Readme before you journey
Last April, we had the opportunity to volunteer with CP ALL to collect garbage on the beach and visit Koh Larn and Pattaya. Before reviewing Xanadu Resort Koh Larn and our trip this time, let me first review the volunteer work to collect garbage on the beach with CPALL or 7-Eleven.
7-Eleven: A Staple in Thai Communities
For CPALL, or 7-Eleven, there's no denying that these convenience stores have become an integral part of Thai communities. As consumers, we frequently find ourselves drawn to 7-Eleven, especially during the hot weather when the cool air conditioning provides a welcome respite.
Interestingly, with the exception of airports and remote islands, product prices remain consistent across all branches. Additionally, 7-Eleven offers a variety of budget-friendly promotions that are a delight for snack enthusiasts like myself. Currently, there are deals like two bags of snacks for 15 baht, buy-one-get-one-free offers, and buy-one-get-the-second-half-price deals.
The 7-Eleven app further enhances the shopping experience. By purchasing drinks and rice, customers can collect 6 stars and redeem a free cup of water.
Speaking of past promotions, one that I would love to see return is the "Buy 7 Sandwiches, Get 1 Free" offer. I was a huge fan of the 7-Eleven hot sandwiches, which were perfect for a quick and satisfying breakfast alongside a cup of coffee before work.
Therefore, when CPALL is close to the community like this, there is a volunteer project called "CP All Volunteer Club, Joining Forces to Do Good for Society", which has organized many social activities, many activities since
- An invitation to teach visually impaired children at a school for the blind
- Donated educational media production materials to the Foundation for the Blind.
- Provide lunch for children and donate educational materials to children in various places.
- Distributing drinking water during the Vegetarian Festival in Phuket
- Donated clothing and school supplies to students in the mountains of Phitsanulok Province.
- Including garbage collection campaigns in various locations, such as Ko Loi Sriracha in the past.
These examples are just a part of the activities that the CP All Volunteer Club has done.
The volunteer activity we participated in this time was the "Together for Koh Lan" campaign, organized by the CP All Volunteer Club in collaboration with Pattaya City. The aim was to raise awareness among tourists and Koh Lan residents about the importance of environmental protection. This included reducing the use of plastic bags and not littering on the beach or in the sea, in order to preserve the beautiful scenery of Koh Lan for future generations.
And before we go see why we need to collect garbage by the sea, we would like to show you a picture of a beach that we recently visited.
The sea is beautiful, the trees provide shade, and the breeze is cool and refreshing. But the beach is littered with garbage: plastic bags, bottles, styrofoam boxes, used tissues... what were they wiping? Would anyone want to visit a beach like this? Certainly not me. I don't want to see the beach in this condition.
Even though this activity may not change anyone's mind or behavior immediately, at least it's something good that's happening. It's better than doing nothing at all.
The trip started with waking up at five in the morning because we had an appointment at the CP headquarters early in the morning. Normally, at five in the morning, I'm still dreaming. When it was time to get on the bus, I fell asleep. I was saving my energy for picking up trash. But before we crossed the river to pick up trash, the army had to march on its stomach, so we stopped to eat at Aunt Prapai's papaya salad shop. Here are some pictures of the food before we started the trip.
After a satisfying meal, we continued our journey to Laem Bali Hai Pier to board a boat. The temperature and sunlight at that time were such that fish and clothes would definitely dry out completely if left out to dry.
We haven't crossed over to Koh Larn for many years. Now, Laem Bali Hai Pier has been developed a lot. There are many gates for boarding the boat.
On the way there, we took a short wooden boat ride to Koh Larn. The journey was very comfortable. When we arrived at Koh Larn, oh, the atmosphere was really good. The sky was clear, the sea was beautiful, and it was bustling with speed boats, passenger boats, and tourists.
And then the ship docked.
The lovely volunteers marched up the island, despite the scorching heat, they were undeterred.
For those who are planning to travel to Koh Larn from Laem Bali Hai Pier, there are two piers that provide ferry services to the island: Ta Waen Beach Pier and Na Baan Pier. The ferry schedule alternates between the two piers. We are currently at Ta Waen Beach Pier.
Every time we come to this pier at Hat Ta Waen, we always see people fishing like this. Sometimes we even see them catch squid, which are transparent.
The atmosphere of Hat Ta Waen when viewed from the pier. Hat Ta Waen is a lively beach. Tourists of many nationalities like to relax at Hat Ta Waen for the most part. Because it is convenient, there are restaurants and shops to buy things and eat conveniently.
Adjacent to Haad Ta-Hwan is Haad Sangwan, which is connected by a beautiful wooden bridge. Haad Sangwan is a small beach that is perfect for swimming because it is not crowded and there are not many boats anchoring near the beach. I saw some people snorkeling in front of the beach. The waves are calm, making it ideal for relaxation and taking photos.
In the past, the wooden walkway to Sangwan Beach was not as crowded as it is today. About ten years ago, when I visited Koh Larn, the number of tourists was significantly lower. The pier was not located at Laem Bali Hai, but rather opposite the Royal Garden Plaza in Pattaya. Back then, the crowds were much smaller. I remember waiting a long time for the boat to depart, with only a handful of passengers on board. Upon arriving at Ta Waen Beach pier, to reach Sangwan Beach, we had to walk across a rocky and coral-filled path along the shore. There were a lot of sea urchins, and the water was incredibly clear.
