Chanthaburi: between Kung Wiman and Chao Lao, two beaches to discover
We continue this series on the Chanthaburi region with Kung Wiman beach, a strip of land about 1 km long, which served as our "base" at the end of our stay. Just north of this beach is the peninsula with the viewpoint that has become an icon of the Chanthaburi region, Noen Nangphaya.
We then went to Chao Lao, the two beaches being located to the west of the Chanthaburi city, going up the coast from Laem Sing, which I told you about last time (see my article on Laem Sing).
Kung Wiman Beach
After this impromptu visit to our own hotel, we first went to the bit of beach opposite it. The area is developed by a dike running alongside the road, so it is not "direct" access but by a staircase that you have to take to actually be on the beach. This implies that the beach at this location is not wide at all at high tide and not really suitable for a lazy day, especially as it is not shaded.
The road in front of the hotel.
Kung Wiman beach, in front of our hotel.
On the other hand, by going to the northern part of the beach, delimited by rocky areas on each side, you arrive at a cove where the beach is then wider and lined with trees. We came across a few families there, but not many people. This area is a dead end and at the end you will have a place with parking where some vendors of street food was stationed there. The weather was certainly blah that day, but the place having a certain charm, I was surprised by the calm reigning here at this time of year.
Noen Nangphaya Viewpoint
In the process, we went to the scenic road passing by the Noen Nangphaya viewpoint. The road to get there winds along the sea and is considered, despite its short length, as one of the most beautiful in Thailand. In any case, it has become one of the symbols of Chanthaburi, probably pushed by the tourist office playing on this image to attract people to this region. As if the "marketing" side behind it works, since we also went there. So what does it give?
Well the road is beautiful yes, but as I said, it's short. As for the viewpoint, the parking lot is quite small, there is a restaurant and toilets there. You have to cross the road and the viewpoint is on a small hill overlooking the sea. A selfie spot par excellence, people buy padlocks there and fasten them along the railing, on the other hand the keys land on the cliff otherwise in the sea, not cool... The view is pretty that's undeniable, it overlooks the end of the peninsula where there is a fishing village behind the hill in the foreground.
The view from Noen Nangphaya Viewpoint.
Hua Laem Fishing Village and Pagoda
From what I understand, Hua Laem is the name of the fishing village below the viewpoint, going to the end of the peninsula. And that's exactly where we were going afterwards, because I wanted to see the small pagoda in the middle of the entrance to the bay. If that day we didn't really walk along the village, but I had the opportunity to come back a few months later as well as to the spot below the viewpoint, hence the following series of photos.
To see the small pagoda (also called Jaedee Klang Nam), you have to go to the very end of the village where there is parking. There are also Thai-style sidecar motorbikes that transport locals from the viewpoint to here (or from their nearby hotel, I guess, that makes more sense). A wooden footbridge built over the sea extends 100 m, the pagoda, which serves as an indication of a rocky area to prevent boats from running aground in the bay, is then 100 m away on a piece of rock. A prayer corner has been set up on a platform at the end, where you can find the "classic" bottles of red Fanta or water as offerings.
I can't help but imagine how many of them end up in the sea when the wind blows into the entrance of the bay (the bottles are not all full). Opposite is the other peninsula, Laem Sadet, and in between, a large bay called Ao Khung Kraben.
Following our visit around Kung Wiman, we went to the neighboring beach of Chao Lao, separated by the large bay of Ao Khung Kraben. From Hua Laem, it is more than 10 km to go around the bay, on the edge of which is a protected area with mangroves. We did not go to the western part bordering the bay, just in front of the Hua Laem pagoda, where there are several small resorts and restaurants, preferring to concentrate on the things to see along the beach.
The mangroves of Ao Khung Kraben
This is not the first time for me that I have gone to see mangroves (we had gone to see some next to the Ranong city to cite an example). So there was obviously a "repetitive" side to what we saw there. Namely, a footbridge taking you through the vegetation, composed of mangroves and other species of trees typical of mangroves. Often, looking at the ground, we can see small crabs going about their business.
Route map.
Next to the parking lot was a nursery with plants ready to consolidate the mangrove.
These intertwined roots fascinate me.
Normally, places like this are set up to make a loop trail, leading to the edge of the mangrove, with a view of the bay here, and another path to come back. Normally. At the time of our visit, it was being redeveloped, which is good in a way, but a bridge spanning a canal was then impassable, we had to turn back.
Afterwards, apart from not having to see the exact same trees again, it wouldn't have changed much on this visit because the area at the edge of the mangrove is about halfway so the overall distance would have been the same. By hanging around a lot taking pictures (true to my habit), it took us 20 minutes to reach the edge of the mangrove and a good ten to return to the parking lot.
Stop there, we won’t go any further…
Chao Lao Beach
Two steps from the mangrove, find the long beach of Chao Lao. The latter stretches over 7 km, although it is not continuous, because some sections have no sand. (and therefore beach). Even though the whole thing seems to have the same name, there are several distinct parts. Basically, we first have a long strip of beach of 5 km, with at the end a small temple leaning against the hill of the peninsula.
Chao Lao is one of the most developed beaches in Chanthaburi, there are dozens of establishments and restaurants on this coast with rather fine sand and especially wide enough to sit there even at high tide. However, nothing to do with seaside towns since here, no buildings in sight, just trees all along as far as the eye can see. It was still here that we came across the most people, despite the gloomy weather. (not great for photos…).
With weather like this, it doesn't make the place look as nice...
On Chao Lao beach.
Only green on the coast.
The beach being spread out, we took the road again to go further. And westopped see the jetty from where the small fishing boats of the local villagers leave. Some people fished there with lines or nets, the jetty allowing them to go further into the sea, although it was low and revealed a wide beach over 120 m deep.
