After a stay on the close-by island, Kho Phayam, i went to the Kiwi-Orchid as a cheap stopover right at the busstation, before continueing to Khao Sok. Yet the very friendly family who operate this guesthouse and the charismatic city Ranong with its beatiful surroundings made of the planned stopover a stay of several days.
For me as budget-traveler who also wanted to get an idea about the lifes of the local people the Kiwi-Orchid was a real lucky strike. The simple but clean rooms were equipped with a thick, comfortable mattress and fresh bethclothes, vent, little table and chair and access to a quick wireless network. The rooms have only windows to the floor and no TV and are thus merely sleeping-rooms, rather than living-rooms. But for 250 Baht only, they are exactly what i looked after. In the cosy restaurant on the ground floor i daily checked out another one of the delicious Thai foods for prices you will find in the far north only. While Jay, the owner of the Kiwi Orchid, was not only able to inform me about the surroundings in detail but also offered me to join her to several events from the local people.
And so, for example, i was part of the dedication of a newly grown Mangrove Forrest or visited people in the northern mountains who were preparing homestays between thick forrests, beautiful plantations and rocky cliffs, which resulted in further contacts and even some lessons into the Thai language - not that i'm speaking fluent Thai now, but the friendly meetings were it worth alone.
So finally i got a lot of entertainment, some adventure and met a lot of nice people, all this for little bucks, and thus a big thank you to Jay, her family and friends, and a recommendation to anyone passing Ranong on their travels.
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