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From south to north, here are just some slides of the variety of soaks of Siam ...! 

พักไม่ทันหายเหนื่อย ปิดเทอมงานเยอะกว่าเปิดเทอมคูณสอง หยุดยาวๆบ้างได้ม้ายยย #relax #wareerak #wareeraksa #onsen #krabi #hotspring #spa #thaimassage #hotspringkrabi #forest #thialandonly #tradition 

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From Krabi we head a little north to what I believe is Rommannee hot spring, Phang Nga province, wedged between Khao sok and the coast:

Kanya Manoppong: 

Hot spring

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#hotspring #stairs #stairway #suanmokkh #suanmokkhinternational #chaiya #suratthani #green #grass #tree #souththailand #relax #myhometown #thailand_allshots #photooftheday #amazingthailand

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Leaving  the south behind us we continue via Khanchanaburi (first photo below) to the hot spring haven of Chiang Mai.

This time last year we befriended a dear taxi man, witnessed a very questionable 'vegetable' deal and were mobbed by Thai people calling us superstars and taking our pictures as we were roasted in the hot springs #tbt #superstars #hotsprings #bathfriends

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Hot spring in Chiang Dao ️ it's made by Japanese :) #hot_spring #hotspring #onsen #nature #mountain #chiangdao #chiang_dao #thailand #trip #travel #traveling #travelgram #worlderlust #worldingram 

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Samoeng, Chiang Mai, Pong Kwao hot spring. Source

[Lady in the Water] #hotsprings #Pai #Thailand #mermaid #adventure #Iamfree

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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 ....)

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.