Southeast Asia's Most Popular Hot Springs

Putting together a list of hot springs and making a top 10 of this or that seems to be a popular thing to do. However quite often these lists add nothing and are based on nothing.

Lifeinthefastlane.ca has put together a list with 12 most astonishing hot springs in the world. The list has no references and seems at random. But not. Most are from North America, 4 from Japan and 3 from Iceland. Forgotten is the South Pacific, Southeast Asia and South America.
World's Top 5 hot springs by Virtualtourism.com, even selected Sankampaeng, Thailand as it number 5; due to it

hot springs cooking area

(!). Not really remarkable, cooking at hot springs in Southeast Asia is a number one past time.

Then there's a recent list on the 15 hottest springs in the world by sumberair, which surprisingly contains 17 listings. Though hottest seems an objective criteria the list once again seems arbitrary. Temperatures are not used for selection the list seems at random with bias once again towards North America.

I thought that putting a list together of Southeast Asia's most popular hot springs would not be too difficult. I have a hunch, but I used hits from Google search, flickr photo's, Technocrati and tripadvisor.com's Asia forum to arrive at a score for each hot spring. The result:

1. Poring, Malaysia
2. Sungai Klah, Malaysia
3. Ardent, Philippines
4. Fang, Thailand
5. Banjar, Indonesia
6. Maquinit, Philippines
7. Thap Ba, Vietnam
8. Pangururan, Indonesia
9. Rinjani, Indonesia
10. Tambun, Malaysia

Falling just outside the Top 10 were Asin and Mainit, Philippines and Binh Chau, Vietnam.

Though arrived at through repeatable measurement, it has to be acknowledged that there is considerable bias in the results.

• English is the main language in some countries and counts especially for Malaysia and Philippines.
• Income and thus internet use once again counts in favour of Malaysia.
• Names for hot springs are sometimes fluid, especially in Thai, where one can have many different versions for the same hot spring. In Vietnam and the Philippines this is less the case.
• Due to changes in ownership, hot springs change name which does not favour a large number of hits. See for instance Toya Bungkah, which was previously known as Kintamani, a much more often used name. And would have made the top 10.
  
• Internet is disproportionally skewed towards English. Vietnam sees relatively more non-English speaking tourists.
• Some hot springs carry easy names referring to larger places, such as Fang or regions. Banjar for instance, would have been third instead of fifth if Lovina (the name for the region) would have been used.

That said, Poring has repeatedly been mentioned on this site already as propably the most popular hot springs site in Southeast Asia, which was also the outcome. Sungai Klah is also well known for being popular. Surprises are Rinjani and Pangururan in Indonesia. Pangururan I have visited myself and it was not busy ...

Now, have I chosen the right method to ascertain popularity?

From the Press III

Bangkok Post are well and truly in the 'cold' season frame of mind. This week's travel supplement (Horizons) includes a review of a stay in and near Fang hot springs, northern Thailand, Chiang Mai province:

'A national park mightn't be your first choice of destination when touring the North. but this one, about three hours (160km) by car from Chiang Mai city, has a lot to offer. For openers: In how many places, here or abroad, can you luxuriate in an open-air bathtub fed by water from a hot spring?

Once known as Mae Fang, this national park was renamed in May, 2006 to make it more readily identifiable with its biggest attraction: Doi Pha Hom Pok, which, at 2,285 metres above sea level, is the second highest peak in the Kingdom (after Doi Inthanon).

If you're anxious to get to the summit in time to see the sun rising over a sea of mist then it's best to camp at the base of the mountain for an early start. Otherwise you'll be a good deal more comfortable in the accommodation at park HQ, about an hour's drive from the campsite.


Each of the resort-standard wooden bungalows has two bedrooms, one with a double, the other with a single bed. There's air-conditioning and a TV in each plus a hot-water bathroom with a proper bath and a large balcony with table and chairs.

Unfortunately it is the same springs they highlighted two months ago. No wonder it is the most popular hot springs resort in the country! Soaking in Southeast Asia visited these springs in November.

