Hello, today I will take you on a tour of the Ratchaprapha Dam, also known as the Cheow Lan Dam.

While there may be many existing reviews and guides on travel methods and information, I will share my own perspective. If you're not interested in reading, feel free to just enjoy the pictures.

I booked a flight from Chiang Mai to Surat Thani on AirAsia a long time ago, so long that I almost forgot about it.

My tentative travel schedule.

October 27, 2016, departed from Chiang Mai around 1 pm, arrived in Surat Thani at 3 pm, checked in at The One Hotel, had dinner at Lamphu 2 restaurant, walked around the night market, and went back to sleep.

October 28, 2016

Waking up early, I enjoyed a hotel buffet breakfast before heading to the Kaset 2 market to catch a van to the Pa Phu Tawan office. From there, I boarded the company's boat to the pier and then took another boat to the dam. Lunch was served at the dam, followed by a day of relaxation, swimming, photography, and enjoying the scenery.

October 26, 2016, Khao Paeng took me on a trip to hike, raft on bamboo rafts, visit the coral cave, see the Guilin of Thailand, and return to the raft to eat, sleep, play in the water, and take pictures until another day passed.

October 30, 2016. Woke up early, had breakfast, took a long-tail boat back to the pier, bought souvenirs, and sat and lay down at the airport before boarding a plane at 3 pm to return to Chiang Mai.

I did not intend to write a review, so I did not take pictures of everything. However, I will share some important information with you.

From the airport, there is an airport bus to The One Hotel for 150 baht per person. It arrives at Kaset Market 1, which is across the street from Kaset Market 2. Walk for about 15 minutes to reach the hotel. If you are alone, this is a good option. However, since I was with three people, I used an airport taxi for 500 baht, which took us directly to the hotel. (I didn't realize it was so close to Kaset Market 1.)

The One Hotel is truly as good as its reputation. I booked a room for three people (around 1600 baht per night on Agoda). It's actually two rooms connected by a doorway, with one 6-foot bed and one 5-foot bed. The room is clean and the hotel looks new and beautiful. It's also within walking distance of the van stop to the pier (see map below).


After checking in at the hotel, we searched for recommended restaurants on Pantip. We found two options: "Lamphu 3" and "Kieng Le".

The hotel staff recommended Kiew Le, but it was too far away. We didn't rent a car, and taking a metered taxi would have cost double the price because it was outside the city. After considering the cost, which would have been several hundred or even close to a thousand baht just for transportation, we decided to go to Lamphu 3 instead. The reviews on Pantip were similar anyway.

We hired a small local pickup truck for a round trip from our hotel. We agreed on a price of 250 baht, and I paid him 120 baht upfront. After we finished eating, we called him to pick us up at the restaurant, and then paid the remaining amount. It became clear why we had to do it this way when we arrived at the restaurant, as it was unlikely that a vehicle like this would pass by.

Upon arriving at Lamphu 3, the restaurant was closed. We then returned to Lamphu 2 instead. The sky was exploding with colors, so we asked the owner if we could take photos for five minutes.

The sky at Lamphu 2 is even more stunning than before. As a huge fan of vibrant skies and twilight hues, I'm completely captivated. I can hardly eat or sleep.

The presenter of the 3 Flavors dipping sauce is incredibly delicious. (Referring to the dipping sauce)

I'm a big fan of the "3 Flavors" dipping sauce. It's so good that I could eat it plain with rice (if it were delicious). This particular restaurant's sauce is incredibly delicious. (Full-frame cameras have a narrow depth of field, so sometimes food photos look better when taken with a smartphone.)

It's almost noon, let's eat! (at the time of posting) Oysters are 45 baht each, served 5 at a time.

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Half a kilo of grilled shrimp, only got three. I don't remember the price anymore.

Stir-fried crab with curry powder. The best part is that you don't have to peel the crab. However, the curry powder flavor was not very strong. Overall, it was still delicious.


The sea bass with fish sauce was voted the most delicious by everyone. I love the sweet and salty sauce, it's so delicious!


On the way back, while waiting for the pickup truck to pick us up, we took some photos. The light was shining on our heads, haha.



I would love to stay here another night. I can't eat anything right now (but I did manage to devour a bowl of crab curry noodles).


