I'm into the second week of my stay in Thailand and there is no immediate sign of anything more than day trips. There are simply too many pressing appointments at the moment but of course, I will take every opportunity to find gaps to go exploring. Today an opportunity presents itself, but it seems I've run out of ideas. Wherever I head, covering new ground is at a premium. After a couple of phone calls this morning however we have secured accommodation in Sattahip and that will be the first overnight stopover so far. With our destination fixed, I hope now to get poetic license to see more trains and the most obvious place to start is at Chachoengsao. Yet as I check the departure board for this station, there is nothing that seems to fit in with our expected arrival time. I've just have to see how it goes.
The weather today is cloudy there's some rain expected, unusual for this time of year, breaking the sequence of sunny days. At the station it starts to drizzle as I make my way to the booking hall and check the departure board. Here it seems like I've missed a trick after there's a service from Bangkok due soon. This service terminates here and there will be a delay of around an hour before the service returns. At least I can see the arrival of this train and the repositioning of the locomotive for the return leg. Then, as an added bonus, a freight train passes through the station on its way to Laem Chabang. It's more than I expect and I now take a leisurely route South. By this time the rain has become more persistent hindering our arrival at our next stop, Bang Phra Reservoir.
Curiously Bang Phra Reservoir isn't open right now, not until 4:00 pm. It seems that at this time there are food vendors who cater for visitors who wish to take a stroll around the lakeside. Well, as it's turned out the weather is compromising that and our hopes as well. All we can do is press on, finding a shortcut through a massive Chinese cemetery heading for yet another appointment with the railway at Si Racha.
By now, the rain is so heavy, Si Racha station approach is flooded, not at all ideal. However, once inside the station I'm in luck as the service from Chuk Samet, is about to depart. Then, almost immediately a freight train arrives again heading for Laem Chabang. With that freight train still waiting in the station, yet another passes through in the opposite direction this time with natural gas wagons. They say opportunity knocks, but today it's making plenty of noise.
The heavy rain persists causing localized flooding and even forcing us to turn back and find another route at one stage. With the weather as it is, we decide to head directly for our pre-booked accommodation but no sooner have we made that decision than the storm passes and the blue skies appear again. Sod's Law!
For the third time we found ourselves a Bleu Marine Hotel. It's a credit to this establishment that it receives this honor from us and we waste no time checking in and depositing our possessions. There's still the best part of two hours of daylight left and we don't intend to waste it. However, despite knowing this area quite well we don't intend to completely retrace our steps.
Over to the West is the coastline of Mueang Sattahip and Bang Sare districts which include huge areas of government land reserved for the Royal Thai Navy. The coastline contains some stunning beaches which have been spared from commercialization. It's a bit late in the day, but we are allowed to visit the area subject to leaving the by 18.00 without charge this late in the day.
Entering military land at this point gives access to Sai Gaew Beach. Here there are still a number of visitors including foreigners eager to soak up the late afternoon sun. Many have been here all day, but we are here only to look around this amazing coastline. We leave the area as requested and plan for dinner. There are a number of options within 30 minutes drive and it makes sense to try somewhere new.
Bang Sare is to the north outside the military zone. It used to be a quiet fishing port but not anymore, its narrow streets quite busy with traffic. We find a place to park up at least to have a look around the fishing pier. There is plenty of selection regarding dining options, but we find ourselves staring at another seafood restaurant and another fat bill. I encourage my partner to be a little more conservative and we end up with Thai green curry with seafood and an oyster omelette. It's more than enough. Not wishing for a late night after our day's travels, we retire at a reasonable hour to Bleu Marine where I can catch up with the latest news and gossip. I think given the amount of rain around this afternoon we've made the best of it.

Source: Visit