Day 1, 9th February - Chong Sarika, Phattahana Nikhom
Breaking the Mold....... Today I must break the mold of day trips and get some serious traveling done. We plan to head north, see some glorious scenery, attend some football games and of course see more trains but first there is some rust to remove. That means a slow start this morning to get organised given that we could be away for over two weeks. I first have to decide on an aiming point for today. We have plenty of time. The first serious appointment is not until Sunday, so we have the best part of three days to cover just 8 or 9 hours travel. Of course, I would just love to stumble across some trains today but I have a reason to bide my time. I simply want to scout around for building land but don't want to be more than three hours from Bangkok.
Hit-and-Miss....... We do well to get on our way before lunch and head for Saraburi where we take lunch near the railway station; where else? However, I don't plan to stay at the station all day and I'll be lucky to see a train. Arriving at the platform, I see that the 233 to Surin is due in half an hour. That might be enough time to take lunch. Then, just as I'm about to put that plan into place I see a train arriving but it's not the 233. Instead, most fortunately I capture a TPI cement train headong for the TPI Works in Keang Khoi. Now, lets have that lunch; it shouldn't take long. Wrong! The chef only has one wok. Still hopeful of catching the 233, I head back to the station only to see it ready to depart and well out of range for a video. Well, if I mix things up and don't get organised things will be hit-and-miss.
Change of Scenery....... We now head north into Keang Khoi District of Saraburi Province and the scenery noticeably changes as we head into the hills. This area is much more pleasing to the eye and I stand a much better chance of finding somewhere with nice views. However my aiming point today is still 1/2 hour away and I clearly don't need to travel that far.
The Search Begins....... By the time we've committed to stop and look around, the best of the scenery has already passed. Nevertheless, we do finally start making enquiries almost exactly on venture border between Saraburi and Lopburi Provinces. It's in the latter we will be staying tonight.
Despite the fact that my inquiries prove inconclusive, I at last have a benchmark to work with and the feasibility study result is positive. The going rate for land off-road is 750,000 baht per rai (about 0.4 acre). The locations we examine include, a virgin plot subject to division, a building in need to complete renovation and an area of plots for sale that have been marketed out. Of the three the first has better views.
As mentioned we strayed a bit too far and find ourselves just 20 minutes away from where I booked accommodation. Although I could have spent at least another hour looking around, at least it's an early end to the day as we check in at our accommodation in Chong Sarika, Phatthana Nikhom District.
The iKon Apartment..........iKon Apartment is comfortable enough; the only observation so far is that the bed is a bit small but the location just 10 minutes from the local market means we can live cheaply tonight and still have a good selection of food to choose from. Tomorrow there seems to be a breakfast of sorts but that could just be coffee and toast. The plans thereafter is to make some progression north but ideally I would like to spend more time here.
Next Page.
Breaking the Mold....... Today I must break the mold of day trips and get some serious traveling done. We plan to head north, see some glorious scenery, attend some football games and of course see more trains but first there is some rust to remove. That means a slow start this morning to get organised given that we could be away for over two weeks. I first have to decide on an aiming point for today. We have plenty of time. The first serious appointment is not until Sunday, so we have the best part of three days to cover just 8 or 9 hours travel. Of course, I would just love to stumble across some trains today but I have a reason to bide my time. I simply want to scout around for building land but don't want to be more than three hours from Bangkok.
Hit-and-Miss....... We do well to get on our way before lunch and head for Saraburi where we take lunch near the railway station; where else? However, I don't plan to stay at the station all day and I'll be lucky to see a train. Arriving at the platform, I see that the 233 to Surin is due in half an hour. That might be enough time to take lunch. Then, just as I'm about to put that plan into place I see a train arriving but it's not the 233. Instead, most fortunately I capture a TPI cement train headong for the TPI Works in Keang Khoi. Now, lets have that lunch; it shouldn't take long. Wrong! The chef only has one wok. Still hopeful of catching the 233, I head back to the station only to see it ready to depart and well out of range for a video. Well, if I mix things up and don't get organised things will be hit-and-miss.
Change of Scenery....... We now head north into Keang Khoi District of Saraburi Province and the scenery noticeably changes as we head into the hills. This area is much more pleasing to the eye and I stand a much better chance of finding somewhere with nice views. However my aiming point today is still 1/2 hour away and I clearly don't need to travel that far.
The Search Begins....... By the time we've committed to stop and look around, the best of the scenery has already passed. Nevertheless, we do finally start making enquiries almost exactly on venture border between Saraburi and Lopburi Provinces. It's in the latter we will be staying tonight.
Despite the fact that my inquiries prove inconclusive, I at last have a benchmark to work with and the feasibility study result is positive. The going rate for land off-road is 750,000 baht per rai (about 0.4 acre). The locations we examine include, a virgin plot subject to division, a building in need to complete renovation and an area of plots for sale that have been marketed out. Of the three the first has better views.
As mentioned we strayed a bit too far and find ourselves just 20 minutes away from where I booked accommodation. Although I could have spent at least another hour looking around, at least it's an early end to the day as we check in at our accommodation in Chong Sarika, Phatthana Nikhom District.
The iKon Apartment..........iKon Apartment is comfortable enough; the only observation so far is that the bed is a bit small but the location just 10 minutes from the local market means we can live cheaply tonight and still have a good selection of food to choose from. Tomorrow there seems to be a breakfast of sorts but that could just be coffee and toast. The plans thereafter is to make some progression north but ideally I would like to spend more time here.
Next Page.
Saraburi Province
Land for Sale, Chaloem Phra Kiat District