Sorry about the quality of the pictures, they do come straight from the Bangkok Post site!

Fang

Fang geyser blowing

Fang hot springs rates, in Thailand, as one of it's most famous. The Thai language travel magazine 'Places and Prices' recent 'special issue' mentions Fang as well as Sankhampaeng, Pong Dued, Thapai Ranong and Jaeson as their top hot springs in the country.

After already visiting 3 of these aforementioned, as well as some others, I must agree that Fang certainly is worth a visit, though I haven't visited all thai hot springs (yet?) to be able to ascertain that it is one of the best! But what about its soaking qualities? Let's find out!

The hot springs are situated in Mae Fang National Park, where the park headquarters are also situated; so you have to pay the entrance fees, though oddly these were only 200 THB, which is roughly 10 $US. We came early in the morning with a slight drizzle coming down. We were also the only visitors at that moment. Supposedly round mid-day things get busier when tour groups on their way to Chiang Rai from Chiang Mai stop for some sightseeing.

One can park the car directly next to the hot springs 'park' which has been created around the hot springs. Through this park are a number of hot springs. Next to the car parking is a visitors center, though with little background on the hot springs; focusing on the whole of the national park, situated on a mountain range with Burma. At the back of the hot springs park one can see a large steel pipe which apparently carries hot steam to a geothermal power plant, just outside the national park.

Just one of the springs

The main highlight of the park is the geyser, which spouts every half hour for a couple of minutes.

From the Mae Fang National Park information folder:

'Hot Spring: A natural hot spring, produced by underground heat, emits water with a temperature of about 50-87 degrees C. Several hot springs can be found within the area of 10 rai, the biggest which can produce steam up to 30-40 meters in height'.

Despite using the hot springs for electricity generation purposes and simultaneously being a focal point for tourism, authorities have been able to maintain a naturalness to the area, as well as maintaining safety and providing tourists the opportunity to go along the various hot springs. No refuse and standards of maintenance were evidently high.

Mae Fang National Park Hot Springs Private Soaks: tasteful from the outside, prison-like on the inside.

The authorities have also put a considerable effort in providing bathing facilities. A raised walkway over /next to a pond provides access to private facilities, which can be rented. This kind of facilities I fail to understand. Why would anyone travel long distance to visit a natural wonder only to lock oneself in a cell which in western society would not even be a prison cell? It's also a phenomena that is not necessarily Thai or non-western. Last year, I visited New Zealand and on 1 occasion rented such a 'cell'. Though it looked like a good idea at the moment, we hardly used it. Yes, you can pursue your own dress code, but you exclude yourself from the surroundings: is it rainy, sunny, windy, are birds whistling, is the vegetation green, who are my neighbours, what's my son up to? No way of knowing. I personally would like to soak 'au naturel' whenever, where ever, but somehow world societal norms are set against this. Beats me why?
I have also been to a couple of hot springs in Nepal, oddly enough those not visited by foreigners were also the most relaxed on the dress code. Most visitors bathed in their underwear, with women mostly topless. As nearly everybody's underwear was threadbare, small, flat slate rocks were used, so as to make sure no one could look up your backside! Large communal pools, none of these small private facilities.
Why not make more tasteful, private facilities, partially open, screened off naturally if society so requires? Keeps everyone (including myself more or less happy).

I am digressing, yes. Well besides the small cells, there were also tasteful communal pools (see photo below) as well as steam sauna's. As the prudes had won again, these (both the pools and the sauna) were sex-disaggregated. As we were the only visitors we decided to flaunt these rules as tourists everywhere tend to. The water was only lukewarm, though not too cold, but hardly a hot soaking. If you need a massage, these kind of facilities are also provided, which altogether is not such a bad idea.

Public tubs: the men's tubs are well designed, allowing to soak the surroundings as well

Getting There: Fang Hot Springs are situated at the end of road number 4054, which originates from the Fang-Muang Chum 4017 road. The main turn off highway 107 (Chiang Mai - Mae Chan- Chiang Rai) is well signed, however the turn off to road 4054 (a couple of hundred meters from the main road) is less well signposted. In all it's about 10 km from Fang town. As it is on a dead end side road, there is absolutely no public transport.

