MYSTIFYING KHAO YAI
The hilly eastern part of Thailand hides a relative mystery to international travellers.
Mystifying Khao Yai
The hilly eastern part of Thailand hides a relative mystery to international travellers
Set about 3 hours east of Bangkok, Khao Yai is not the easiest place to get to. For golfers travelling to the Land of a Thousand Smiles, there are plenty enough to choose from around the capital city, or even Pattaya just half that distance away.
However, for those who commit to making the commute, Khao Yai offers a resplendent panoply of golfing and surprising lifestyle pleasures not commonly found this part of the world.
If you’re right now thinking a-go-go girls and walking streets, stop. Don’t get me wrong, Khao Yai’s a great place but not like that. With its gentle climate, beautiful national park and awesome waterfalls during rainy season, it’s a hit with visitors. The entire area is filled with little enclaves of attraction, much like film sets in Hollywood, except that they are actual places to visit, restaurants to dine in and hotels to stay at; it is kind of like a world within a world, with cowboys and horses astride waterparks, a hobbit’s lair and Tuscan village.
Our first stop was to Sir James Resort and Country Club in the Mauklek district. Named after Sir James Richard Holt, who survived a spell in an internment camp during the Second World War, the resort boasts a hilly 18-hole golf course as well as an adjoining hotel.
Designed by John Rogers, the golf course undulates through the land and the famous mountain ranges that provide a picturesque
Khao Yai offers a resplendent panoply of golfing and surprising lifestyle pleasures not commonly found this part of the world.
backdrop, especially for its signature par 5 14th hole; a straight downhill covering 560 yards from the pro tees with water and bunkers guarding the green.
After a delicious lunch, the management explains that the club plays host to foreign golfers primarily from Korea and the Thai PGA, and that they play an average of 1,000 rounds per week. An intense workout for the golf course, which is a testament to its popularity, but it also means that some of the greens look a bit worn out. When we finally got there, it actually looks it but thankfully it doesn’t affect the consistency of the golf course. With fairways tightly strung at approximately 20 metres between cuts, spanning 6,560 yards off the men’s tee, it presents an interesting challenge even for seasoned golfers.
After another refreshing snack stop, Khao Yai threw us all a little surprise when our driver pulls over by the side of the road, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, near shrub land and some foggy mountain ranges. There I was thinking, “Huh? Are we sleeping in tents tonight?” Then we spotted a lane about 500 metres long that leads to the hotel. After some skilful manoeuvring, we arrived at the Belle Villa Resort, our home for the next two nights.
A quiet retreat containing 40 standard and 4 deluxe rooms and 3 villa-styled homes, there wasn’t much in terms of attraction surrounding this hotel, but if you want to get away from the world, Belle Villa will surely provide you with privacy and seclusion.
It is from here that we travel to our next golfing stop and the gem of the lot - the Jack Nicklaus designed Kirimaya Golf Resort. Comprising of a wide range of holes to challenge even the finest golfers, irrespective of handicap range, its expansive land also tested our stamina irrespective of body fat index, sending us meandering through the course since no two holes were laid beside each other.
Kirimaya is an average length course off the blue and gold tees, averaging 6,500 yards. Their signature hole is the 16th, a 348-yard par 4 off the blues with a 45-degree dogleg right to approach the green. Longhitters will use an iron off the tee as drivers and woods will land the ball past the cart path and into the un-recoverable hazards.
The highlight of the hole personally, is more aesthetic. A large lake surrounds the right while the misty mountain ranges cover the distant horizon. Together with the stylish architecture, there’s a real sense of having left the busy city life behind.
In the afternoon we checked out the accommodation. Kirimaya and Muthi Maya Resorts are both under the same group, though with different characteristics.
Kirimaya Resort provides an apartment style complex while Muthi Maya Resort has tents in place of hotel rooms.
Looking like it came out of an Indian enclave, each tent look ordinary on the outside but super luxurious within the two-step curtain doorway. There are four individual segments within, all decked out in exquisite furniture, and a Jacuzzi situated right in the middle.
Next morning, depart for what, to me, is the most extraordinary experience. While in Singapore we have Chinatown, Holland Village and Little India, here in Khao Yai, there is a a that actually resembles one to the very last detail. From the architecture to the interiors of individual shops, this village was designed to bring Tuscany to the tropics.
From the architecture to the interiors of individual shops, this village was designed to bring Tuscany to the tropics.
While here, one may feast on Italian treats or go shopping for artefacts within its narrow cobbled streets. There is even a hotel here that you can live in and embrace the atmosphere in totality. As we walk through the corridors and alleyways of this magical town, ice-cream shops and cafés are swarmed with visitors getting out of the sun and chilling down with the flavours of iced tea and Tuscan gelato.
