Chumphon to Ranong

Following is my route plan to go to Ranong from Chumphon.

Chumphon to Ranong

I wasn't 5 minutes away from my hotel when it started to pour. This dsy was full of rain rain and more rain.

I battled my way through the rain to Wat Suwan Khiri (วัดสุวรรณคีรี). Here are a few of my pictures from the temple.

I missed the turn for the Khao Fa Chi View Point (จุดชมวิวเขาฝาชี) but went a few kilometers down the road until I could make a U-turn and return to the access road. It was a very steep road with a lot of leaves and jungle stuff on the road. I didn't think about it when going up but trying to control my speed with the wet and the leaves caused me to be a bit nervous.

I made it up and down OK and snapped a couple of pictures where not much is to be seen. I think there are supposed to be great views across the water into Myanmar on a clear day.

The Punyaban Waterfall (น้ำตกปุญญบาล อุทยานแห่งชาติลำน้ำกระบุรี) is right next to the highway so you can see it a bit from the road. It is part of a national park so there is an entrance fee to go to the viewing platform. Even though I live in Thailand I would have to pay the tourist price which is 5 times the locals price. I am too cheap so only have pictures from the road bridge.

I made my way into the city of Ranong, found a hotel and tried to towel off.

After a bit of a rest I went to the Rattana Rangsarn Palace (พระราชวังรัตนรังสรรค์). This Royal palace is built from teakwood and is where King Rama V stayed when he came to Ranong.

I arrived just after the closing time but have read there is not much to see inside.

After a stop at the palace I stopped at the local market and bought a curry and rice for my dinner in my hotel room. I also bought a custard apple which seem to be currently in season and it was wonderful.

Chumphon

I planned to stay in Chumphon for 2 nights and do a bit of sightseeing around the city. My plan was to use the following route for my sightseeing. I ended up adding in places I skipping on the route to Chumphon from the day before and then skipped some of the sites around Chumphon due to afternoon rain.

Site to see in Chumphon

My first stop was at Wat Sala Loi or Wat Chao Fa Sala Loi (วัดศาลาลอย or วัดเจ้าฟ้าศาลาลอย) but it appeared to be closed so only snapped a photo.

Nong Yai Wooden Bridge (สะพานไม้เคี่ยม หนองใหญ่) was my second stop of the day. I didn't make the full 40 minute walk of the lake going over and around it. I only walked to the middle of the bridge and then moved on.

Cape Pathiu was supposed to be a stop yesterday but I ended up skipping it so added to this day. There is a pier here for Lomprayah ferries to Koh Tao.

My camera lens must have been fogged over because my pictures are awful so not posting them.

I stopped along Ao Bo Mao Bay and snapped a photo and then rode up to the Shrine of Krom Luang Chumphon Khet Udomsak at Laem Thaen and snapped more pictures of the bay and a statue.

I rode up the steep road to Khao Dinsor Viewpoint(จุดชมวิวเขาดินสอ) and was rewarded with an amazing view of the coast below.

My next stop was at Saphli Beach (หาดสะพลี).

I was sitting at Saphli Beach when the sky opened up and ended what up to that point had been a gorgeous day.

I decided to keep going through the rain and made it to Laem Hua Mong-Kho Kwang Viewpoint (จุดชมวิวแหลมหัวโม่ง-คอกวาง). I think this place may make for good views without the rain.

I stopped for a coffee and dripped all over the coffee shop. The rain seemed to let up so I went on to Khao Matsee View Point (จุดชมวิวเขามัทรี).

I was riding up the hill to the viewpoint when the rain became heavy again.I parked snapped a picture and sat down under a small shelter to think what I wanted to do next.

I looked at my route and came to the conclusion that checking off things on a list was a bit silly. There were no must see sites on this list so the dry hotel seemed like the one site I wanted to see.

A bit of a sneak peek to the next day post, rain rain and more rain.

Prachuap Khiri Khan to Chumphon

I was bound for Chumphon (ชุมพร) on this ride. Google limits the number of stops you can have on a route plan so I broke this ride into 3 routes. Following is the link to the first section and the screen shot of the route.

Wat Ao Noi to Turtle Sculpture

I started my 2nd day at Ao Prachuap Bay (อ่าวประจวบ) in the town of Prachuap Khiri Khan (สถานีรถไฟประจวบคีรีขันธ์) since I hadn't stop to take a picture yesterday.

I ended up going through a military base and got asked where I was going. I don't usually know the name of my next stop until I get there so took me a bit of time to figure out via Google maps to find the name Klong Wan Beach (หาดคลองวาฬ). I had to sign in and was off through the base and to the beach.

When I arrived at this beach I found it difficult to access the beach. The beach seemed to be behind the resorts and took me a couple passes to find an access path where I didn't have to walk through a resort or hotel. Following are a couple of photos from Klong Wan Beach.

My next stop was at Lamkum Beach (หาดแหลมกุ่ม). Here are a couple photos along Lamkum Beach.

I stopped at Phra Mahathat Chedi Phakdee Prakat (พระมหาธาตุเจดีย์ภักดีประกาศ) but not sure the temple was worth the walk up the stairs from the parking lot.

I did enjoy the view of the beach below the temple.

Ban Krut Beach (หาดบ้านกรูด) was a pretty beach with a good length of beach road next to it so made for a pretty ride.

My last stop on this planned route was at the Turtle Sculpture.

This is the route link and screen shot of the 2nd part of this ride.

Turtle Sculpture to Bang Boet Beach

I took a bit of a detour and ended up at this pretty bay but couldn't find a name for it.

I set a stop on this small peninsula just to see what was there and seemed to be mostly a fishing community. I took this picture of a ship that has seen better days.

I had Hat Ton Thonglong beach marked as a stop but think I meant to turn down to the road that ran along the beach a bit earlier than I did. I back tracked a bit before stopping at the beach and getting a bite to eat. Not a bad spot for lunch.

Laem Son Beach (หาดแหลมสน) was on one side of the road and a bunch of fishing boats on the other side.

Following are a couple photos I took at Bang Boet Beach (หาดบางเบิด).

Bang Boet Beach is where I switched over to following the 3rd part of this day's route.

Bang Boet Beach to Sairee Beach, Chumphon

I took another detour into a village with a small harbour with a pier.

I believe the racks in this picture are for drying squid.

It was just after leaving this fishing village when it started pissing down rain. I somehow messed up the route on my phone and the thought of looking at beaches in the rain didn't appeal to me so I skipped most of the remaining stops on my route.

The rain let up a bit when I saw a sign for Thung Wua Laen Beach and decided to make one more stop.

I have been to Thung Wua Laen Beach before but thought it was called white sand beach. I went to Chumphon shortly after moving to Thailand back in 2020 and spent a day at this beach. This time the area was a lot busier even if there is no one in my beach pictures. The beach was empty this time due to the rain but in 2020 it was due to COVID.

I made my way from the beach into the city of Chumphon found a hotel and tried to dry off.