Thale Noi

Thale Noi is the northern lobe of the Songkhla lake system, a sheet of fresh water in Phatthalung that averages little more than a metre deep. That shallowness supports two things: a huge spread of water lilies, and a bird population that made this Thailand's first Ramsar-listed wetland. Longtail boats leave the pier at dawn and run channels cut through the vegetation, past egrets, herons, whistling ducks and cool-season migrants. The other sight is the water buffalo, which walk in chest-deep and feed with their heads under the surface, herded by families who have worked this lake for generations. Villages on the shore weave krajood sedge into mats and baskets.

What you actually see

• The lily fields - pink blooms opening at first light and closing by mid-morning.
• Swimming buffalo - herds feeding chest-deep in the shallows.
• Waterbird channels - egrets, herons and cool-season migrants seen from a low boat.
• Krajood weaving villages - sedge mats and baskets made along the lake shore.

When to go

Go at sunrise. The lilies close as the sun climbs and the birds scatter by nine, which makes a midday trip close to pointless. The main bloom runs from roughly February to April, and bird numbers peak in the cool season from December. Boats are hired by the hour at the pier and take six to eight people for the same price.

Honest expectations

Longtail engines are loud, which puts birds up before you can frame anything, and some boatmen drive at flocks to make them lift. There is no shade on the water and the glare is fierce within an hour of sunrise. Bloom timing shifts with rainfall, so a trip booked months out can land on bare water. Phatthalung itself has little else for visitors.

Nearby

Phatthalung town under Khao Ok Thalu, and the road east towards Songkhla.