Soaking Experience: see above. In general the soaks are good.

Overall Impression: very good, certainly well worth the label of being one of Thailand's best hot springs.

More info

• From Thailand.com:

  'Fang Hot Spring
  The Fang Hot Springs are located at Ban Pin in Fang district, 163 km north of Chiang Mai city along the Chiang Mai Tha Ton Road (Highway No. 107). Turn left at km 153 for 11 km to Ban Pin.
  Fifty hot springs occupy a ten-acre forest setting. Three boil continuously with a strong smell of sulphur. Water temperatures at the springs range from 90° C to 100° C. Unfortunately, the ambience of the area is slightly spoiled by the pipes that have been placed to take off the hot water to feed the nearby geothermal power station'.

• Concerning the geothermal station, in 'Case stories of small scale geothermal power plants' by Daniel N Schochet (2000) a presentation at the 'World Geothermal Congress' in 2000, the following refers to Fang:

  'The Fang geothermal resource, located in a rural agricultural setting near Chang Mai in north central Thailand, utilizes three free flowing wells producing approximately 500 liters/minute of hot water at 116 C. One binary OEC module, rated at 300 kW was installed in 1989 (See Figure 7). The OEC condenser is water cooled by a once through flow of river water. The project produces between 150 and 250 kW, with seasonal variations, with excess heat used for cold storage, crop drying and a spa. (Forte 1989)'.
  
  

Former 'glory ' of Malinga Hot Springs

From a distance

Situated in the north of Chiang Mai province, Malinga Hot Springs is not well known, neither by tourists nor by locals. It must have been different 10-20 years before, that much is evident. The site itself is just off to the north of the main road, but if you’re not paying attention, you’ll wiz past it, it hasn’t seen development for quite some time. The access roads are slowly growing over or as is the case on the southern access road, this road has been partially washed away. So the car is parked short of the site itself and the last 100 meter or so are on foot.

The main springs, partially in a stream, watch out for the water buffalo!

The only visitors currently at this site however are the local water buffaloes, who do not seem to have much issue with the warmer surroundings. A couple of brick and cement buildings are proof of better times, though other than the main building, the others were unreachable as the surroundings had turned into a swamp brought on by the rains and then being used for wallowing by the water buffaloes. There were also some disintegrating bamboo huts, now used for storing straw, so as to feed the buffalo.

The hot springs themselves, are behind the main building as well as just beyond the drainage pipe under the northern access road. Just beyond this access road, some enterprising soul has constructed terraces each a couple of centimeters higher than the next as if to create Pamukkale terraces anew in miniature scale in northern Thailand (see photo below). The hot waters then mix with cooler streams and drain into a pond just before the main road.

Some local has tried to copy Pamukkale, using his imagination and a bit of cement

Soaking experience: you’d have to be hard up, if you insisted on soaking here. The main stream would be delicious if that (the stream) was just it; however the water buffaloes have churned the surroundings such that a 'main' stream is hard to find. What’s more you’re getting close to the main road, hardly the paradise sought after.

Getting there: Malinga Hot springs are 13 km north of Thaton village (which is where the main road crosses the Mae Kok river) on the road to Mae Chan. From both north as well as south there is a small access road.

Overall impression: despite the dilapidated state, the failure of any recent development has added to atmosphere, which often lacks elsewhere in some of the Thai ( or other international) hot springs.

Here you’re at the right place to dream about the possibility of winning the lottery and investing that in building a beauty of a resort, where this time round you would not have to side-step the buffalo turds, but could take the heavenly waters while gazing out at the verdant hills close by, followed by a gentle, though thorough massage in a forest with birds twittering around, followed by a salacious feast, after which ….

The 'infrastructure': hay storage

But(day?) dreaming aside, a 5 minute visit might suffice; to satisfy your curiosity.

Though I would like to give more info on Malinga Hot Springs, there is nothing out there on the internet!