Chantaburi - a multitude of options

Chantaburi has something for everyone. The province has great beaches, highlands with waterfalls and hot springs, remnants of gem mines as well several destinations for history buffs. In a temple in the city center, Buddha statues are kept in a building with a roof shaped like the helmet worn by the great Taksin who won Siam back from the Burmese.

Chantaburi was from where the general (later king) gathered his forces, built his fleet, and subsequently launched his attack on the Burmese. Later, Siam came under pressure from the expansionist French that didn't think French Indochina was quite large enough. French troops therefore marched up the coast from today's China and didn't stop until they reached Chantaburi. 

French-built "Chicken-shit Prison"

They occupied the territory until the king of Siam gave two of "his" Cambodian provinces to the French. The French combined incarceration of Thai prisoners with farming - there is a structure near Laem Singh, which used to have prisoners on the ground floor while the top floor was a chicken coop. Due to gravity, the prisoner were "showered" in chicken droppings, which they obviously saw as a great insult.

Beach destinations include Laem Singh and Hat Chao Lao (with Laem Sadet)

http://tinamue.blogspot.com/2011/12/chantaburi-laem-singh.html


http://tinamue.blogspot.com/2010/02/chantanaburi-chao-lao.html

The road from Chantaburi city to Sa Kaeo city goes parallel to the Thai border with Cambodia and there are a couple of small "border markets" and lots of waterfalls along the way. The key destination in that area is Soi Dao.

Rolling hills near Soi Dao

Ratchaburi - Khao Krajom (2)

In an earlier blog, I vowed to return to Ratchaburi and drive to the top of Khao Krajom during the rainy season.

http://tinamue.blogspot.com/2013/04/rachaburi-khao-krajom.html

As expected, what had been a walk in the park when the track was bone dry, had now become more challenging. Whereas use of 4WD was merely a recommendation during the dry season, it is a must during the rainy season. And yet, there were only two spots where one had to use the low range and had to be stubborn.

One was a stretch with deep ruts cut by rain water. The computerized traction control (limited slip differential) failed. Limited slip does obviously not mean no slip. Without manual differential locks, the wheel not touching the road spun and no power was transferred to the wheels touching the ground. It took several attempts to find a route up the ascent where the worst ruts were avoided and forward (upward) motion maintained.

The second problem was the very steep final stretch before the peak is reached. It took 3-4 attempts before I found a route where I could gain sufficient speed and traction to power my way up the hill. Again, without manual differential locks, I had to do the climb without finesse.

But I made it to the top.

Khao Krajom - View towards Burma

Ratchaburi - Huai Khok Mu Viewpoint

Huai Khok Mu is one of thousands of peaks along the Tenasserim Mountain Ridge. With a height of 867 meters, it offers good views of the valleys below.

Due to its close proximity to the Thai-Myanmar border (Mergui is not far away), the Border Patrol Police has a small base at Huai Khok Mu. However, it is not an area of military tension, so there are camping sites (but no bungalows or electricity supply) for people who want to spend the night.

The road to reach the top is a rough dirt road, but 4WD is not mandatory in the dry season. However, at a few locations, there is loose sand on top hard laterite, which can result in slides if one does not know what to do or what to expect.