Wooden long-tail boats line the shore of Thale Noi, a 457km² freshwater wetland in Khuan Khanun district of Phatthalung, about 850km south of Bangkok.
Not far from them, pink water lilies are in bloom. Birds flit through the air, while a number of brown-headed gulls sit atop a long fence made of sticks in the lake, as though they are sunbathing.
“Thale Noi is known not only for the sea of pink water lilies, but is also a popular destination for bird watching,” said Kittikon Chupet, a village headman of the Ban Thale Noi community.
He always sees migratory birds during the cold season, he said. Birds migrate to Thale Noi from October to March, while pink water lilies are in full bloom from March to April, according to the Thale Noi Wildlife Conservation Development and Extension Station.
The station has recorded 187 species of resident and migratory birds in and around Thale Noi, including painted storks, purple herons, lesser whistling ducks, little grebes, black-winged stilts, brahminy kites, cormorants and whiskered terns. A total of approximately 43,000 birds were counted in the area a couple of years ago.
“The number has increased this year because the weather is too cold in North Asia. More birds keep migrating to the South,” said Suwat Khanachaivath, head of the academic section of the Thale Noi Wildlife Conservation Development and Extension Station.
He said those birds migrate from Siberia and China. They make various stops in Thailand, including Bueng Boraphet, which is the country’s largest freshwater swamp and wetland, located in Nakhon Sawan, Prachuap Khiri Khan and Phatthalung, before flying to Malaysia, Singapore and Australia.
Some migratory birds make Thale Noi their home. Thanks to its conservation status, Thale Noi was made a non-hunting area in 1975. It became Thailand’s first Ramsar site after the government signed the Convention on Wetlands, known as the Ramsar Convention, in 1998, which centred around the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. Fishing activities are allowed, but bird hunting and egg collecting are strictly prohibited.
Thale Noi is home to 57 species of mammals such as fishing cats, mongooses and crab-eating macaques, as well as many aquatic animals including around 40 species of fish and numerous species of plants and weeds.
Tourism in Thale Noi started about 20 years ago, when a few fishermen gathered together to offer boat services to tourists.
“Visitors arrived in Thale Noi to admire its nature. By word of mouth, more tourists have come to Phatthalung to visit Thale Noi,” said Kittikon.
More fishermen started tourist boat groups at four spots around the wetland. The competition was fierce, and they began to undercut one another’s prices to remain competitive. Kittikon was concerned about service standards and tourist safety. He initiated the idea to form the Thale Noi Tourist Boat Club a decade ago. The club recruited boat operators as its members and drafted regulations.
“We have 38 boat owners. We will never increase the number of boats because we want every operator to have enough income, whether it is low or high season,” he said.
The club also allowed boat operators to serve a large number of visitors, sometimes up to 300 tourists simultaneously.
“We also have rules that each boat must have enough life jackets and hats for eight passengers. The owner must also have a licence from the Marine Department to operate a service boat,” he said.
Each wooden boat must be 12m long, and the widest part must be 1.1m.
“We use long-tail boats because the lake is full of underwater weeds. In addition, the water level is not too deep. We used to try flat-bottom motorboats, but they got stuck,” he said.
The tourist boats do not have roofs. Kittikon said it is quite windy in Thale Noi, and roofs might cause accidents. Shade-seeking tourists, then, should take a boat ride in the early morning. The first boat leaves at 6am, and offers passengers a chance see the Sun’s gradual rise over the vibrant pink blossoms of the buoyant water lilies.
The highlight of the cruise, however, is the large flocks of bird species like lesser whistling ducks and black-winged stilts. They are always found near the Chalerm Phrakiat Bridge. As the boat approaches them, they will fly up together, then return to the same spot. Also found in the area are herds of water buffalo raised by fishermen. They graze freely, enjoying the plentiful grass in the area.
According to Kittikon, Thale Noi is most beautiful in March and April, when countless the lilies are in full bloom.
“You will be amazed with the sea of pink water lilies,” he said.
“We plan to improve our facility to serve more tourists. In the future, we will turn the small concrete bridge where visitors get on and off the boats into a large platform, to improve tourist safety,” he added.
Little cormorants.
