Tuesday 17 November 2015

And now for something completely different........With two major tours completed this autumn there’s still time to complete one more tour before I return to the UK and it promises to be the longest and the best. I’m off down south again for an islands and lakes tour. While there are some obvious pitfalls I must try to avoid, I can see no reason not to make this a grand finale. My initial destination is Chumphon and Koh Tao and I’m aware that Koh Tao will be well on the tourist trail but I’ve never visited the island before. To compensate, for the rest of the tour, I hope to described it as wilderness.
The start date for this tour has been brought forward three days. It was originally planned for this Saturday. However it is expected to be busy next week for the annual Loy Krathong Festival 24th to 26th. I would rather be settled with little travelling to do at that time. It also gives me more options if I was able to extend the tour and still give me a clear window to prepare for my return to the UK. By evening I'm hardly ready for this tour. All I’ve done today is buy a road map. I’ll pack in the morning and aim to be away by 10am. Neither have I produced a travel plan with tour sites as I did with the Suphanburi and Chainat Tour. I’m going back to my old way of keeping things in my head. There is good reason for a wait and see approach as the province I’m heading for is the largest in Southern Thailand. I can’t possibly cover it entirely this trip. Then there’s the reason why tourists like to travel to the south and that’s islands, golden beaches and stunning scenery. Why should I spend my time writing about it when I should be just enjoying it?

Day 1 - Wednesday 18 November 2015

Heading south……..Having introduced this tour it’s time to get going. I’m awake at 6.30am so there’s a good window to work with but I’d rather not leave it till mid morning. All the same little was prepared yesterday. By the time I’ve had breakfast its 9.30am before I depart. The car is filled with fuel and checked over as I head off across the city. From the residence that will take a good hour, even by using the tollways. Eventually we immerge on Highway 35 heading west. Oddly the international Highway AH2 (National Highway 4) starting in Thonburi, west of the Chao Phraya River, is the official route to the west and south of the metropolis. It passes through Nakhon Pathom and Ratchaburi Provinces. Now, however, after a big investment in recent years, Highway 35, also known as Rama II Road, is the quickest route running further south through Samut Sakhon and Samut Songkhram Provinces. As I clear the outer ring the traffic becomes lighter. Highway 35 then joins Highway 4 heading south in Pak Tho District, Ratchaburi Province. The rest of the journey today is a repeat of the one in my Nakhon Si Thammarat Tour. At midday I’m near Phetchaburi, at 3pm near Prachuap Kiri Khan and at 5pm near Chumphon. By this time I’ve covered nearly 500 kms. Most of this journey is conducted with light traffic along dual carriageways at least, although the roads are still bad in places. That’s been the case for many years, particularly in Prachuap Kiri Khan Province but even here there is resurfacing work. The work on a number of stretches doesn’t hold me up too much and it would be nice to think that they could get on top of this task considering it’s an international highway. On the other hand there’s a lot to cover. I’ve only covered half of it today.
Pak Nam Chumphon…….. Pak Nam Chumphon is my destination for today. It lies to the southeast of Chumphon City. Its here I plan to take the ferry boat tomorrow from Matapon Pier. On this occasion my navigation is effective and as I arrive at the Tha Taphap River I park up to get my bearings. Concerned that it will soon be dark my worries are eliminated at a stroke. On the left is a hotel and on the right a seafood restaurant.

Sea Za Hotel/Tour…….. Sea Za Hotel is just a row of link bungalows but quite suitable for my needs tonight. It’s located near the junction with local roads 4001 and 4119. To further simplify matters, the owner is able to supply ferry tickets for tomorrow. I wasn’t expecting it to be that easy. Fresh off the Vietnam Tour it’s even more of a relief.
More seafood……..There’s still the matter of dinner and with a restaurant opposite that seems to be it; no need to work hard after a long days driving. But the location overlooking the peaceful Tha Taphap River proves it is a specialist restaurant and that means sea food. I wasn’t expecting to row the boat out this early on the tour but it seems Katoon is attracted to it to the point of offering to pay. That’s it: I’ll leave her to the menu. When the food arrives there are three seafood dishes: tom kha talay, a coconut soup with seafood (normally just prawns and squid but this dish has fish and clams also), fried crab with fresh green pepper and a salted fish with vegetables in a rich sauce. How she knows what to order is beyond me since these dishes are not generally available in many other parts of Thailand. Maybe there is method in apparent madness. These dishes are bound to be expensive on Koh Tao: So far so good. Quite happy the way things have gone today. Next Page.