It's been a comfortable night at Sukura Budget Hotel. Today we have to open our mobile kitchen again as there is no food court at the end of the street.
Yesterday I made a decision to head for Chumphon today which is around half the distance to Bangkok. Even though I planned two overnight stops as I did on the way here, I've yet to decide to make just the one which is not too difficult. Today though, we could be on the road for up to 7 hours.
Still undecided as what to do about tomorrow's travels, I search around for options. My first thought is to find beach accommodation not too far away and just chill out before returning to Bangkok. There is just one problem with that. It's Songkran, Thai New Year. That means the whole country is on vacation. Finding suitable accommodation seems a bit fanciful and so it proves as I make enquiries. After a half hour I give up. So on Songkran Day I will be heading for the capital. We set course for the north and I find something that will work well with the new plan.
We head through Phatthalung on onto Nakhon Si Thammarat province and I get an opportunity to see another train if I get the timing right. We leave the AH2 looking for a tunnel. I only recently knew there was one here at Chong Khao in Thung Song district. However, we first arrive at Ron Phibun where we're told there is no road access to the tunnel. The only option is to take a train ride through it. Undeterred, I'm told of an arriving train, but a more important station is not far away and we head there instead.
As we reach Khao Chum Thong Junction, I'm just in time to record the arriving train, but it's not the service I was expecting. The train is for Nakhon Si Thammarat from Yala and this is the junction it has to use. There is no loop at this station so the train from Yala has to wait till the locomotive changes ends before leaving on the Nakhon Si line. It's a good result, but the action isn't over. The train I was expecting for Hat Yai arrives and departs south now that its path on this single line is clear. It now 1.30 pm so time for lunch which is just noodles at a nearby shop.
We get back on track with still four hours driving to do before reaching Chumphon. There is nothing of note on the way as we enter Surat Thani then Chumphon, two huge provinces. With accommodation already secured, we first head into the town of Chumphon and find a street market. We can take dinner here at Uncle Mustache Steak and add provisions for breakfast.
We now head out of town some 20 minutes and arrive at Tong Chang Resort. Resort accommodation can be hit-and-miss, but all seems fine here. It may be a bit dated, but everything is in place for a comfortable stay.

Source: Visit