Yesterday was a day to forget, and even as I wake this morning, I see Chelsea have dropped more points at Bournemouth. With the rather chaotic arrival at Suksopha Resort late last night, I was unable to give an opinion on this accommodation. This morning dawns bright and sunny, and I have a verdict. In terms of practicality, location, and value for money, this resort heads the lists of those I've used on this tour. I can't fault the interior in terms of what I expect. Then there's the location. Prachuap has beaches, mountains, and temples and has excellent transport links by road and rail, while nearby there are shops, including a 7-Eleven. Then there's a breakfast, which, while not exotic, is quite acceptable. Finally, of course, there's the football stadium we failed to attend last night.
It is our final day on this tour, and we could simply head back to the residence in Bangkok, but I need to get to a hospital for a 2nd dose of the 3rd batch of antibiotics. As we leave Prachuap Khiri Khan, that issue is undecided, and with a relatively early departure today, we have the option of visiting attractions on the way. We decide on a diversion into the mountains.
Backtracking a bit, we take Road 4373 for a 10-minute trip to Thai Market Dan Singkorn. This is a border exchange market with Myanmar we've visited before. Presently though, it's really quiet due to border tensions. The market consists of shops selling a variety of goods, from furniture, precious stones, jewelry, plants, and other souvenirs. It's great to just browse around for an hour, and we finally purchase some forest orchids. That really is it, though, as we head back to HWY 4.
Our original thought as to how the day would work out was that we would reach Bangkok after lunch and take it from there, but that option soon changed. We don't need a large hospital in the city when a district one will do with better options for parking. We also leave out Hin Hin and Cha-am, fearing they too would be busy. We decide on Prachuap Khiri Khan's district hospital in Pranburi. It proves a good choice. We were in and out in an hour. It should be an easy trip into Bangkok now, arriving around 5:00 PM.
As we continued north into Phetchaburi province, I keep an eye on the GPS and note a delay on the Rama II Road, HWY 35, in Samut Sakhon. Soon, the delay of 9 minutes grows and grows. An accident was initially suspected, but the situation became clearer when an alert flashed up on the mobile screen. The delay is due to flooding of the carriageway. The situation is fluid, you could say, and it is hard to get a grip of what is going on. Katoon, who is driving, doesn't want to take risks, but when I check for the alternative route, I notice congestion, which could mean an hour and a half delay. Obviously, others received the same alert. As we came upon the main junction, there was obviously a decision to be made. Should we play it safe or trust the GPS system to allow us to bypass the affected area? As we approach the troubled spot, we get diverted off the carriageway, but there's trouble ahead. The parallel slip road is flooded too. We were soon driving through floodwater up to a foot deep. It's a tense moment as we can't turn back; the traffic is nose to tail. The only consolation is that traffic is slowly moving, but we don't have a truck or lorry. Some vehicles become stranded, but Katoon switches off the aircon, and I can only suggest we proceed at a snail's pace. There is relief ahead as a right turn off the carriageway, but it takes forever to reach it. We will have travelled almost a kilometre through the flood. The diversion takes us over the khlong, which has burst its banks, then under the carriageway, putting us on the left-hand slip road where we can rejoin the carriageway. It's a close shave, but we've saved a shedload of time. As we look back down the 35, vehicles are emerging from the floods, and we will never know if the diversion helped. Clearly there was a high tide, as a couple of hours earlier no issues were reported. While we catch our breath, we discuss the implications and confirm that we can continue to Khlong Toei, where there's guaranteed excitement.
If the floods had stopped us, it would have been cruel. We're directly on the route home and pass the PAT stadium, where there is a TPL game taking place at 7:00 PM. Reaching it is a huge consolation for missing a game yesterday. With most of an hour to spare, we're parked up and walking to the stadium.
The game on today is between Port FC and Uthai Thani FC, both familiar teams to us. A win for Port could see them go second in the table, while Uthai Thani are safe in mid-table for now, having been undefeated in the last four games. The game kicks off on time, with Port playing from left to right from the main stand. For 20 minutes, there is nothing between the team, but on 25 minutes, P. Chamratsamee is put through by W. Kanitsrimampen to drive a low shot past the Uthai keeper; Port have the advantage at half-time.
Into the 2nd half it doesn't look like Uthai have it in them to get something out of the game, but on 74 minutes a delightful cross by H. Stewart from the right finds W. Weidersjo at the near post. It's quite far out, but he gets a head to it. It's so well directed that the Port keeper can only flap at the ball as it creeps inside the post. An exciting finish is guaranteed as within minutes, Port is ahead again as a lovely cut-back on 76 minutes from the right goal line by Lucas Tocantins finds Kaka Mendes on the edge of the penalty area. He skips a tackle and fires in a low drive past the Uthai keeper. The Port Lions have their tails up again, but Uthai are feeling generous and gift a third goal to Port. Instead of clearing the ball, an Uthai defender fluffs a pass to a teammate, and Port's forwards are at it again. This time it's Kaka Mendes with an interception who makes no mistake finding his teammate, Lucas Tocantins, who in the 83rd minute only has the goalkeeper to beat. It's a costly mistake: there's no way back from here for the visitors.
Port bag the points to move to 2nd, leaving Uthai in the bottom half of the table. As we return to the residence, I should be happy to witness four goals, but that's well short of eight score in last night's game, which I missed. We head back to the residence to end this chaotic trip, and as normal, I will write a conclusion to this tour with a lot of head-scratching guaranteed.

Source: Visit