HOT Magazine June 15, 2015 | Page 53

and from there received the name that it bears today. Given by His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej on the opening day of his sixtieth birthday, Ratchaprapha means “the light of the kingdom” in Thai and within it is contained the beauty that it can boast of, something one sees immediately upon arrival. The curious anecdote of this small enclosed paradise is in the fact that the calmness and stillness of its crystalline waters was duly aided by a man made construct. Today it is known as the Ratchaprapha Dam and it falls merely four metres short of a hundred imposing metres in length. The dam was built to strategically block the Klong Saeng River, which weaves its way across the area. It was done so in foresight by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand of Khao Sok holding the largest watershed in Thailand. This was done in 1982 and since then, the area has transformed itself into what is known today as the Cheow Lan Lake. Visitors to the area have since then grown in number, but it is not the type of tourism one usually associates Thailand with. Far are the beac