After an hour drive, we arrived there in Khanom. Our first stop could not be anything else but a coffee shop called “Khanom Espresso”. The moment I got the car, I could smell coffee from the distance. It was so distinct and attractive.
Once we stepped in the rather Thai traditional house turned into a coffee shop, I noticed that all other customers were foreigners. We were the only group of Thais. The owner I believe is a local to Khanom. He was busy making coffee the whole time we were there.
I had an iced latte (of course, I am allowed to have a latte on Sunday) and a raspberry danish, the first danish after I got back from the States. The coffee was good with a bit of Thai taste twist. I wish there was less ice and it would be perfect for my type of iced latte.
We then took off to the Jedi Pagarang (aka The Reef Pagoda). It was a bright but quiet Sunday. Surprisingly, no one was there when we arrived at the pagoda.
Despite the super powerful sun,Tuck raised a spontaneous idea. The next thing we knew was that we all cleaned up the area. It looked much cleaner at the end and we were so proud. :)
Now, it was our time for fun! We first stopped for a quick late lunch at a local seafood restaurant, Khuatangke. The food was just okay. It did not wow us or anything. Actually, I was quite disappointed that one of the dishes, Todman Pla Insee (fish cakes) was extremely bad that it gave me and my husband severe food poisoning a few hours later.
Luckily, before the symptoms hit me, we went to one of the beaches in Khanom. We found that it was not as clean as it should. There was garbage like shoes, sandals, bottles, and food leftovers everywhere. We decided to sit and had a chat for a bit to kill time before we were ready for another meal at P’Ying (my colleague) and her husband’s European restaurant, Gusty Gecko.
I could not believe how much we could eat within six hours. Coffee, late lunch and then a full dinner in one afternoon, I can say that I was pretty proud of myself. Though I wanted to enjoy the delicious looking food at P’Ying’s restaurant, the food poisoning got me increasingly ill that I lost my appetite and could not finish my meal. It was so atypical for me, especially when I had planned to pay a visit at the restaurant.
However, I must say that the food was authentically wonderful. Starting off with a Hawaiian pizza with a twist of blue cheese instead of mozzerella. It was unexpectedly good. I was impressed.
Not long after the pizza, our main course came. I ordered a duck breast hoping to taste it and indulge. I, however, could only took a bite and it was a sad story after that. I knew it was so good but I just could not take any more bits of it.
All in all, Khanom is a great destination for one-day or even longer trips. There are a lot of to explore for everyone from cool coffee shops, authentic western restaurants, and myriad temples if you like. It is truly an affordable destination for everyone.
2/27/2018 10.44 pm
