Introduction

A Pat on the Back....... Late last year I gave myself a pat on the back. I entered Bung Khan Province which was the last remaining province in Isan that I hadn't visited before. Earlier I had completed visits to all the provinces in the central region while to the north, east and west these provinces were completed some time ago. Of course, I haven't actually stayed overnight in all these provinces. Some of them just an hour's drive from Bangkok would not be practical for an overnight stop but I've recorded attractions in these as well. So what next?
Problematic....... It's been nearly 10 years since I decided to try and visit all of Thailand's provinces. Since then an awful lot of millage has been covered and I'm so close to my holy grail. Three provinces in Thailand's Deep South were always going to be problematic: Firstly because of distance and secondly because my partner has so far been reluctant to visit the region after a decade of separatist violence in Thailand’s Malay/ Muslim-majority southern provinces. At this moment in time there's still about 7 weeks left for me in Thailand and I just cannot resist the chance to sip sweet nectar from the chalice. It was always a question of when I could cover the region and I believe that the when is now and I'm extremely excited to have this chance to finally reach my goal. Tomorrow we will start the epic journey south heading initially for Surat Thani a journey of more than 665 kilometres (413 miles). If the tour is successful I will regard it as a grand finale I would also achieve yet another first which would be the longest time we've been away from Bangkok on a tour.
Naturally we will need time to prepare but Katoon has already taken the car for a service. We aim for an early start tomorrow but there's just one event planned between now and then.
Mueang Thong United v Prachuap FC....... Football has never been far from my mind on this tour and tonight it's game on again. Mueang Thong United play at the Thunder Dome Stadium across town to the west from us in Pak Kret District, Nonthaburi Province. This will be the second time I visited this stadium but strangely enough the first since Covid. Everything suggests this is not a prestigious fixture with neither team making an impression in this league. Mueang Thong United lie 10th out of 16 while poor Prachuap are propping up the table. From what I can remember the Thunderdome is a decent stadium but it's unlikely to be full tonight.
The game kicks off at a rather earlier 5.30 pm which suits me better. However, for some reason we don't leave enough time with expected heavy traffic to reach the ground, park up and buy tickets. By the time we get settled this evening game has already kicked off. Mueang Thong are playing left to right, and we're in a good position to see the opening goal on 11 minutes. A lovely cut back by the winger finds P. Autra on the edge of the box, and he fires a shot high into the net. 1 : 0 to the home side. However, on the balance of play neither the team have dominated so far and it's not a great surprise when Prachuap equalise from a corner, the cross finding Samuel unmarked to head in on 22 minutes. After this Prachuap apply steady pressure but Mueang Thong hold firm.
Into the second half neither team dominates although Mueang Thong do find the back of the net but the goal is overruled for offside by the VAR. Finally, the home team move in front again with a neatly taken shot from W. Popp. This player sees red towards the end of the game making it a bitter-sweet game for him. The game ends and Mueang Thong hold on for the win despite late pressure from Prachuap who go home empty-handed after an evil tempered late spell of play.
I just can't remember what my impressions were of the stadium on my first visit but after being neutral for the most part in terms of those that I've visited I'm taking a dim view of this stadium. Football games are cheap in Thailand even at the highest level but The Thunderstorm is the most expensive I've been to so far. It does make me wonder because for the price I would have thought they could prevent the toilets from flooding. Another issue is parking. There's been a lot of development in the area of the Impact Arena including road building. We needed to park too far from the stadium and adding this to the other issues I mentioned means that this football team will not get my permanent support. Returning to the residence through evening traffic is also problematic but let's just focus on a big day ahead tomorrow.

Day 1, 4th March - Surat Thani

Slow Start....... So this epic tour is about to start and I need to leave the residence by 9:00 am. There is some 9 hours driving involved and I would preferably like to arrive at my destination today before dark. That doesn't leave much margin for error. The first hurdle we jump through is traversing the metropolis as we are in the totally opposite side of Bangkok. In this situation we need the help of the satellite navigation to try and identify where the traffic congestion spots are. However with local knowledge my partner decides to use HWY 9, the Kanchanapisek Ring Road Which makes a wide arc around the east of the city and then south and west over the Rama IX bridge. It's an option but will it be better?
Better Progress....... Soon after we commit to this route, indications of traffic build up using HWY IX become evident, and we lose a huge chunk of time. So much so that we are still in the Bangkok suburbs two hours later. This is not what I wanted but the consolation is that having suffered, I see no further delays all the way to our destination. The Rama II Road is surprisingly clear, and we start to make good progress as we head west through Samut Sakhon and Samut Songkhram Provinces finally taking a lunch break in Phetchaburi Province. Today for obvious reasons there are no planned visits as much of the area we're traveling through has been covered on previous tours. This means I should have very little to write later. So it proves as my partner gets her head down and takes us on down through Prachuap Khiri Khan and Chumphon provinces and into Surat Thani Province. Reaching the latter is no mean feat. It's one of the longest if not the longest transition day that I can remember and remarkably we reach Surat Thani just 5 minutes shy of arriving in daylight. It's been an amazing drive and since lunch in Phetchaburi Province there has only been short comfort breaks. Our arrival time doesn't really matter however, as our accommodation is already booked. It only remains for us to find dinner.
Convenient....... The accommodation on B2 Hotel is in an area we are already familiar with having stayed near here on a recent tour to the south. We also have an idea where we can find that dinner but when we arrive opposite Koh Lampu an island in the Ta Pi River, things have changed since we were last here and for the better. Koh Lampu is a recreational area, and they've conveniently erected an open air food court here with a good selection of shops located around a communal seating area. That's exactly what we need without exerting too much effort. From here it's just a short distance over the river to the hotel.
B2 Surat Thani Hotel....... It's always my concern that having reached a hotel we haven't used before that things will be complicated but at B2 things are quite straightforward with little rearranging to do. There are no problems associated with the hotel being in the main street and parking is at the rear. The hotel room is modern and spacious with everything we could need for a stopover. I selected B2 because of breakfast included but I hadn't realised this is an airline style service arrangement. The arrangement makes a lot of sense in this type of apartment block which usually has no space for a restaurant.
At close of play today I can be quite satisfied on reaching Surat Thani with a lion's share of driving done. Tomorrow should be nowhere near as long and difficult.
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