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.

Off to the South of Thailand

I am heading to the South part of Thailand to try and visit the provinces I have not been to before and maybe also attend the vegetarian festival in Phuket.

I have done something different for me and planned the routes for most of the trip. You can click on this link to see the route I planned, Route from Home to Wat Ao Noi. Following is a screen shot of my route from my phone.

It has been raining a lot lately and looked like rain when I headed out on the bike for today's ride. I got sprinkled on a bit but remained mostly dry and had a great ride.

I had a mix of stops that had things I wanted to check out and other stops to keep me on the route I wanted to ride. The problem with this is I forget which is which and often wonder why I marked this stop.

I didn't have the Huay Mongkol Reservoir (อ่างเก็บน้ำห้วยมงคล) planned as a stop but needed a break so stopped and snapped this picture.

My next stop was planned at Wat Huay Mongkol (วัดห้วยมงคล) and I took the following pictures there.

My next stop was my first beach stop of the trip and turned out to be a really pretty place, Following are my pictures from the View Point Khao Kalok (จุดชมวิว เขากะโหลก).

Wat Khao Kalok (วัดเขากะโหลก) was close to the view point and wasn't planned but made a quick stop for pictures.

Sam Roi Yot Beach (หาดสามร้อยยอด) is a pretty beach with a road running the length of the beach. I tried to film the ride along the beach and may post it later with some editing. Here are the beach pictures I took before the ride.

I stopped at Wa Khao Beach (หาดหว้าขาว) and took the following picture.

Wat Ao Noi (วัดอ่าวน้อย) sets next to a bay full of fishing boats. I took a number of photos at this place.

Wat Ao Noi was my last stop of the day before going into town. The route to the hotel took me along the road next to Ao Prachuap Bay (อ่าวประจวบ)

I didn't stop and take a picture but found this bay pretty so returned the following morning for a picture. I don't think the following panoramic picture does Ao Prachuap Bay justice but it's the best of my pictures.

I rode past Khao Chong Krachok with monkeys all around the base. I was happy none of the monkeys attempted to bite me or steal anything off the bike while I was waiting for the traffic light to turn green.

I found a hotel in the town of Prachuap Khiri Khan (สถานีรถไฟประจวบคีรีขันธ์). The town setting on the bay made it very attractive and this was a real surprise to me. This was a great way to end my first day on the ride to the South.

Short Update on Building at Phra Borom That Chedi Manikan (พระบรมธาตุเจดีย์มณีกาญจน์)

I have not been up to much lately but was talking to a friend about one of the temples and the building work that is being done and decided to go for another visit. I had not been out to Phra Borom That Chedi Manikan (พระบรมธาตุเจดีย์มณีกาญจน์) in about 6 months and the link is to my last post.

I could not ride past the new standing Buddha that they seemed to have just installed at the enterence of the site. They were busy working when I arrived and still had a large crane next to the large standing Buddha.

The following picture popped up on my facebook feed so I stole it and posting it here since it is a different view point of the temple and a great picture.

I also went out to the Wat Mettatham Photiyan (วัดเมตตาธรรมโพธิญาณ) which I also visited 6 months ago and wrote about it in Another Visit. For 6 months work I was not impressed with the changes that I could see. It seems that have added about 20 or 30 feet to a few of the walls that I believe will be the base for the large Buddha.

This is a picture from outside of the building.

These are pictures from the inside of the building and the 2 walls that have increased in height.

I will try and visit these sites again in 6 months or a year and do another update.