Our destination is Pak Nam Prasae, following the new TAT campaign. They say.... We wondered what they were talking about, so we had to see for ourselves how beautiful the golden forest is. This trip started with me wanting to go on a trip near Bangkok, as I haven't been anywhere for months. Anyway, I have to go this week with a total of 3 members (the two of us and one more). Aaaarghhhh

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We made an appointment at Century Mall, Victory Monument. We were supposed to arrive before 6 am. We actually arrived before 6 am, but when we went to buy tickets for the van to Chanthaburi, it turned out that the van was full and had already left. 555 This teaches us that if we want to catch the 6 am round, we need to allow some extra time. So we got the 7 am round. Our fellow travelers on the van were all Indian guests. We couldn't help but wonder why they were going to Chanthaburi. The van drove at a moderate speed. We dozed off and woke up in no time. We arrived at Wang Chan Junction in just over two hours.

We walked across the skywalk to catch a motorcycle taxi at the intersection. But since there were no motorcycle taxis available, we decided to hail a pickup truck to take us to Pak Nam Prasae. It didn't take long for a kind pickup truck driver to stop and drop us off in front of a gas station. We then walked into the alley and after a few steps, we met an aunt driving a golf cart. The aunt greeted us and said, "Where are you going? I'll take you there." The aunt was very kind and asked us where we were staying. We told her that we were staying at Ged Kaew Homestay http://www.kedkaewhomestay.com/. Before leaving, the aunt told us not to forget to invite our friends to visit Prasae again.

Upon arriving at the homestay, the owner, a kind uncle, asked us if we had eaten yet. He told us to go to the kitchen and tell the auntie, "May I have some rice, please?" Haha, from the first step, it felt like home. Hehe. After we finished putting our things away, we were ready to go out to the islands of Koh Man Nai and Koh Man Klang. The uncle said that the wind was strong at the moment, so we would first take a boat ride to see the mangrove forests on both sides of the Prasae River mouth. The view on both sides of the Prasae River was absolutely stunning.

After that, we set sail straight for Koh Man Nai, Koh Man Klang. While we were sailing, there was a flock of white birds playing with the waves of our boat. We were all very excited. We had sailed quite far from the shore and could see the island not far away. But unfortunately, the waves and wind were very strong, making us seasick. The driver had to take us back to shore for everyone's safety.

Our guide took us back to the mainland, stopping at a homestay to drop off those who were too seasick to continue. We then went swimming in the Paknam Prasae estuary. Although we didn't get to swim on the island, we were able to enjoy the water surrounded by beautiful mangrove forests. It was a different kind of beauty.

After showering and changing our clothes, we went out to walk around the old market of Prasae around 4 pm. Most of the shops were closed. Prasae is a quiet community. There is no 7-Eleven here. While walking around the market, the aunts, uncles, and grandmothers smiled brightly and greeted us all the way. One aunt told us that Prasae has a walking street every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at the beginning of the month. The aunt invited us to come back again. The people here are very cooperative and united in promoting tourism.

We walked from the homestay through the market until we reached the Prasae warship memorial. It's an old decommissioned warship. The atmosphere here is super cool because there's like a stone bridge that goes out into the sea, so you can sit and enjoy the sunset. It's amazing to be able to sit here and soak up the slow, relaxing atmosphere. On the way back, we had a three-wheeled car from the homestay to pick us up. The uncle who drove us took us to worship the 500-year-old golden takian tree before returning to our accommodation.

Upon arriving at the homestay, they were served a seafood dinner. The owner of the homestay was very kind and told them, "Don't worry if you don't have any money, I'll treat you." However, they didn't want to take advantage of his generosity, so they walked out to eat wonton noodles at the mouth of the alley instead. When they returned, they bought a can of beer each and sat by the pier, chatting and enjoying the atmosphere.

On the morning of the 2nd, we made an appointment with the uncle of the three-wheeled sidecar to pick us up at Thung Prong Thong. Before going, we stopped by to pay our respects at the shrine of Krom Luang Chumphon. We arrived at Thung Prong Thong around 7:30 am. There weren't many people yet. We walked from one side to the end of the Royal Thai Navy Prasae Monument, which was more than 2 kilometers. I can tell you that we walked in there for a long time, almost three hours. Inside, there is a golden yellow Thung Prong Thong field, reflecting the soft sunlight in the morning. It's so cool. If you go, you should walk all the way. The nature study trail of the mangrove forest is really well done. It winds its way through the mangrove forest.

After returning from Thung Prong Thong, we had seafood porridge at the homestay that was prepared for us. While we were eating, we jokingly thought about hitchhiking to Khao Chamao Waterfall, which should be nearby. But it seems like heaven heard our thoughts. A couple staying at the same homestay asked us where we were going today. We told them we were going to Khao Chamao Waterfall, and it turned out they were going there too. They kindly offered us a ride, so we joined them. There were two of them, named P'Oak and P'Golf.

Thank you very much for your kindness, both of you.

After a long walk to the waterfall at Khao Chamao, we were quite tired. We asked our guide to drop us off in the city center of Kaeng Hang so we could find a van back to Bangkok. But Brother O said, "Let's go together. My house is in Bangkok too. Anyway, the back seat is empty. Come on, let's go together."

We : Why did you take us with you?

PO: I understand the travelers too. I heard yesterday that they came by van themselves.

The trip ended wonderfully. Let's go with the flow.

Expenses

The van fare from Bangkok to Chanthaburi is 200 baht per person.

Accommodation costs 450 baht per person per night *including the cost of a sidecar, sightseeing on the first day, and the cost of food, seafood porridge for breakfast

Boat fee 800 baht per person including meals on board

Dinner cost 50 baht.

The cost of a three-wheeled taxi on the second day was 200 baht.

Approximately 1500 baht in total.