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South of Chokdee, the road gets more and more potholed as it runs through a scenic swathe of palm trees before veering down to HAT KAI BAE , a couple of kilometres along the coast. The beach here is narrow and overhung with trees in some places, but the soft white sand and exceptionally pale blue water make a very pretty scene. Though almost all of the shorefront has been built on, the bungalows are mostly discreet, nicely spaced huts. North of the access track, the shore becomes very rocky, loses the beach completely as it's dissected by a lagoon-like khlong, and then re-emerges as a sandy mangrove-fringed strand a bit further on. Several bungalows do snorkelling trips (B200-500), and Kai Bae Hut organizes dives (B1500-2000) and courses (B9000 for a four-day Open Water certificate). You can rent mountain bikes at Nang Nual, change money at Sea View, and get provisions at Kai Bae Hut minimart. Songthaews from Ao Saparot (40min) drop you at Kai Bae Hut, less than fifteen minutes' walk from Siam Bay at the far southern end of the beach. Just north of Kai Bae Hut minimart and the access road, Nang Nual (under $5) is set beside the lagoon-like khlong and has simple huts; cross the khlong to reach Coral (tel 01/219 3815; $5-10), whose large, simple concrete and wood bungalows are only five minutes' walk from a quiet stretch of sand. Heading south along the beach from the access road and Kai Bae Hut minimart, Kai Bae Beach Bungalow (tel 01/219 3861; under $25) is a popular, well-run outfit with lots of bungalows stretching over quite a big patch of the seafront. A few hundred metres further south, Porn (under $5) has simple bamboo bungalows on the beach, with shared bathrooms. Set right at the southern end of the beach, Siam Bay (tel 01/452 7061; $5-25) feels more spacious than the other places on Kai Bae; it has a range of huts set right on the beach, some en suite. All the Kai Bae bungalows have restaurants, but the best food is served up by Coral, north of the access road, which specializes in northeastern dishes.
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