The Three-Bay City
The chance is that you may well have never really heard of this place in the Gulf of Thailand, south of Hua Hin.
Yet, this is both a city and a Thai Province located at the top of the Malay Peninsula. It is by no means a tourist destination. This probably accounts for why it has kept its original Thai atmosphere. But it does not mean that there is little to see or to do in a place left out of the beaten track!
Well, this is all wrong! As a matter of fact, it is a real hidden gem.
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| View from Wat Khao Chong |
I thought it was also a place with no particular interest apart from its superb location! I had been there a few times, and yet I had failed to get the feel of what it really was.
A few months ago, I decided to stop there a little longer than usual on my way back from the coast, further down in the peninsula.
Manao Bay is a rather well-known beach. I had been there before. It was lunchtime, and I was sitting at a local Tha
i restaurant. Then, an elderly French couple came and sat at a table next to mine. I assumed they were tourists and thought I might somehow help them. So I engaged the conversation.
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| Ao Manao Bay |
Indeed, they were visitors but of a different kind! Both retired and in good health, they were serious travelers simply spending their retirement time on the roads! Not like backpackers as you would expect. With respect to the country tourist regulations, they settled here and there to enjoy their time to know better places, people and cultures. They had already been in Prachuap Khiri Khan for a few weeks and told me that it was not their first time here. They always enjoyed being back here simply because it was one of their favorite places in southeast Asia! The conversation went on and I offered to drive them back to town as I knew they had no transport. They accepted and in turn offered
me to show me around.
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| Prachuap seafront |
I live in Thailand. I had been there before. But at the end of the day, they introduced me to Prachuap Khiri Khan!
At that time, I did not stay as I had made arrangements to go to Pranburi, further north. But I had already made up my mind that I would soon be back and stay in Prachuap Khiri Khan to further discover the city and its vicinity.
So this is what I did with the specific purpose of exploring and enjoying the area more thoroughly.
I found out that Prachuap Khiri Khan has three main assets: the beauty of its site, the originality of its city-life, and finally a rich environment extending to its outskirts.
An exceptional natural site.
Perhaps, the main asset is that Prachuap Khiri Khan is blessed with an awesome coastline made of no less than three beautiful bays with a few rocky islands offshore. As the site is facing the East, its
orientation makes it a perfect place to contemplate the sunrise.
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| Ao Noi Bay |
The three bays are:
- Noi Bay (Northern side),
- Prachuap Bay ( in the middle: the city bay),
- Manao Bay (Southern side)
Noi Bay (noi means ‘small’ in the Thai language) is a fishermen’s community. It i
s dominated by a tall rock mountain that shelters a park (Khao Ta Mong Lai Forest Park). But the main interest is the temple called Wat Ao Noi. This wat has a majestic ordination hall entirely made of teakwood and facing a small pond. And on the hill above Noi Bay (Ao Noi) there is a cave called Khan Kradai Cave housing a sleeping Buddha.
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| Wat Ao Noi (teakwood) |
Prachuap Bay is blessed with a great marine boulevard from where you can see a few offshore islets. There are some cafés and restaurants, becoming alive in the evening since the city is well-known for its array of seafood. Another interesting landmark is a long jetty (378.50m long) called the Bridge of Joy (Saran Withi Bridge). This landmark stands near the place, where every Friday & Saturday a walking street is held (from 4.00pm to 10.00pm).
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| Sunrise on the seaside boulevard |
Manao Bay is the home of an important Royal Thai Marine Base. It will be the object of a separate article.
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| Ao Manao Bay |
A rich provincial life.
But the city has still more to offer for the curious visitors besides its magnificent seafront.
There are three major attractions that will be accounted for.
-The city side is topped with a hill on top of which stands a Buddhist temple. It is called Khao Chong Krajok. The 360º-
viewpoint is truly worth the effort of climbing 396 steps to the top of the hill! But it also means to dodge your way past a herd of monkeys and bear the heat. Once you reach the top, you are then rewarded with a cooler breeze and an outstanding view.
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| Stairs to Khao ChonKrajok |
-Back in the city, the Prachuap Khiri Khan City Shrine has the reputation of being Thailand’s most beautiful shrine. It will also be described separately.
-Sue Suk Street downtown runs parallel to the seafront boulevard. When I was there, it
had been turned into a walking street at night offering all kinds of Thai cultural events, including songs and dances. Nothing was done for touristic purposes. Everything happened as a pure Thai cultural event. This is a historic street, which has kept some of its wooden facades. There are a few cafés that seem to belong to another era as well as many places to eat. The atmosphere was absolutely wonderful and so authentic!
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| Animation on Sue Suk Street |
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| Oldtimer coffeeshop |
A great base to explore the immediate surroundings.
There are many fine beaches near Prachuap Khiri Khan, as well as two great National Parks: Kui Buri, at the North, and Nam Tok Huai Yang, in the south.
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| Wako Beach |
This part of the country is also the narrowest part of the isthmus in the Malay peninsula.
Singhorn Pass is where the Thailand-Myanmar border is. In past times, it used
to be a trading shortcut between the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Thailand. Right at the border, there is an interesting daily market for Thai and Burmese products.
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| Thai-Burmese border |
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| Prachuap Bay from the jetty |
Christian Sorand
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| Wako Aquarium |
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| Sea turtle |
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| Grouper |
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