Day 1 - Saturday 28 January 2017

Bangkok departure........This morning I’m not awake that early as if I’m still stunned by having a car available for travel. Even by 9am there’s no indication that I will be leaving on another tour except that a packed lunch is being prepared at the same time as breakfast but packing takes little more than an hour. Amazingly we’re on the road about 10.30am and quite relaxed about the day’s travelling. However there is something that could easily upset the apple cart today. To start with it’s a Saturday which means accommodation could be harder to find but on top of that it’s Chinese New Year and traditionally a busy day on the roads. First evidence of that happens immediately as we make a U-turn and exit the village via the back door. However we’re soon on the Kanchanaphisek motorway heading south.
Heading south........From the motorway northeast of Bangkok we need to stay on the outer ring road running clockwise to exit southwest. It’s a long way and despite no traffic holdups, it’s an hour before we cross the impressive Kanchanaphisek Bridge heading west. We then need to connect with Rama II Road, Highway 35 but this absorbs a lot of traffic from other routes leaving Bangkok. It’s always busy but today there no let up in nose to tail traffic until 40 kilometres west of its source. Finally gaps appear and I manage to get up to an acceptable speed but after three hours I’m still well short of Petchaburi and hand the driving over to Katoon. That works well as her style of driving is not as conservative as mine. In two and a half hours more we’re in Prachuap Kiri Khan which puts us in a good position to complete our journey tomorrow.
Stopover........While we could have carried on another hour, we are near the ocean with a good choice of resorts nearby. Perhaps just for a change we should try out luck here instead of staying in the town. Prachuap Kiri Khan has a number of bays, the most famous being Ao Manao (Lime Bay) but as I direct her in we overshoot the turning and end up at Khlong Wan Beach instead Google Map. When we stop to get our bearings we meet a tourist who has just arrived here having tried to find accommodation on Ao Manao Beach. Everywhere he checked is full. As we look around a resort right on the shoreline it’s not unappealing. Sure there is not much of a sandy beach here, it’s more of a harbour with breakwaters offshore but with a glorious view of cliffs on a headland to the north, it still manages to attract visitors in good numbers.

Ice Tale (Talay) Resort........Google Map. The rooms at Ice Tale are 800 baht, more than I wanted to pay for a stopover but with all conveniences within walking distance, I decide to take it. The standard room is a bit small but the mosquitoes that have draughted in seem happy enough and while there’s no table for my computer, right outside there is plenty of communal seats and tables. On the positive side there is a 7Eleven where I can get a cold beer and Katoon can order street food which looks delicious. As we have brought plates and cutlery we can sit out and dine with an ocean view. I don’t remember that happening many times before. It certainly helps with the budget and more than offsets the bit more I paid for the room.
Help yourself........What I don’t see here are foreign tourists. There is perhaps little here to attract them but the accommodation here is perfect for Thais who tend to bring equipment with them to cook or at least picnic and why not. It’s a massive advantage to have independent transport sometimes. This is precisely why I don’t like resorts that use Booking.yuk. It simply drives costs up. To end the day, I tune in to Radio Hereford FC to follow a real tussle between the Bulls and Tiverton. Thankfully we edge it 2 : 1. A remaining question is how I will fare with those mosquitoes for company and also the return of a head cold after being dry for the last few days. Next Page.