Following last night's entertainment, today should be fun too as we start another tour. With a completely blank week ahead, I just had to plan something. We booked accommodation 3 nights ahead, but I'm happy to extend that to 5 nights.
Today our travel plans are not ambitious; we expect to take around 4 hours driving as we head around Thailand's eastern Gulf coast. The tour is going to be different from recent ones. It's hopefully going to be about sun, sea, and sand. We prepare to head east, and the GPS suggests we use the motorway No. 7, but this means tolls. I'm not against paying these, but I soon come up with a new idea, which means I don't have to.
Those who've followed my recent travels know how much effort has been put in to record train videos for my YouTube channel, but opportunity for that has been limited recently. There has also been a drop-off in interest. Today, however, there is an opportunity to see trains as I head for Chachoengsao train station, bypassing the motorway system. It's always the case in the day that there may be little action, but let's get there and see.
We arrive at Chachoengsao station, and I need a comfort break. Well, that doesn't go as planned, as a TPI cement train rumbles through the station heading for Bangkok, meaning I've missed it. So, is there any consolation? I soon find out there is a commuter train due in soon. This will be its terminal station. I can afford to wait and witness the arrival and end swap of the engine as it prepares to take the train back to Bangkok. The train arrives, and I get this result I wished for. I'm then informed of a freight train due soon. This train turns out to be a regular container service that connects the Lat Krabang freight terminal near Bangkok with the Leam Chabang deep seaport. The service is heading back from the port with empty freight cars, implying that Thailand is exporting but not importing goods. This seems to be a waste of freight resources to me. It's time to move on.
We now head south towards Chonburi but avoid this busy city, picking up HWY 344, which takes us southeast into Rayong province, then onto HWY 3 towards Chanthaburi. At around 4:00 PM we find the turn we're looking for and complete the last few minutes of our trip today, arriving at Norn Na Homestay. Here our first impressions are not brilliant. It seems to be an afterthought that they've squeezed in a few more bungalows amongst others at the expense of tight vehicle access. OK, so what is the room like?
In construction the builders have used a lot of concrete in the room, including for the countertop and bed. Otherwise, it's acceptable with no obvious issues to complain about, and there are no adjustments to make. We have a little time now before dinner. The accommodation is in a rural location, so we can't expect everything on our doorstep. For dinner we need to head back to the main road for options. Our searches lead us to Lanbayang, which is more of a specialty restaurant with some interesting options. The fried frog and forest pig I'll give a miss though. Our final chore is to find a 7-Eleven to ensure we won't starve in the morning. On this trip we're not planning to have a breakfast provided, at least for the first three days. Tomorrow we will make a relatively short trip to our final destination.

Source: Visit