Forget the bustle of Bangkok for a moment. Point your feet two hundred kilometers southeast to the coast. Is a village Prasae, a fishing village in Rayong province — a province directly adjacent to the Gulf of Thailand —, which we will visit then. This village is the antithesis of Bangkok: there is no noise, time seems to run slowly, and most importantly: there are no other tourists except us.
We used a rental car to get there, took the Sukhvumit road toll road for about three to four hours to get there. Entering Rayong province at noon, we stopped at a resort in the middle of a fairly dense forest.
Tamnanpar Resortlocated in a forest that turns out to be a very shady artificial forest, there are ponds filled with large colorful koi fish, to waterfalls that make melodious splashing sounds.
After walking zigzag through the path by the pool, we arrived at a restaurant which was dominated by wood and stone. In the middle there is a kind of water spray to impress like in a wet rain forest.
Don’t ask about the food. Thai food never goes wrong. Whether it’s on the side of the road or in a very cool restaurant like this. There’s boiled crab legs, cap cay, giant grilled prawns, honey roasted duck, thai salad dressing, spiced chicken, and all kinds of things I don’t know the name of. That’s great!
After the stomach could barely hold the food anymore, we got up from the tray and headed to the Songsalueng natural agricultural centre. If you’ve ever played the game ‘harvest moon’, this place is not much different from the game. A farm and animal husbandry that maximizes the natural potential of nature. Everything is connected to each other. In short, nothing is thrown away.
Somsak Khruewan, the owner of the land himself, took us on a tour of his farm. Starting from catfish, ducks, pigs, chickens, to several plantations whose fertilizers come from their animals. Mr. Somsak is very funny when he explains, even in Thai. But from his expression I caught a very high dedication to carry out one of the Royal Projects of the Thai government.
“I have been doing this for 26 years for the community around here so that they can be independent,” he said firmly.
The Golden Mangrove
Entering the village of Prasae, we were greeted by a crowd Saleng — Rayong’s signature motorized rickshaw — to go straight to Tung Prong Thong, a mangrove forest area in Khao Laem Yai . National Park which covers up to 2400 hectares along the coast of Prasae. In the middle there is a wooden bridge that divides the mangrove so that there is a way for tourists to enter.
On one side of the forest, there is a section with very short mangrove species, and has golden green leaves. When exposed to sunlight, these mangrove leaves will reflect sunlight so that the gold color will reflect clearly!
We walked along a wooden bridge in the dense forest for a few dozen meters. Soon the dense forest instantly turned into an open area. The small bridge which is only one meter wide has turned into a wooden stage as big as two badminton courts to enjoy this golden mangrove expanse.
Unfortunately, it was raining that day.
Finally we agreed to come back the next morning here. Luckily, the sky was clear that morning 🙂
The journey continues again with Saleng. I ride Uncle Phi la’s extinct Saleng. A fisherman who everyday also takes tourists with this motorized trishaw.
“I’ve been to Indonesia, got on my boat and entered via Batam. There are lots of motorbikes in Indonesia, right?” he said.
I just laughed :))
BAAN CHANSAMUT HOMESTAY, dinner on the boat
We stayed here at this homestay. From the outside it looks simple, but when you enter it turns out the homestay is quite spacious. The living room of this homestay is a pier, directly on the edge of the river so that ships can immediately dock right in front of the homestay. Because I got in last, I got a spare room with 10 beds haha. However, I see every room has AC and is very clean. There are no hotels here, and it is said that this is one of the best homestays in Prasae.
Dinner was continued by boarding the boat while watching the sunset and dinner dominated by fresh seafood. Forget cholesterol for a moment hehe. Unfortunately, after the rain, the weather became gloomy. However, I really enjoyed the smell after the rain. Petrichor 🙂
The night continued with random chats throughout the night on the homestay terrace. Hey, I really missed you guys!
Morning in Prasae Village
I think I woke up first. Visiting new places always makes us excited, no? Almost every place I go, I definitely go to the local market. I don’t know why, maybe I’m just happy to have a snack hehe. Luckily the morning market in Prasae is only a few hundred meters from the homestay, and some friends and I walked there.
Along the road in this village the houses are made of wood. Most of the paint colors match the color of the earth. On the road, you can see colorful paper to decorate the streets, like the tiny red and white flags you used to see in the 17’s. Several old buildings are seen standing here. The atmosphere is calm, the streets are very clean, no cars pass, only one or two motorbikes pass us. This was also the first time I saw monks receiving food from the residents, and they responded by praying directly to the giver on the spot.
Soon I met the market. Snack time!
I really enjoy Prasae Village in Rayong province. The atmosphere is calm and relaxed, there are not many tourists, the people are very friendly, and most importantly the food is delicious! I only spent two days here, so there’s a reason to come back here sometime.
Thank You!
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ps Thanks to the Tourism Authority of Thailand for being kind enough to take me to this beautiful little village!
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