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Chumpon is
a junction town with the intercity traffic coming from
the south and the western coast. It was important when
the journey through Ranong made it compulsory for
overnight stop. Now the new east coast highway through
Surat Thani and the expressway have altered the scene
tremendously. Chumpon comes from the Thai "chumnumphon" meaning meeting place. Beside being an important stop over point of yesteryears, the other attraction of this sparsely populated province are the off shore islands.
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| Chumpon do not much to offer as compared to other province, speciality here is bananas, "kluay lep meu naang". Princess fingernail bananas" -these small, slender fruits are very cheap but tasty. |  |
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This tiny province has many karsts hills by the seasides. While there those who are visiting the sea for its uncontaminated coral reefs, some may like to explore the less visited caves. There are many types here, from very dry caves to those with tidal effects. |
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islands around here are uninhabited with the exception of
Ko Rang Kachiu. This is a restricted island due its bird
nest collection activities. The license for the collection are awarded to private firms. Climbers risking their lives would scale these flimpsy bamboo poles to reach the ceiling of the caves. From there, other connecting poles will lead them to passages and smaller caves. The nest from the swift are " attached" to the cave wall. Using a long pole, the nests are disloged and fall to the ground. Therefore it is critical that no unauthorised person enters the caves to pick up the booty that are scattered all over the floor. |
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In this area though there are a few beaches, not many visitors are concerned. They would go for the good reefs that are seldom visited or disturbed by others before them |
While everyone is busy looking towards the sea and being led into caves, there are couple of tiny waterfalls that you may like to explore:-
| Name of Waterfall | Its Location |
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9 kilometrs from the Pathiu district office | ||
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30 kilometers from Tambon Salui |
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Log on to Khong's Travel page |
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