Prachuap Kiri Khan

January 4, 2023 to January 6, 2023

The Prachuab Place Hotel was very nice and comfortable compared to our last two places so we stayed two nights. We rambled around Prachuap checking out an old restaurant with tray food and going to the markets buying papayas, bananas and peanuts. We rode around town looking and just getting a feel for the town, again since we had been there eight years earlier on our very first bike trip.

One of the streets in downtown Prachuap.

Leave it to us to find the best Cafe Boulan maker in town. A good place to start is in or very near the central market. This man even had a wonderful setting in which to sit.

Thick coffee on top, sweetened condensed milk on the bottom and a tea chaser on the side. This is the stuff we love.

The coffee maker himself with the cloth bag or 'tong' in which all the finely ground coffee is. The bag soaks in boiled water for a bit and then can be poured into glasses. If you get it served in glasses it's for sure old style.

All ready for the night market to start.

It's interesting that Prachuap did not go the way Hua Hin did with seedy old Western men and Thai prostitutes roaming the town like zombies. Prachuap has none of that. There are a few older Westerners who are mostly couples and they live in Prachuap permanently. That's quite a different story and the town felt radically different because of it too. Andrea and I kept remarking how nice it was that the town hadn't gone the way nearby Hua Hin did and we wondered why. I think it is mostly the beach. The beach in Prachuap is more subdued because it is not out along the open sea. There is a sea wall across most of it and a wide promenade and road which means hotels are on the other side of the road from the beach, if there is a beach. The swimming isn't nearly as good as at Hua Hin either. Prachuap has always been known as a place for Thais to vacation and not so much known for swimming which means the Westerners have largely been absent all along.

The hill temple overlooking Prachuap. I forgot to go up there!

OK, I have a bit of history with Prachuap. In 1974, through the college I was attending I hooked onto an overseas program called The Far East Semester. It was largely based at Chiang Mai University and we lived with Thai families. Chiang Mai was a quiet little town back then - a peaceful paradise. There were only about a dozen of us students on the program and just before Christmas I got married to one of them. We went wandering south over Christmas break and ended up in Prachuap. We rented a traditional Thai house on stilts next to the beach. It was made entirely of teak, There was no furniture and had huge porches all the way around. We bought a charcoal stove, a wok and all the utensils we needed to cook our own food on the porch facing the ocean. Everything was dirt cheap at the market including prawns so big two of them made dinner. We ate pineapples until our mouths hurt. Our house was near the pier and we would go out onto the pier at night to watch fishermen unload their catches under bare lightbulbs. There were a lot of mosquitoes but we didn't care. We were having the time of our lives. I was 20 and my bride was 19.

Andrea and I tried to find the house I had rented so long ago. I think we did find one of the six still standing but it seemed like it might be in a different location in conjunction to the pier. But maybe it is memory that has moved and not the house. At any rate there is only one left. Everything is so different and that doesn't surprise me after nearly half a century.

The only house left that I possibly rented in 1974. If it is the same one it has been modified a bit and possibly moved as well. There was not cement underneath nor was it painted.

Anyway, Prachuap will always have a special place in my memory despite how faulty memory can be. Andrea was polite enough to listen to my stories. I told her about a little girl who would come to see us at our house. She seemed very bright and was learning English. I still remember her beautiful name, Orawan Sangsuwan. Andrea googled it and got some hits but the age of the women was never quite right. I thought Orawan would be somebody in Prachuap one day so I will continue to think that.

The pier has been remade and lengthened but is in the same place. It's a really nice pier and one evening at sunset Andrea and I lifted and fit our bikes through the gate and rode to the end. The sunset and the lights of Prachuap were a lovely sight. Halfway out there is a wide area and an aerobics class was taking place with some lively music. Aerobics classes are always fun to watch but especially if they are taking place on a beautiful pier at sunset.