And if you think that’s crazy enough, there’s actually a vineyard here as well. Less than 30-minutes away, along the cool slopes that defines the mountainous curves of this UNESCO World Heritage site is the PB Valley Khao Yai Winery. Owned by Dr. Piya Bhirombhakdi of the famous Singha Beer franchise, this unique 20-hectare site is dubbed the ‘New Latitude’ wines because grapes are not normally grown here in the tropics. Still, they make some delicious shiraz and chenin blanc varietals here, according to my less than puissant taste buds.
Wining, shopping and dining may be all good but it’s the golf we’re pulsing to get to. Rancho Charnvee Country Club is next on the cards. A Bob Mcfarland design, this course is open with wide, undulating fairways, tricky fairway bunkers and variable green heights. Sounds like links play? Yes, it is inspired by the Scottish windswept courses.
It spans a whopping 7,131 yards, making this one of the longer course here. It feels nothing like Thailand with its modern minimalist clubhouse with cottage-styled villas and a luxury boat swimming in a pond up front.
Another tract that is worth visiting is Panorama Golf Club. Designed by the late Dean Refram, it is set among several tourist attractions like the Tuscan Valley and the National Park (not to be confused with
the Tuscan Village) and is a truly unique experience. Very tight fairways, their signature holes are the 5th and 8th but I think the latter deserves special mention for the fact that it is an elevated par 3 that is 196-yards from the back with a 130-degree view of the surrounding land and mountains. Absolutely gorgeous.
Next up, is Mountain Creek Resort, which is another luxurious option. It is not your typical big-sized Sheraton or Hilton hotels serving the golf amenity but rather, it houses only 34 villas catering for 30 couples in either a deluxe villa or a summer pool villa, and four family-sized groups. They all come with lush gardens and spacious terraces.
On the golf front is another big surprise - a 27-hole golf course designed by the late Seve Ballesteros, and probably the only one this side of the world. Every golfer will remember the Spaniard for his feyness and creativity, and Seve leaves behind his legacy with this golf course, making golfers think and create golf shots that we normally would not hit.
We attempt to conquer the Highland and Creek Course or to folks here, the North and South courses, which when combined, is a par 72 spanning a whopping 7,452 yards off the championship tees. When asked about professional tournaments, we were told the best winning score here is even par played on the Highland and Creek combo.
A standout here is the par 3, 2nd on the Creek course. A short 138 yards, the green is elevated about 4 to 5 storeys high with a big tree that hangs over your flight path. Clear the tree, and you’ll feel like a million bucks. Hit it, and you’ll mope for the rest of the round.
But the toughest of the three is really the Valley Course, which boasts a total of 3,589 yards off the blue tees. A roundabout challenge that requires a variety of shot-shaping, the only straight
Khao Yai Golf Club, proudly named after the province, offers wide, open fairways backed by huge mountain ranges that spans many of the courses here.
plays are the two par 3s and the 9th fairway, which still requires a drive over a pond for safety. As far as we know, Seve was able to view his masterpiece completed just prior to his passing.
Surprisingly, Mountain Creek Resorts was not aiming to be labelled a 5-star resort, although I’d be happy to give them another one if it made any sense. In time, I was told, they will develop a 76-room building to expand their accommodation options.
Thereafter, we visit a golf course that makes you feel like you are in a Mexican film set with a wooden ranch for a clubhouse, and a Mexican stone house for apartments, the former Police force-owned golf course has now switched to private hands to become Bonanza Golf Club.
A par 72, 7,122-yard long golf course, it is not to be underestimated. The tricky blind fairways, and strategically placed rock formations will surely make you pull your hair out if you are not careful with your tee shots but apart from that, Still, it’s good fun out here and a pretty walk.
At this point, we were almost over-golfed and yet, we press on, only to be rewarded by one of the most picturesque courses you’ll ever lay eyes on, if you can see past the shrubs and slightly damaged fairways, that is. Approximately 1.5 hours from downtown Bangkok, it is also the nearest to get to. Khao Yai Golf Club, proudly named after the province, offers wide, open fairways backed by huge mountain ranges that spans many of the courses here.
What’s special, however, is that this 7,058-yard layout meanders through the mountains instead of seeing it in the distance. Another Nicklaus design, there’s quality to be had there. It’d do you good to save battery and memory space for that perfect Khao Yai moment there on the 16th, a 407-yard par 4 that plays downhill into paradise.
This is one story that does not deserve an ending but alas, as all good things go, it has to. “It’s been an exhilarating experience. Different, but great fun nonetheless!” says one of the lads on the trip on our way back to Bangkok. As we drive out of this enchanted forest, I can almost feel the magic slowly slipping away, and then I know at once, I’ve got to be back here again.