It was windy and overcast, which is pretty ideal weather for this activity, because otherwise no one would really risk standing in the direct sun here. It's less ideal for photography, because a gray sky is the photographer's enemy...
Chao Lao Pier.
The beach on this part is muddy and half covered with water even though it is low tide.
The other side is more sandy and exposed.
There’s fishing on the pier.
At the net. I don't know what produced the black smoke at the bottom...
Kung Krabaeng Wildlife Sanctuary (Pink Stone)
And our next visit, and last of this day, the sanctuary of kung Krabaeng. So to be honest, why this little piece of land jutting out into the sea is a sanctuary, I don't know, because given its size, apart from monkeys, it probably isn't teeming with animals. But that's not why I went there anyway, no. I was intrigued by a markup on Google Maps indicating “Pink Stone”, à know pink stone.
From the photos I saw, one could guess that the coastline of this peninsula is bordered by pinkish rock, even if it is not obvious. Hence the desire to go and check for myself what it looks like. The big disappointment was to see that despite the small and secondary aspect of the site, the area is paid for in the same way as a national park. (200 Learn More per adult, free for Thais on the other hand…).
The first beach upon arriving at the location.
But since I had to be there, I would follow the concept of "seeing for myself" and go there and pay the requested amount. So here we are, following a path, starting from a deserted stretch of beach next to the parking lot. Just after, another stretch of beach welcomed a few people, but we didn't stop there. (the time was turning) and continued on the path along the coast.
Honestly, the place remains aesthetically interesting, the rocks have a mixture of colors, between shades actually tending towards pink, those covered with algae and therefore rather green, plus the more "neutral" color of brown / black rock. After that from there to it being paid (only for foreigners especially) ...
Concretely, our little walk of the day was incomplete, due to lack of time. Because you can normally follow the coast to the end of the peninsula (you should come across a small shrine with a statue of Buddha), where a large group of pink rocks is concentrated and there you have a path going up the hill and allowing you to dominate the peninsula, surrounded by nature and the sea below. The trail goes back down the other side towards the parking lot and therefore makes a loop, looking on Google Maps, I estimate the complete loop to be about 2 km.
Start of the path along the coast.
For our part, we barely went beyond 300 m. We passed by a small bridge, where just after was a mini beach, with two trees on it with intertwined roots, well anchored in the ground. The place is photogenic, a couple was taking pictures there and Jitima did not want to go any further (she was not in good shape that day) so did the same while I continued further.
I just had time to come across another small beach, partially filled with pebbles, but above all, more surprisingly, a house! Leaning there on the hill, I don't know if it was part of the infrastructure of the sanctuary or if an individual had made his little nest there, what is a priori certain is that the place is today closed and unused.
small bridge.
Arrival at a small cove.
Another small beach in the area.
I wouldn't go any further...
Wat Pak Nam Khaem Nu
The temple is located shortly after the Kung Krabaeng sanctuary peninsula, if you are heading towards Laem Sing. To put the trip into context, we went to take a look at this temple the day before in relation to the sites mentioned in this article, while we were finishing our visit Laem Sing and we were heading towards our hotel (located on Kung Wiman beach). I had spotted it on site while passing nearby. While we were on road 4036 (Chaloem Burapha Chonlatit Road), we passed a 7/11 then a crossroads with a small road (Khum Nu Alley) shortly before arriving at the bridge spanning the river. Looking furtively to my right, I see a large blue and white temple passing by.
It intrigued me. Enough to turn around, even though I was continuing on my way for a few hundred meters. We certainly didn't stop there for long, because I had one last point of interest at the base. checker that day, in order to see the sunset (and it was soon thetime). But it was definitely worth the little stop. It is a beautiful temple, recent certainly, but effectively decorated with white and blue tiles to a most beautiful effect, a bit atypical; in addition to the rather imposing size of the raised building, which stood out from the road.
And since I was talking about the sunset, it is from a spot located on the same peninsula as the sanctuary of kung Krabaeng that I was posting. On the other hand, it is not a public area… As I was scouting out the area, I saw an open area that looked like a beach, with a path leading to it from the side of the road, opposite the area covered by the shrine.
In the end, I don't know if it is also part of the sanctuary or if it is land belonging to a private individual, but when taking the path, I found myself in front of a barrier... opened ! The temptation was great and a motorbike with two local fishermen passing just at that moment, I also went forward and parked 50 m further…
And the spot in question looked like this.
We had a view of Kung Wiman beach, the loop is complete.
And the sunset of course!
Where to stay in Kung Wiman
Along the beach, there are a few hotels including the one where we stayed before returning to Bangkok. It was the atypical Peggy's Cove Resort, which looks like a Nordic village (not Thai but definitely Scandinavian!).
It is relatively obvious that this type of establishment is aimed more at a Thai clientele (and a more affluent clientele) since the places are very "Instagram ready". We have to admit that it has its charm and that we ourselves spent a certain amount of time taking photos of the pontoons around our bungalow, the place is so photogenic (and hey, I had also chosen it for that).
Arriving in the evening.
Our room was on the left.
Same photo as above, during the day.
Peggy's Cove Resort
Budget: from 3 Baht (€400)
The rating: 9/10
At that price, it better be worth it. Et there's in your large something to say about it, let's say that since it's Thailand, some establishments would offer a similar service, even by the sea, for a lower price. But it's still a nice place, very clean, with a spacious and comfortable room. You obviously need a vehicle to get there, because otherwise it's complicated to get around.
If you are going to Chanthaburi, you might be interested in these other articles:
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