Thursday 23 June 2016

Plans, what plans?........At the time of writing, the polls are open in the UK to decide the outcome of the EU referendum and in France the group stages for Euro 2016 have just finished but while both these stories are big international news, I’m nowhere near the action. I arrived in Bangkok 9 days ago and there’s little action to report here either but something I have been working on could have a dramatic effect on tours for the rest of this year. That’s having another crack at satisfying the regulations of UK Visas and Immigration but at the present time I could start a tour. Well at least that was the intention. Two days ago I took delivery of the same Toyota Hilux I’ve used on recent trips but the first time it was used for any purpose was to visit the now familiar hospital at Noppharat near Minburi. Yes, the allergy I’ve been affected by on a number of trips has returned in the form of cellulites but is not serious enough to warrant anything more than a course of antibiotics. However I have to be careful if I want to go travelling. One consolation is that I hadn’t planned to do anything adventurous in any case. In Thailand now it is well into the monsoon season and I can well live with parking myself on the verandah of a beach bungalow somewhere but the fact is if I decide to travel tomorrow then I’ve only a vague idea of where I might end up. By this time tomorrow that could well be a more exciting prospect than the EU Referendum or Euro 2016.

Day 1 - Friday 24 June 2016

Decision........Today the important decision as to whether or not I depart on tour has to be taken. Things don’t start well as I’ve had another restless night for no apparent reason. The cellulites is unchanged but there’s not pain, no fever and my blood pressure is fine for the moment as I head down for coffee. I quick peek out of the window shows it had stopped raining. Storm clouds came in yesterday evening and continued well into the night. I wonder whether I’m actually looking for an excuse to delay a tour and then I find one. I rather nervously switch on the PC and open streaming of UK TV channels. At 7pm local time this is precisely the time to tune in just 3 hours after the polls closed in the UK for the EU referendum. I’ve made a decision that if the polls start showing #Remain then I’m packing my bags and heading out of town to sulk. The rest is now history as I get sucked in till 11am (5am UK). With the action all but over I get on with my packing. By 12.30pm I’m on the road east.
Strange route........I head east out towards Minburi and then on to Chachoengsao. This route avoids tolls but that was not the reason for choosing it as it will take longer in time. Ever curious I want to revisit Chachoengsao Juntion Railway Station and take lunch at the same time but on arrival I draw a blank. There is but a solitary DMU in the station waiting to depart from Bangkok when often it is packed with freight locomotives. The line is on the route from the deep water port to the terminal at Lat Krabang east of Bangkok. Oh Well! It’s time for lunch just outside the town. Still on provincial roads I head across the provincial border into Chonburi Province then east along the 344 to its junction with Highway 3, Sukhumvit Road, now in Rayong Province. By 4.30 we cross into Chantanaburi Province looking for signs to the coast. They soon appear thick and fast as we turn south of the highway. Familiar names shout out every which way; Kung Wiman Beach, Ao Khung Kraben, Chao Lao Beach along the scenic Chaloem Burapha Chonlathit coastal road. Without any particular place in mind we more or less stumble on Chao Lao Beach and that will do just fine for today.
Namsai Loft.......Having set a budget for this trip with some margin for error and even Brexit, I’m surprised to see bungalows offered for just 200 baht. Really? I’m happy to be in a position I can choose by appearance and Namsai Loft looks modern enough. It’s just the second enquiry and functional throughout. 700 baht per night is still within my budget but that price is for today and tomorrow, dropping to 500 baht for weekdays. I book for 3 nights, a total of 1,900 baht. It’s now 6pm. Venturing out I have to say it is peaceful here but of course its low season with many shops closed. There’s just enough activity about to prevent it being a ghost town. We decide to walk along the strip which here runs parallel to the shoreline with a block in between. It’s pleasant enough as we walk back to the market area and settle on a seafood restaurant and just in time. Today there have been frequent but brief showers and driving down I’ve hardly noticed them but a thunderstorm hits just as we’ve selected a table and are forced to move. The meal of fish soup, clam omelet and Thai spicy crab salad goes down well with a beer. But what a day it’s been overall. It’s like the cork just shot out of the bottle. The fallout will continue for days and days. Next Page.