Thailand Chanthaburi: Exploring the surroundings of Laem Sing Beach Chanthaburi, Eastern Provinces, Travel to Thailand 5 (5)I continue this exploration of the province of Chanthaburi, located about 3h30 from Bangkok. After telling you about the city and its history, its main national parks like Namtok Phlio, the most “known” and recently, a stroll inland between the Nong Bua village and the “island” of Ko Proet, this time I'm taking you along the coast.And I want to make it clear that this is about Laem Sing à Chanthaburi, because there is also a beach of the same name in the middle of the west coast of Phuket (which is also worth a look by the way), although this is also an entire district of Chanthaburi province as well as being the name of the main beach. Summary hide Laem Sing Beach Tuek Daeng (red building) and Khuk Khi Kai Phairi Phinat Fort The old lighthouse of Laem Sing Khao Laem Sing Forest Park and Ao Krathing Beach Hat Ao Yang Laem Sing BeachAnd so we start with the nerve center of the area, if I may say so, the beach of Laem Sing, which can be considered the main beach in the region. Stretching over 3 km, we find a series of small resorts, mainly on the eastern part of the beach and of course some restaurants. I made a first photo stop when the distance between the road and the beach is barely 40 m. To do this, I passed through a piece of land used by a local fisherman. (with his consent of course) to make his wooden fishing baskets. On this portion of Laem Sing, the beach is not very wide and above all lined with coconut trees. In contrast, the closer we got to the western part, the closer we got to the bridge spanning the river Chanthaburi, the more the vegetation changed since it is bordered by fir trees and the beach is then much wider. That's where we stood, à one of the restaurants with tables directly on the beach. Unfortunately I don't have the name (it is not indicated on Google Maps… but I know the parking is right next to the Learning Beach Resort (see here on GMaps)Restaurant on the beach.The beach is wider on this part.Tuek Daeng (red building) and Khuk Khi KaiIt was less than a kilometer after the restaurant that we arrived at the level of the square of the "red building" (Tuek Daeng in Thai). A sober name designating this building remaining from the French occupation. The building was built at the beginning of this period, in 1893, at the same time as the Khuk Khi Kai prison.Tuek Daeng is a simple building made of bricks with walls painted red and a roof made of red tiles. On one floor, Tuek Daeng stretches over 32 meters long and 7 meters wide. Inside you will find five rooms, all connected to each other. It was built on the remains of another Thai fort built during the Siamese-Vietnamese War. Phikhat Patchamit, whose bricks were used/recycled for construction. It was the French headquarters for the Laem Sing estuary and served as accommodation for the garrison soldiers based at Laem Sing camp until the occupation of Chanthaburi ended in 1904.Much later in 1984, the building was renovated into the District Public Library. Laem Sing. But the idea did not persist and nowadays the place is no longer a library and opens as a simple tourist attraction, with free entry, since there is not much left in it apart from some explanatory signs only in Thai and an old cannon. This is the only building that has survived after all these years because if nothing in particular is mentioned, it does not was so there was not just one building at this location, which housed an entire battalion (the rest being at the other camp, located in the town of Chanthaburi).Next to the building, it is a rather quiet area at the time of our visit. It is next to the seaside where you have a view of the bridge spanning the river Chanthaburi which flows into the sea at this place. In the distance we can see a white temple with a fitting name, the What Khao Laem Sing (Lion Peninsula Hill Temple) and fishing boats parked in the area.As for Khuk Khi Kai is a small square brick tower, only 4,4 metres wide on each side and 7 metres high, with two rows of vents and a high roof. Located 350 m from the red building, it is in fact a prison (sometimes considered the smallest prison in the world) because yes, there was nothing else but this single tower. Built by the French in 1893, its function was to lock up Thais who resisted French troops.The current name Khuk Khi Kai can be translated as chicken poop prison. At the time of its use, there was no roof as one might think that has disappeared, but only a grid with a chicken coop... The chickens then continually dumped their droppings on the prisoners… Yeurk...Phairi Phinat FortTo get there, we crossed the Taksin Maharaj Bridge, which offers a beautiful view of the estuary. We then followed the road passing the Laem Sing peninsula, where our next stop is, the ruins of the old fort. Let's be honest, there's not much to see as such. But that's if we only take into account the "old fort" aspect since that's what we're telling you. And of the old fort, only a few old cannons remain. (Not even sure if they are original, but probably added just to say " hey you saw, there was a strong one there huh!?") and traces on the ground recalling the function of the places.Namely, these were essentially gun turrets to protect the coast in the event of an invasion by the Vietnamese Navy. The kingdom feared a backlash following the Siamese invasion of southern Vietnam during the 2nd Siamese-Vietnamese War. (1831-1834), while the two nations were fighting notably over the control of Cambodia. It was therefore under the reign of Rama III (1824-1851) that the construction of this fort was ordered, which has a strategic view of the beach of Laem Sing.The stairs leading to the “ruins”.Access to the chedi of victory.I warned you, there's not much...But there's still this view! Especially if you don't plan on going to the lighthouse, it's a minimum.Making today an excellent spot to admire the beach and the view offered by this hill. It is also