Time has passed. From having to walk through the rocks, a concrete bridge was built (4-5 years ago). From the concrete bridge, it has now become a beautiful wooden bridge like this instead.
After exploring Sangwan Beach, we waited for the opening ceremony. Volunteers who love the sea gathered, took photos, and waited for the opening ceremony.
In addition to the volunteers from CPALL, there were also children living on Koh Lan who participated as volunteers in this event.
The opening ceremony was led by Mr. Banyat Khamnoonwat, Assistant Managing Director of CP All Public Company Limited, the operator of 7-Eleven stores, and employees of the CP All and 7-Eleven Volunteer Club, along with Ms. Kesinee Yuppong, Acting Head of Public Health and Environment, Pattaya City Municipality. They jointly opened the event and also campaigned to invite young people, tourists, both Thai and foreign, to join this activity. To join hands to reduce the use of plastic bags and clean up Ta Yai Beach together.
The atmosphere of volunteers marching in a campaign and collecting garbage at the same time.
As you walk along the beach, you will see plastic bottles, beer bottles, and various cans scattered around.
The children and youth who participated in this activity are very hardworking and not afraid of the sun or heat.
If you see garbage, please help pick it up.
I would like to ask for permission to post pictures from CP ALL's Corporate Communications Office. We don't have any pictures of our own because after we finished collecting garbage, the volunteers went on to help distribute cloth bags at the 7-Eleven Tha Ruea Na Ban branch. It can be said that this activity was a lot of fun. Even though it was scorching hot, everyone had smiles on their faces.
We hope that this activity will be a part in helping many people turn to conserve the world, conserve the environment, so that our tourist attractions and beaches will be beautiful, not polluted, reduce the amount of garbage and reduce global warming.
After finishing the activities, my friends and I went to relax at Xanadu Beach Resort Koh Larn. It's a resort that's not too small and not too big, located right on Saem Beach. You can walk out of the resort and immediately be greeted by the beachfront atmosphere.
Image of a cat sitting on a table
Let's take a look at the atmosphere in the guest room. The atmosphere of the resort's guest rooms is brightly colored, similar to the interior of the resort. The room is spacious and just the right size, not too small. There is a sofa to sit and watch TV. The room is clean and the air conditioning is cool.
There is a TV and a dressing table for you to sit and put on makeup.
Water glasses and water jugs are available, but there is no tea or coffee.
The room was clean, but the water pressure was weak. The water also tasted a bit salty, like brushing your teeth with seawater.
The interior atmosphere will have a single-level dining area like this, which is on the side of the room where we are staying. In front of the room, there is a wooden table for sitting and socializing. It can be said that if you come as a group, you can sit and eat in front of the room.
In addition to the single-story building, there is also a two-story building. In front of the building, there are also wooden tables for sitting and relaxing.
The front building with a large open lawn.
The atmosphere in the resort, you can see that every building is painted in bright colors, which is the unique identity of this resort.
Let's take a look at the atmosphere in front of the resort, which is by the beach. This area is the resort's beachfront restaurant.
Walking along the beach, you will see that the beach area in the evening is as beautiful as anywhere else. There is a long pier extending into the sea, but the waves in this area can be a bit strong. It is suitable for people who like to surf.
At Saphan Pae Bridge, tourists seem to be having a lot of fun playing in the water. Some are taking photos, while others are jumping into the water and having a great time.
Image of a person wearing a hat
This area is the beach bed of Xanadu resort. It is free for resort guests.
Next to the resort is a hill. You can climb up to see the sunset from above.
The water level rises in the evening at the beach swing. The bridge you see in the distance is accessible for taking pictures, but we didn't walk there.
Back to the beach in the evening, this part is a beach bed service point. If anyone wants to relax on this beach, you can rent a beach bed from here. The sun is slowly setting, and we will continue to eat.
We had our meal at the resort itself. The resort offers set menus like this one. The taste was decent, and the grilled squid was delicious. I noticed that most of the customers were Chinese. After finishing our meal, we went back to our room to relax and then went to sleep.
Waking up to the atmosphere in front of the beach again Today, we were supposed to go to Koh Phai, but due to the bad weather, we had to change our plans. Because I think if we go to Koh Phai today, the sea will not be beautiful. A little disappointed, but it's okay. Let's continue to watch the atmosphere by the beach in the morning.
The area of the restaurant resort.
Yesterday we came when the tide was high, which was in the evening. This morning we came when the tide was low, and we could see the rocks protruding from the sand. It was a different kind of beauty, but this area is not very suitable for swimming. It is more suitable for sitting and watching the beach under the shade of the trees. Then we went to have breakfast, but I didn't take any pictures to show you, because the resort's breakfast wasn't very appealing.
After finishing our meal, we went back to our room to rest and pack our belongings in preparation for our return to the mainland. As we exited the room and checked out, the sun began to shine brightly once more. The sky and sea were stunning, a stark contrast to the earlier morning when it seemed like rain was imminent.
It's time for us and our friends to return to the shores of Pattaya. But this time, we're going back on a speedboat. Stay tuned for the next episode, where we'll take you to enjoy delicious seafood at Uncle Saisoi's restaurant, take fun photos at the 3D Museum, go parasailing, and indulge in delicious pastries at La Baguette Pattaya. Follow us for more at https://th.readme.me/p/3524
With time to spare after volunteering, we embarked on a fun and delicious day trip in Pattaya, with a thrilling parasailing experience thrown in for good measure.
Pear_Plean
Friday, September 27, 2024 10:05 AM