After two nights in our hotel and a day or more of exploring Prachuap we noticed that the place we stayed eight years ago was still a guest house as well as a cafe. We decided to have coffee there and in the process ask what the price was for a room and if the room we had eight years ago was available. To our surprise the room was available. It was not as expensive as we thought it would be since it overlooks the sea and is eight years later. It had also been totally renovated (upgraded) and the coffee in the cafe was superb too. A lot of Thais thought so as well because as we sat and sipped our coffee, loads of customers came to buy coffee to take back to their workplaces. Plus, the owner was super nice and was surprised and excited that we were there eight years ago. We hadn't seen him eight years ago but were happy to meet him this time. He is an animated and happy person which always makes for a more enjoyable experience at a hotel. We rushed back and checked out of the hotel we had been staying at and moved over to Shee-Va Cafe and Homestay.

When we returned with all of our stuff there was a couple, Richard and Barbara who were sitting there having coffee. Right away it seemed this was something they did often. We immediately fell into conversation but not just conversation, we fell into shared interests and within a half an hour I felt as if we had known them for a long time. Fascinating couple! Richard is originally from Holland but had first come to Thailand in 1963 hitchhiking from Finland!! Now there's a million stories right there! Barbara is originally from Kentucky, U.S.A. but had also had an unusual and interesting life. They have been together since 1978 which is also when Andrea and I first met. I guess we all have had interesting lives and probably that is why the four of us all got along so well.

Then we settled into our room discovering one improvement after another. We loved being back and lounging on the huge second floor veranda outside our room overlooking waves crashing over the seawall. We were glad to see screens on the windows which meant we could open them at night to let in the cool night air but also be able to hear the waves better. The veranda was also a perfect place for us to have our breakfasts which we make - just go downstairs for some of the best coffee ever. Paradise!

Our veranda at Shea-Va Cafe and Homestay.

Winds from the north kicked up some good waves.

Our typical breakfast. These fruits cut into our bowls, add muesli and soy milk. Mangos sometimes too.

The view from our veranda at Shea-Va Cafe and Homestay.

So, we mostly relaxed in Prachuap as if we were on vacation or retired or something. We wanted to see Richard and Barbara againn but we also needed to go to the next beach over, Ao Manao Beach, to see the langurs at a certain time in the morning which would coincide with a time we could FaceTime with the grandkids and show them the langurs. To get to nearby Ao Manao Beach we had to cross a Thai Air Force airfield. It's generally no problem but there are a couple of checkpoints and to get to the langur's area we had to leave our passports with the officer at the checkpoint.

This mural depicts the Japanese invasion at the adjacent beach, Ao Manao Beach, during WWII.

People feed the langurs which means they come down close enough to hand them food. I don't agree with this but I have no say but I benefited by having them close enough to take photos of them. There were no babies this time. The baby langurs are yellowish so that was too bad to not be able to show them. They also seemed more aggressive about ripping food from the peoples' hands as they fed them. But the langurs were cute and the grandkids, who are also cute, did get to see them.

Another one of those huge trees I love so much.

Looking over to Prachuap from near Ao Manao Beach.

After langur viewing we rode further along Ao Manao Beach and ran into Barbara and Richard on bikes. Barbara was on her way to trim some thorny bushes away from a bike path somewhere and told us it would only take a half an hour and if we wanted we could meet up at a favorite coffee spot of theirs very nearby. I was thrilled to be able to get to see them again after all. I thought I had forfeited a Barbara/Richard meeting for a langur viewing so I was thrilled at the surprise meet-up now scheduled for only a half an hour away. It was really nice getting to know them more. They are truly interesting and interested people. I commended them on keeping up on so many diverse things all the time and Richard said, "Well, you have to don't you. What's the alternative, sit around and wait to die?" I totally agree. And, really, there is little effort involved in being interested in learning as much as possible all the time. Meeting them was one of the highlights of our entire trip. And they were on bicycles! When we all rode back to Prachuap they left us in the dust. I'm sorry, I always forget to take photos of people we meet.

We had three really nice relaxing days and four nights in Prachuap before we went on down the coast, the north wind still pushing us.

Don't ask me why. This was a type of shrine and not exactly a temple however it was right next to a temple. There was a lot of stuff referring to the previous king and he wore black rimmed glasses. That's all I've got.

lovebruce

Today's ride: 20 miles (32 km)
Total: 871 miles (1,402 km)

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Rachael AndersonWhat a beautiful place! And how wonderful to meet up with Barbara and Richard. I look forward to getting together with both of you when we are all back in Portland!
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1 year ago