Dee’s brother was in town with his girlfriend, and we all went together to the Ban Hua Khod Mangrove Forest near Prasae. When we arrived, there was almost nobody there. We took a boat out to the open water and back into a pier that leads to elevated walks in the mangrove forest.
From the Golden Meadow (Tung Prong Thong), we took a boat out of the mangrove forest
Saw some birds on the way
The ocean is coming into view
Open water ahead
To protect the marsh from the open sea, they built a wall
Once outside, we turned back
And they let you out at a pier. From where you can walk to Prasae the Estuary Viewpoint (จุดชมวิว ปากน้ำประแสร์) and back to your car again.
Rayong
We stayed in a small place downtown close to the market. Went with Gerben and the Monkey to a big playground, and after the little one was tired, we circled back to the hotel again.
Walk in Rayon
Found a little place with food and beers
And full of collectibles it was
And the former king of course
Dee took us to a meeting with her former classmates. I caught the biggest cold in centuries there
Finally, a place that understands customer needs. We had dinner at the night market.
Bangkok
Spend most of my time in Bangkok in bed fighting my cold. A few shitty days, and worst of all X-Mas is approaching, and all the buses out of Bangkok are full. Everybody leaves the city for a few days.
They’ve been here for 30 years or what? And now they had to go. A government crackdown on the small people. My favorite Fruit Shake place – Gone. My favorite daytime snack/lunch place – gone. Great Job!
They killed the old wooden house as well. And instead of cleaning the place up they left all the rubbish there…
This is good news. Now one can see where the bus goes. For the 1st time :-) Well, I’ve been here for years, and it tells me which bus goes where and where to change etc. A great app if you travel, and it does work offline as well!
Merry X-Mas! Due to my cold, I almost went back from the bus stop. to bed. But the bus came round the corner when I started to walk back to the hotel. So I want, and we had a bit of an X-Mas party and Hello Hello at Scotts place.
My favourite hideaway bar – gone. Replaced by the stupid shutter shops. There was a little mom and pop shop, and behind a hidden bar / restaurant. Great place in the center of it all, but nobody knew about it. So usually,y only a few locals at the place. Well, that was it…
At last, these guys are still here. For more than 40 years, and still been the best Tom Yum Goong in Bangkok. Since I have not eaten animals for quite a while now, it is not really useful for me, but if you are in town. Go and try!
Breakfast for Champions
Since the portion is small and cheap…
… I might as well have two of them.
Off to the North
If you have ever been to Bangkok a few days before X-Mas you know how fast the city gets empty as soon as X-Mas is here. Everybody gets out of town for a few days. By cold was better and I wanted to be in Pai for New Year’s Eve. My usual choice – Bangkok Bus Lines (Read my review here) was booked solid. Now what? Could not even choose anything – I was happy I got a VIP bus in the end. It was chaos at the bus station! So many people and all the slots full with buses. A lot of buses had no slot, so they loaded customers in between. After more than an hour, our bus finally arrived – one guy came to our ramp and hushed us out in the rain. The bus was waiting somewhere far from the ramps. And there were many buses. Big confusion about who goes where since 5 or 6 buses were parked next to each other. In the end, I had my seat and was happy. And what is it with that rain? In the good old times, there was no rain in the dry season! Global warming, eh?
On the bus to Chang Mai – OK seat in the front.
Not my usual company, but still OK. Note the rain – it is still raining.
My seat by the window
Chiang Mai
The bus arrives at the new terminal. It still rains, so you get a bit wet on the way to the old terminal. Got my ticket to Pai and all the mini buses were full for the next 2 hours. Which leaves me some time to get breakfast at my usual place. The restaurant at the right corner when you walk from the old to the new bus station. It is there forever, and one day and I stop there every time I have to wait for a connection.
I see egg but no pork – where is it? Never mind – I take the same as usual.
If I have time before the minibus to Pai I’ll go here for years. At the corner between the two bus stations. And have the same two dishes usually.
On the Way to Pai
After breakfast, I had a coffee from the coffee place next to the restaurant and wheeled my bag back to the minibus stop. Still raining – how wired!
At the stop on the way to Pai. They do roast their own coffee
My mother got me an Eurorail ticket when I was 15, and together with two friends, we adventured into France. This was the beginning of a new addiction. I do like to take pictures, so one thing leads to another. On this site, I want to share some of my pictures and some of my trips with you! Now I am on the road for more than 8 months every year. Visiting old friends and making new friends while exploring this big blue ball.