After the market, we walked to the city pillar shrine. We arrived too late, and it was already closed (it closed at 7 pm). So we just took pictures through the gate.


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The second day of the trip began with an early wake-up call, packing, and a buffet breakfast (the food was delicious, by the way. When we checked out of the hotel, we discovered a dim sum restaurant right next door).

According to the map below, walk from the hotel to the van queue at Kaset Market 2. Search for "Kaset Market 2 Van Queue" on Google Maps. It takes less than 15 minutes to walk. There are many vans in that area that go to many places. You can ask them where to get on the van to the dam. The price is 150 baht.

The Minibus Mishap: A Tale of Delays and Discomfort

The journey began with a minor inconvenience: finding the specific minibus queue operated by the Phantip company. Following the advice, I set out to locate their designated area near the main road. However, along the way, I was approached by individuals offering rides on other minivans. Assuming they were all similar, I opted for convenience and joined their group.

Little did I know, this decision would lead to an unexpected delay. I was taken to a shop and made to wait with two others for a Phantip minibus to arrive. We arrived at the shop at 7:30 am, and the wait stretched on until 9:00 am when the minibus finally appeared. To add insult to injury, despite the extended wait, we were relegated to the back seats, crammed uncomfortably with four passengers in a space meant for three. The air conditioning, seemingly clogged, offered little respite from the heat.

Had I found the Phantip queue at 7:30 am as initially intended, I would have likely secured a more comfortable seat and avoided the unnecessary delay. The question remains: why was I detained at the shop for over an hour when the minibus could have picked us up directly from the designated queue?


For those staying at Pa Phutawan Floating Resort, the staff will call you to schedule a time and inform you to take the van to the "Pa Phutawan office".

Upon arriving at the office, it felt like entering paradise. The beautiful shophouses, the cool air conditioning, and the complimentary water and coffee made for a pleasant experience. After settling the remaining payment, we boarded a 10-seater VIP van that made a stop for us to purchase snacks before dropping us off at the pier. The service provided by the company was truly impressive.

The original plan was to meet at the raft at 10 am, but we arrived at almost 11 am. The raft told us that it was okay, and they had a boat service to send us to the raft all the time. For the Phutawan raft, it takes about 30 minutes by boat from the pier to reach the raft. It is considered the nearest raft, probably the nearest one.


We have arrived at Phu Tawan Floating Hut. The room in the picture is a capsule room that can accommodate three people. I booked this hut because of the room's appearance.

To book a floating house, simply search its name on Google to find its website. I booked a 3-day, 2-night stay for 3 people at a cost of 4,000 baht per person. This included 6 meals (lunch and dinner on the first day, breakfast, lunch, and dinner on the second day, and breakfast on the third day). The price also covered transportation from the floating house's office to the house and back. No additional expenses were incurred during the stay.

The capsule room looks good in the photos, but...
The boat does not have electricity from 6 am to 6 pm, so there will be no electricity during the day.
Sleeping in the room during the day is very hot and stuffy, but hey, you're here to play in the water, why sleep when you're at the dam, right? 555

After lunch, I returned to my room to find that it was raining heavily. I had booked my trip for late October, thinking that the rainy season would be over by then. But here I am, caught in the rain again. Oh well, nothing is certain in life. The unexpected can always happen. (This song reference might reveal my age, haha!)

However, this is a good thing, as it will cool things down a bit.

Once the rain stops, you can play in the water. The only daytime activities here are eating, sleeping, reading (the books you brought), playing in the water, and paddling a boat. That's really all there is to do because there is no phone signal!

He jumped in, and we took pictures. We'll join him later.

In addition to swimming and floating, another popular activity is kayaking. A 200 baht deposit is required to rent a paddle, which is fully refundable upon return. Kayaks are available for both single and double occupancy. (The green and yellow kayaks are particularly photogenic.)

The rain started again while we were playing.

"Take photos continuously, capturing every moment to make the most of your visit."

For the capsule room at Phu Tubtim Resort, if I go again, I would like to stay in room 30-29-28, which is the leftmost room in the picture. It is quite far from the common area where people eat.

The front of each room faces the water, but the back of rooms 30, 29, and 28 do not directly border the ground area with trees, unlike the other rooms.

The room is surrounded by water on both sides, offering a panoramic view. The breeze is likely to be cool and refreshing, and at night, the stars should be visible from both the front and back of the room.


