The day dawns on my final day of this tour, and I can't complain; I've not had enough sleep. Our attention turns to breakfast. That's not included here, but neither is it convenient to self-cater. This accommodation is based on aesthetics more than practicality. With nothing organised yesterday I need to head out onto the coast road to see what's available. Fortunately, I don't have to walk far. There is morning street food and a 7-Eleven quite near. In addition, there are wet seafood stalls offering a wide range of fresh fish, squid, prawns, and shellfish. I must come back to that later. Right now I need to return to the room with some goodies for breakfast. So, what do we have in mind for the rest of the day?
Initially my plan was ambitious, but with a long day ahead, I'm content to just stay on Suan Son Beach until we have to move on around mid-afternoon. We hang around till midday, but there's an urge to move and look for lunch.
In Rayong City, lunch is a simple affair this time, but we still have time to kill, and there seems to be an obvious choice for that. We arrive at Laem Charoen Beach, where at the weekend there is a lot going on with day-trippers camped out under the pine trees beside the beach. It's a popular attraction supported by street food to suit every taste. It's the perfect place to spend a couple of hours and a chance to unpack the camp chairs. I really should do more of this.
We time things to reach our next destination in plenty of time, but that time shrinks after the decision not to use toll roads. At 6:00 PM we arrive in Chonburi, locating the Daikin Stadium, which is located in a built-up area of the city and not easy to reach. It's a stadium I've been to before, but I don't remember much about it. What we find is inadequate parking, which overflows into adjoining streets, which we are obliged to use, meaning there is a bit of a walk to the stadium. We locate the ticket office and purchase tickets in the covered stand, noting that this is one of the more expensive stadiums we've used. We then stock up on food but find we're not allowed to take it inside the stadium. This inconvenience is only replicated by one other stadium I know of. Altogether, I'm not getting good vibes here. OK, so let's just concentrate on football.
This evening the game is between Chonburi FC and Port FC of Bangkok. Kickoff is at 7:00 PM. Port are the fancied team currently lying 3rd in the TPL table, while Chonburi have won only 4 of their 20 games. It will be interesting to see how they manage against the visitors today.
We find seats on the right side of the main stand overlooking the goal. Chonburi FC (the sharks) are in their familiar blue strip, while Port are all in white. The home team will be kicking towards our end in the first half. However, it's the stand housing the away supporters at the opposite end that sees the first goal just at 9 minutes. Teerasak Poeiphimai gets on the scoresheet with a left-footed shot from the left side of the six-yard box to the top left corner. The assist is from Kaká Mendes with a cracking through ball. The game seems to be going with form, but Chonburi are looking good on the counterattack and get their reward. A knockdown by centre forward Jonathan Bolingi finds Yotsakon Burapha, who lays the ball off for Oege van Lingen to shoot from the right side of the box to the centre of the goal. It's 1:1 at 23 minutes, but Port continue to press. They're back in front after 41 minutes when Teerasak Poeiphimai puts Worachit Kanitsribumphen through on goal, taking a right-footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. The assist is by Teerasak Poeiphimai. It's 2 : 1 to the visitors, who hold the lead at half-time.
The second half begins, and the home team doesn't look flustered by their predicament. They have shown how they can beat the Port press using their wide men, and their running into space is troubling Port. In the 53rd minute, Oege van Lingen's hopeful cross finds Yotsakon Burapha unmarked at the far post. His header from the left side of the box rebounds off the right-hand post. It took a VAR review to establish that the ball had crossed the goal line before the keeper could scramble it away. Chonburi has leveled the game twice now, and they have their tails up, sensing victory. Port continues to press, but Chonburi counter. The game is end-to-end now with both teams creating good chances, but as the game goes into injury time, it seems the honours will be shared. Then, with 6 minutes of injury time played, Chonburi win a free kick on the left. Lurking at the far post is Kike Linares, who heads back across goal, where Jorge Fellipe collects the ball and then takes a right-footed shot from the centre of the box into the bottom right corner. The crowd goes wild as a rare victory against good opposition beckons, but they need to see out a few more minutes of a long period of stoppage time.
This has been a cracking game for a neutral to watch, and Chonburi will be glad their return to Thailand's top league isn't a disaster for the time being.
So, for us, this tour is at an end except for a late return to Bangkok. The day has been one of our better days with quality time on Rayong's coast. The football game provided great entertainment, although there are issues with the stadium as I mentioned previously. There is now a question of what's next as I return to addressing medical issues.

Source: Visit