My own list had six links, most linking to the (temporarily defunct?) Thai geothermal database site.

More intense (and time consuming) searching revealed the following. There is Chaiya hot spring (or two), Kaper hot spring (at Kaeng Krung national park) , Bo Nam Ron, Khao Tok and Po Nam Ron (Kanchanadit).

Khawdee et al. (2007) actually list 9 unnamed hot springs within the province though with no names. They refer to Chaturongkawanich (2001) who studied 8 (?) hot springs in Surat Thani.

Finally, I did find a selected and translated Thai geothermal database on the Russian language site Горячие источники в Таиланде (Hot springs in Thailand). It lists seven hot spring sites in Surat Thani, three of which are in or near Chaiya, others listed are near Wat Tharnnamron (Tashang tambon, another link), Wanghin (Nasarn village) and Kauplu (Naderm village).

And then there's Tha Sathorn.

Disappearing
Complete with it's own Facebook page, Tha Sathorn is probably the best accessible hot spring, located not too far away from Surat Thani town. And it seems quite a bit of public funds have found their way to this soaking site. Entrance is free and it seems the natural spring has been transformed into a sterile park.

Other internet info from a blog entry by Andy. He adds that it also has pool, which may have evaporated since.
Bluechizont has another entry, but only in Thai language which appears to be Tha Sathorn, with pool as well. It also has more on another unnamed soak, looks a lot more pleasant too.
More photo's on panoramio, back when the site was less developed ...

Tourist information at Tha Sathorn.

Footy
One factor overlooked are signposts leading one to the hot spring. From the 401 from Surat Thani take the 4248 which tends to head to Tha Satorn town. After crossing the railroad near Tha Sathorn take a road inland for 1 or 2 km. In all honesty there are large billboards but with Thai language and hardly any pictures.

So after a couple of wrong turns and many questions asked, we arrive at the grand entrance on a hot day at a parking area with no shade, yea!

Is this it?

Possibly.

We walk to the left, past a building and something that looks like a ticket stall with no one around.

It's a Sunday and there are quite a few people milling around, an ice-cream stall is open. Beyond are changing rooms, modern but deserted, certainly none of the other visitors are using this.

Walk beyond this and there is a moat around a raised walkway. One can get on this walkway and within the circle is a large hot spring. We walk half way round this spring and once off the walkway on the opposite side is a 3m wide bassin, possibly a foot deep but shaded. Some locals are having a foot soak.

Perpendicular to this is another similar set up but with better shade and more people taking the waters.


Apparently that's all there is to this soak, a spring, two foot bassins and a walkway. Why the changing rooms?

Getting there: About 20 km from Surat Thani town down road 4248, turn away from the rails just before Tha Sathorn. Keep asking .....

Soaking experience: Apparently made for footbathing only.

Overall impression: Pro's: in general a nice place; con's: ai, it's been developed and turned into a hotspot. Not enough shade. And where are soakers supposed to soak?


Notes:
Khawdee, P., W. Lohawijarn, H. Duerrast (2007) Geophysical model of Ban Na Doem Hot-spring in Surat Thani Province, Thailand. Seventh National Graduate Research Conference. Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Thailand.

Thermophiles challenged

Directing development
Directing funds to tourist adventures sometimes leads to strange situations. Raksarawin hot spring of Ranong, Thailand, is an example of incessant funding, in this case leading it to be a tourism highlight. However, just down the road, Phu Lum Phi hot spring is left forlorn and undeveloped.

Untouched it's not, as there is evidence that some money might have flown here in the past. But as is very common in Southeast Asia the development was overestimated and whatever was dreamed of, didn't materialize. 

It would be interesting to see why some hot spring sites seem not to be too worried about financial inflows (for investment purpose's) whereas others are starved. Failure to adhere, initiate, political patronage?

D.I.Y.
Internet fails to shed some light on this hot spring, an odd case, as Ranong is synonymous with hot spring, note the singular use of the term.

Situated just off Ranong's major highway heading south, it is about 6 km from the city center on the inland side of the road. A blink and you will miss the turnoff (and signboard). Up this road it's only a km or so before one comes to a large grassfield with some scattered buildings around.

It is late afternoon and what seems like a pond has a few locals hanging around. Apparently some have just finished their bath, others have waited their turn (= joke). Other than these half dozen soakers there is not much to proof that this place is located near one of Thailands most visited hot springs. 

In front of us is a circular pool, to the right a toilet block with behind it a solid locked building. A fair walk away over the grassy field are some sala's while to the left are some more buildings without intention (?).



The toilet block functions as changing room. Local custom then implores one to squat around the hot pond and scoop water over oneself shower style. Oh and do remain dressed. Having a bucket give's the showeree (what's a soaker who only showers called?) the ability to let the hot water cool down before immersing oneself.

Getting there: Take the major highway south out of Ranong town and pay attention to tiny blue signboards along the road heading inland. Roughly 5-6 km outwards there's a small road which heads around a to be developed plot and heads into some secondary growth and straight close to the hot spring.



Soaking experience: A soak in the general sense is not to be had, a bak mandi (large scoop) enables a shower of sorts. Different but not necessarily rewarding.

Overall impression: A very rustic, down to earth place. The lack of development and visitors gives it an extra cachet, but in all honesty a visit here is only for thermophiles and even they might be challenged.