50 something on her travels

Last night as we cycled back from dinner, we heard a massive crunch two cars ahead of us. I kept to the side whilst George and locals ran to a local man laying on his front in the road.  Knocked off his scooter. No helmet on. Not sure if any lights on. He'd been hit by a car. It wasn't clear what had happened.  Luckily the hospital was just down the road and the ambulance arrived very quickly. The man had thankfully regained consciousness as it arrived. A few minutes later we passed A&E where he was being wheeled inside.  When we stayed in Cha-am last month, a waitress from a regular restaurant we visited, proudly showed us her new motorbike.  She then recounted on new years eve that her restaurant had a big party, she'd had lots to drink, and then rode home with no helmet on. She couldn't remember what had happened when she woke up two days later in hospital. She now wears a helmet.  There are many sad stories of tourists having serious motorbike accidents ...

On our way to Ao Manao beach today we took a detour to see the Dusky Leaf Monkeys. What a joy! The  Dusky Leaf Monkey,  also known as the  Spectacled Langur , can be found in forests within Thailand, Malaysia and Myanmar. They are distinguished by dark grey fur, a long tail, and white, glasses-like rings around their eyes. These endangered, shy, and peaceful monkeys live in small groups and are known for being born with bright orange fur that darkens over time.   These are so friendly and totally unlike the thieving monkeys in Sri Lanka, Bali and other parts of Asia. No need to ensure all your belongings are in your bag! When offered food, they politely take from your hand, and don't snatch.  Definitely one of the highlights of our trip to Prachuap Khiri Khan.  There is no charge to get into the Historical Park. You just have to leave a passport at the army check point before entering.  ...

This is the first time we've had rain since Christmas Day in Vietnam.  It was heavy and brief. And soon went back to this. 

We arrived back in Prachuap Khiri Khan today to enjoy a few more days at the beach.  The mini-bus dropped us at the van terminal outside town - which is approximately 45 minutes walk to the hotel. As there are no tourists here, you can't get a taxi and there are no Grabs (Ubers). The only option is a motorbike taxi which won't work with our luggage.  We had no choice. We took a large gulp of water in the 34 degree heat, turned on Google Maps and began to walk. It was mostly one straight main road to walk along. We thought, oh that's easy. Which was great until we saw the road split in two and the path disappear.  We worked out a short cut on the other side. But alas, after crossing the dual carriageway, we soon saw the path ended further along. Why? Because it is the railway line.  So what do you do in Asia? You pick up your luggage, look left and right, and walk across. There was no other option.  We managed to get ourselves to the train station to ...

After a successful immigration centre visit, we had a quiet few days at the lovely guesthouse in Ranong.  Yesterday we headed from Ranong on the Myanmar border, over to the west side, and a brief stop in Chumphon.  As it was only for one night, we decided to stay right in the city. It was one of the hardest jobs for me to find anywhere decent to stay. Because there was nothing. Not even something expensive that had a good rating.  So we ended up in a basic hotel which in fairness was clean. It has the word 'boutique' in its title. It's anything but. It's the only hotel I've not photographed. Apart from the delightful art above the bed.  Reviews state to avoid the rooms at the rear due to the constant noise from a dog shelter. So we asked for a quiet room which ended up being at the front. I was awake most of the night listening to the road traffic on the main road.  As you can imagine I was up early so we could exit as swiftly as we arrived. 😐

After being woken by the guest next door coughing up a lung at 5:30am this morning, we left our hotel. George was delighted at check out when the hotel gave us a partial refund for leaving early. 😳 Today we took the two hour bus ride from East to West Thailand. It's the very thin bit! It was 1.5 hours curling around the roads uphill. And then 30 minutes flying down the other side.  Our bus interior was quite bizarre - check out the ceiling.  Every bus has blue curtains as standard. Usually with frilly hanging bits. Luckily we didn't have those dust collectors today.  Our destination today was Ranong which is the sea border with Myanmar (Burma). Sadly we can't visit due to the war and the FCDO advising against all travel. As we crossed into Ranong Province we stopped at a checkpoint for the police to board the bus, check us out and had a look at the luggage.  The seating system and ticketing on the journey today was quite ridiculous. Mostly tourists board...