a place of refuge for macaques hanging around in this area, the opportunity to observe a few wild monkeys if you have not yet had the opportunity in Thailand. In addition to this viewpoint and the "remains" of the fort, you can see an old chedi above. If there was already a first version of a smaller chedi for which I have not found a date, the latter was built on top of the original one in 1904 during the reign of Rama V. Called the chedi of freedom, the latter was built to commemorate the withdrawal of French troops from Laem Sing, after France returned the territory of Chanthaburi to Siam (following the Pak Nam incident, which I mention in my article about the city of Chanthaburi).One of the monkeys hanging around the fort.The old lighthouse of Laem SingLess than a kilometer after this stop at the fort, we continue on the road along the seaside on the peninsula of Laem Sing, heading towards the lighthouse. I knew that to reach the latter, I had to walk a little into the forest. But before that, we stopped to see a kind of sanctuary at the seaside, where we had a view of the beach of Laem Sing. Basically, it was because we thought there would be toilets somewhere, but also because the road doesn't go any further. We parked above this place and after a few photos, we passed the barrier indicating the end of the road to continue our journey towards the lighthouse.We passed the houses of the staff managing the lighthouse and the area (even if the latter now works automatically, powered by a solar panel) which border a gravel beach (large sand, let's say), then we crossed a small bridge which leads to the entrance of the path going up the hill where the lighthouse is located. In total, there is a 400 m climb to get there. Be careful of the rubble, but it is still quite easy, because we reached the lighthouse in just 15 minutes.The beach just before the path leading to the lighthouse.Small bridge to reach the start of the path.At this tree, you will see the lighthouse and arrive at the end of the climb.Next door, an old wooden hut that was once used by staff lies abandoned. The view from the lighthouse is superb and dominates everything Laem Sing, especially the beach, the bridge Taksin Maharaj and the Laem Sing estuary, where the Chanthaburi River flows into the sea. And speaking of the name, did you know that it means the lion's cape? This is because at the foot of this peninsula there is a rock which one said it represents a lion's head. To see it, you have a viewpoint 50 m from the lighthouse, and in addition to the rock, you can see in the distance a small island, called Ko Chula (probably named in honor of Rama V).Laem Sing Lighthouse is small, yes.The view of the rock and Chula Island is here.The famous rock giving its name to the peninsula, subject of this article.View of Chula Island.Khao Laem Sing Forest Park and Ao Krathing BeachAfter getting back in the car, we returned to the level of the crossroads just after the "fort" (where we came across several monkeys in the middle of the road) for this time take the other road, also a dead end and leading to the "Forest Park" Khao Laem Sing Forest Park is a protected area of the peninsula (but which does not have the status of a national park, in particular due to its very large surface area restraint). And apart from the forest that surrounds it, it was mainly seeing the beach associated with the park that interested me.Some people were coming back from swimming as we walked down the stairs to Ao Krathing beach (I always write the local name like with the temples and the famous word "Wat", but FYI, Ao means "bay").Access to Ao Krathing beach.You have been warned.Arriving in the undergrowth bordering the beach, a sign “kindly” indicates to be careful of possible venomous snakes hanging around in the area. Well, we'll be careful then. It's just after 16pm, there aren't many people there, apart from a few families on one side, and a group starting to drink at one of the available picnic tables. This is the advantage of a national park, where this kind of behavior is prohibited, because well, here, unfortunately I doubt that all their waste have was well picked up at the end… We didn't stay too long on this beautiful beach, because I wanted to see another beach afterwards, but it's a nice place to rest for a while if ever. The sand is soft, rather light and the whole thing seemed rather clean to me.Hat Ao YangLast stop for this day, before reaching our hotel. As it was in another area than Laem Sing, it will be for another article, but if you are interested in the hotel, it was the Peggy's Cove Resort, located near Kung Wiman Beach. We wanted a change of the hotel we took in Chanthaburi, just to get closer (a little) to Bangkok (there was only a 30 km difference but hey).Coming back to our last visit, we can translate the name of this place as the beach of the rubber tree bay. (the rubber tree). Here the sand is almost orange in color. (accentuated by the sunset we were witnessing) but since there are rocks, I don't know if it's suitable for swimming. However, the area is a little developed since we passed a few hotels and restaurants. It's a beach with a landscaped shore, but surrounded by vegetation and as it's a dead-end, I imagine it generally remains quite calm.A piece of Ao Yang beach.The other end, where there was a restaurant, apparently attached to a hotel.And the sunset that arrived to close this article!If you are going to Chanthaburi, you might be interested in these other articles:What to visit and see in the “moon city”?Namtok Phlio and other national parksFrom Nong Bua village to Ko Proet island, visit between land and seaWhat to do between Kung Wiman and Chao Lao beachesDid you like the article? share on Pinterest! Did you like the article? Vote on the article Note globale 5 / 5. Number of votes: 5 No votes yet. Be the first to rate this article! Did you like the article? Follow me on social media Off the beaten track Sea and beaches Nature and landscapes Historic site 0 0 Roman 29/03/2020