After playing in the water and paddling the boat until they were tired, they went to take a bath.

This passage describes the bathroom facilities on a boat. It states that the bathrooms are shared, not separated by gender, and that there are no en-suite bathrooms. The author notes that this is a positive aspect, as it avoids the potential for unpleasant odors. They mention that some people have complained about boats with en-suite bathrooms having a smell, which they agree with.

The bathroom is relatively clean and has good water pressure. If you frequently use the restroom at night, you'll get plenty of exercise.

After taking a shower, I came out to see this kind of light. Oh my god! I was afraid to run because the boat might capsize. I weigh almost 100 kg. I walked quickly and rushed back to my room to get my camera.

This is the back of the capsule room. You can see that on the right-hand side is land with trees growing on it. Rooms 28-29-30 do not have this feature.

Snap, snap, snap! It's going in! This kind of light! Aaaaaahhhhh!

As the sun began to set, the sky turned a beautiful shade of red and pink. My friend rowed the boat over to me just in time, and I captured the perfect shot.

The sunset that day was incredibly beautiful. Let's take a look at the pictures.


The food was so delicious that we couldn't walk after eating. It was incredibly satisfying, like having the stars in the sky full of our stomachs. This trip was definitely worth it.

The friend who was taking pictures of the stars is now standing on that high place. It's so shaky! 555

This photograph was taken in front of room number 18. The direction in front of the room is exactly southwest. If I had arrived earlier, I would have definitely captured the Milky Way. However, I was lucky enough to capture a shooting star in this photo, which is very beautiful.

Another day dawns, with a gentle drizzle falling.

Upon opening the door in the morning, I was greeted with this sight.

The morning view, unfortunately, the sky was a bit gloomy.

The third day of the trip (the second day at the floating hut). In the morning, there was a hike, a bamboo raft ride, a visit to a coral cave, and a view of the "Guilin of Thailand." However, it was raining that morning, so I didn't go and didn't take any pictures. After that, the rest of the activities were the same as the first day: eating, sleeping, swimming, and taking pictures.

The next morning, we had breakfast and took a boat back.

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The return trip was similar to the arrival. A van from the Pam Resort picked us up at the pier and took us to their office. The staff then called a van to pick us up at the office and take us to the airport. The fare was 150 baht per person, as before. However, we were lucky that the resort had spoken to the van driver and asked him to drop us off at the "Mae Jit" souvenir shop (which is not normally on the route). The souvenir shop then kindly agreed to take us to the airport.

Transportation Summary

From Airport to The One Hotel:

  • Taxi: 500 THB, approximately 1 hour
  • Bus: 150 THB per person, approximately 1 hour

From The One Hotel to Kaset 2 Van Terminal:

  • Walking: less than 15 minutes

From Kaset 2 Van Terminal to Pa Phutawan Office:

  • Van: 150 THB per person, approximately 1-1.3 hours

From Pa Phutawan Office to Pier:

  • Shuttle service (included): approximately 15 minutes

From Pier to Pa Phutawan Floating Resort:

  • Boat service (included): approximately 30 minutes

Return Trip from Pa Phutawan Office to Airport:

  • Van: 150 THB, approximately 1 hour

The Cheow Lan Dam is one of the destinations I've always wanted to visit. It's a true escape from the hustle and bustle, with no phone signal to distract you. Smartphones become nothing more than unnecessary alarm clocks, allowing you to truly connect with your companions. This group of friends has been with me since middle school, and we've all drifted apart since starting our careers. We floated in the cool water, sharing stories and catching up on each other's lives. The water was refreshingly cool, even on a hot, sunny day. And the best part? It wasn't salty!

Spending two nights here, eating, sleeping, playing in the water, and taking photos, is just the right amount of time. More than that, you might get bored, as there's really nothing to do. But coming for just one night doesn't seem worth the journey, as you'd arrive almost at noon on the first day and leave the next morning after packing your bags to fly back to Chiang Mai.

That's all the photos I have prepared. This concludes the post. All photos were taken with a Nikon D610 camera (except for the blue crab and sea bass fried in fish sauce, which were taken with a mobile phone). All photos have been edited before posting.

Thank you to everyone who has visited. If you like it, please share it. I wish everyone a happy journey. Goodbye.

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