Day 3 - Monday 30 January 2017

Araya Resort........photo / Google Map. Araya Resort is practically deserted this morning apart from someone gardening. When I pop out to get a coffee however, a mynah bird wants to talk with me. In the room I felt cold last night. I should have adjusted the air-conditioning but I’d rather have had a blanket than what seemed like just a towel. The internet still doesn’t work but I can do without it until the next stop but If I don’t get cracking today and head off to my holiday destination then I’m still on tour. As there’s not a huge distance to travel so I can take my time over breakfast. I just need a mid morning start and head off in the right direction. But I don’t. Instead of heading for the Petkasem Road, Highway 4, I head along the beach road. There’s something interesting not that far away that shouldn’t have much effect on the day’s travel plans.
Wag Kor Aquarium........Google Map. Wa Ko Aquarium lies some 15 kilometres south of Prachuap Khiri Khan. Build in 2002, it is part of the King Rama IV Science Park at Wa Ko Project. It serves as a study centre for marine and environmental sciences and for the promotion of eco-tourism. The entry fee is a fixed rate 30 baht for adults which is good to see when there is so often discrimination. On entry the first gallery concentrates on sustainability of the forests and the wildlife it supports in rivers, streams and ponds which then leads to the freshwater galleries. Next is the mangrove then shoreline and finally the reefs and oceans with examples of fish of incredible beauty. There’s no shortage of fish tanks which includes one huge circular tank and the usual walk through tunnel. There are separate galleries for invertebrates and other creatures including sea turtles. Altogether this aquarium fares favorably with others where the entry fee is more. Visit time is a minimum of one hour and you may wish to plan your visit to coincide with feeding of the fish but for me 2pm is too late. I must move on......YouTube.

King Rama IX Science Park........Google Map. The visit to the aquarium should mean we have to be on our way now but you never know quite what will turn up next and in King Rama IX Science Park ....click there is as the name suggests, a lot more than just an aquarium. The next building is a planetarium and when Katoon wants to take a look inside, I just know my plans for today will be scuppered. A planetarium has never before featured in my tours and the question is should I keep an open mind and introduce yet another category into my tour base?

Planitarium........The entry to the planetarium is free; there is no ticket office I can see. On entry there is a wide spiral staircase leading around the inside of the observation tower. Lining the walls is the history of astronomy from the Egyptians to the present day with the pioneers who have added significantly to our knowledge over the years. This is absorbing but after this there are two more buildings with two stories, each housing more galleries. There is everything here from studies of the solar system, distant galaxies, comets etc, through to modern space exploration. A good section of the planetarium is devoted to the work of King Rama IV (King Mongkut) who was a keen astronomer. The fact that this building is here is down to him. The area around here was in fact a camp for receiving dignitaries arriving for cosmic events. Examples of his work and contributions from subsequent Royal personages are also here.

Out of the window........Well that wasn’t expected and the fact that there are other sites in the park with an aviary and butterfly park has well has truly thrown plans for today out of the window. It’s gone 3pm and we haven’t even had lunch. Finally we make it to the Petkasem Road and take on food and fuel. With time moving onto late afternoon there’s not too much distance we can add now, With Prachuap Khiri Khan having such a long coastline we’ll still be in the province this evening for sure.

Huai Yang........Google Map. At the first opportunity we head back to the coast at Huai Yang. This is still part of the coastline I’m unfamiliar with and soon realise there are many roads leading to the beach with some interconnecting roads but nothing to call a beach road. Then something most curious: I see foreigners, lots of foreigners, many of them on motorbikes converted with sidecars. We use up a lot of time driving along narrow roads leading to resorts that are out of my price range. I’m still at a loss to explain why there are so many foreigners. It is a huge community but where are the Thais? I head back to the main road and carry on until I see signs for Thap Sakae. Surely from here I will find somewhere to stay as I’m now in familiar territory as I stayed in the area once before in December 2012. Really was it that long ago?
Note that as I was looking to add more information about Huai Yang Beach later, I was bombarded with adverts for accommodation so that exercise is really unnecessary.
Sea Duck Resort........Google Map. Passing through Thap Sakae and the familiar railway station I head down to the beach road. The first resort is magic right on the beach but the room is 1000 baht. I’m not sure about it especially as we’re 10 minutes drive from the town but there is a restaurant and a small shop nearby. I decide to take the room as it’s otherwise been a day light on the pocket. It’s not until I settle up that I realise there is no fridge in the room. For the price that should be standard. For dinner we could get away with pot noodles but I’ll see what they have at the restaurant. It’s obviously mid-range but erring on the side of caution we still get a really tasty meal and just about manage to get through it. After that I’m struggling with my blog and abandon it till morning. I haven’t uploaded anything so far and part of that is that I still don’t have a title for this tour. This will be the third night in the province which was only supposed to be a stopover. It looks like I’m going to have to divide the tour again. It’s time to call it a day and an early night.

Footnote........As a result of talking with local people I understand that Huai Yang is a community of mainly Scandinavian retirees and after all why wouldn’t you want to see sea and sun as opposed to living in their mid-winter homeland. It’s not the first time I’ve encountered such a community but never on this scale. They clearly are prepared to marry Thai nationals in order to obtain land for their homes but it’s not for me. If I wished to build a house in Thailand, I would not need to belong to a community such as this. I’d feel more comfortable living among local people. Next Page.