Following the episode on the national parks of Chanthaburi province , I invite you to continue the series, and this time, I'm taking you along the road to the coast. Before detailing the various beaches and points of interest along the sea, there are a few sights worth seeing on the road between Chanthaburi city and Laem Sing's main beach.
Starting with a tour of the village of Nong Bua, with its undeniable charm despite the quietness during the week, up to the fishing village of Ko Proet, a peninsula located 10 km from Laem Sing beach.
Nong Bua Walking Street
Nong Bua is a small town less than 10 km south of the city of Chanthaburi. I had located the place on Google Maps under the name Nong Bua Walking Street, because the village welcomes visitors (especially on weekends) to stroll along its old main street, lined with wooden houses.
Luckily, not knowing if I'd be able to park in the village itself, I found a spot right at the entrance by pulling up to the side of the road. The heat was unusually high for January, and it's more or less standard practice in these conditions to avoid walking too long in the sun. So we quickly pulled into the shade of the houses and began our visit, greeted by mostly closed storefronts.
The street aims to be photogenic, although it must be admitted that during the week it clearly lacks atmosphere and shops, and if photography isn't your thing, the place might not be very interesting in that case. Because apart from the old houses, there are a few murals that enhance the area, a recent trend of adding street art to beautify old streets whose authorities generally don't know how to attract local tourists other than by creating an "Instagram-ready" site.
The interesting part is not more than 200 m long, so it costs nothing in terms of time and we had quickly gone around. A few shops were still open, so we took a look at the stores, just like the few people we also met in passing.
Just like us, nothing prevents you from stopping nearby for 15-20 minutes, even if it is calm, it remains a very local and not very touristy atmosphere.
The road through Nong Bua descends towards the seaside, we passed it on our way to Laem Sing beach, where you will find the red house (Tuek Daeng), a remnant of the French occupation.
Nong Bua is also crossed by a river and a canal, both bordered by mangroves, legion in the region. It is therefore also a village housing a few fishermen and a fish market, unfortunately not active at the time of our visit around noon (I imagine that it is more active in the morning, without knowing if it is every day or not ...)
Maritime History of Chanthaburi
Because of the historical importance of the city (I talk about it in my article on the city of Chanthaburi ), which ships could easily reach from the sea by going up the Chanthaburi River, there are several sites in the region related to the maritime history of the area.
This site was on my list of things to see, as it's located not far from the village of Nong Bua, but in the end, I skipped it in favor of the seaside. The site was brought to light following the discovery of an old wooden shipwreck; it's believed to be the shipyard used by the future King Taksin after his retreat from Ayutthaya, while he was preparing his counter-attack.
The remains of a shipwreck lie on land made available by its owner, Mr. Chaleow Bantaowong. A fundraising campaign was then launched to purchase additional land. Later, the Nong Bua sub-district administration, responsible for the area, requested budget support from the Department of Local Government for the 2003 fiscal year. The budget is earmarked for tourism development, the construction of a permanent exhibition building in the area near the first pond where the shipwreck was found, the construction of a roof over the ship, and improvements to the existing twin buildings used as a demonstration area and a shop selling local products.
The museum's permanent exhibits feature biographies and activities of King Taksin the Great. The exhibition also presents the context, development, archaeology, and history of Chanthaburi Province.
As I was unable to visit, the information above is taken from the website of the Museums of Thailand.
Khai Noen Wong and the National Maritime museum
Khai Noen Wong is an old fort built by Rama III as part of a defense system against possible Vietnamese invasions during the first half of the 19th century. You will pass by the old wall made of laterite brick and can admire these old cannons, which are worth a quick stop before heading to the National Maritime Museum. The location may seem a little "out of the way" today, but it must be understood that in almost two centuries, the course of the river has probably deviated from its course of the time, because it can be assumed that the fort had the river in its sights before.
The museum was inaugurated in 2001 and is one of the museums with a real appeal due to the modernity of the exhibitions and the layout of the rooms. In this case, you have 6 corresponding to 6 different subjects distributed as follows:
- Hall 1: Exhibition on trade routes and goods and the way of life of sailors, the centerpiece of which is a replica of a Chinese junk.
- Hall 2: Introduction to underwater archaeology techniques
- Hall 3: “Warehouses” of antiques, where various old pieces from the region are exhibited
- Hall 4: Ships and waterside lifestyle, referencing the Thai people's long-standing connection with riverside life
- Hall 5: Room presenting the history of Chanthaburi and the characteristic assets of the province
- Hall 6: Room dedicated to the great King Taksin, considered the liberator from Burmese rule and a sovereign still highly regarded by the people today.
Find more details on the website of the Museums of Thailand (well done but only in English).
Between Earth and sea
After these visits, it's an opportunity to continue towards the coast, perhaps to Ko Proet. This is the perfect time to discuss the distinctive coastal landscape, with its shrimp farms stretching inland for up to 5 km. It's worth noting that Thailand is one of the world's largest producers, with exports reaching approximately 200,000 to 250,000 tons annually.
While the margin is shrinking with the arrival of competitors like India and Ecuador, at its peak, this volume represented almost 10% of global production. As you travel through the area, you will therefore see numerous ponds dedicated to aquaculture.
You can also enjoy beautiful panoramic views of the region from the bridges spanning the area's rivers. This is the case, for example, when crossing the Bang Sakao bridge, where some locals gather to fish in the Phlio River, which originates from the waterfall of the same name.
We then have a view of the mountains in the background on one side, with floating houses, probably used for fish farming this time. The entire edge of the rice paddies is dotted with mangroves, giving the region a rather wild appearance.
The atypical island of Ko Proet
As always when I'm planning a trip somewhere new, I browse Google Maps to find places that look interesting. My eyes were then drawn to this small, protruding piece of land jutting out into the sea, Ko Proet. Looking at Street View, I saw that the alleyway through the village was also lined with wooden houses, and since it was by the sea, that was all the incentive I needed to go and see for myself.
As I mentioned in the introduction, Ko Proet is a peninsula, whose name suggests it might actually be an island since, if you didn't already know, "Ko" in Thai means island (which is why you always have names like Ko Samui, Ko Phangan, etc., with the exception of Phuket, which is indeed an island). It's likely that the road directly linking the island to the mainland didn't exist before, or that the narrow strip of land was extensively developed to improve access to the island, transforming it into a peninsula.
A local story suggests that its first inhabitants were Chinese traders passing through with their junks and that the original name of the island was Koh Perd (Open island).
If I follow the chronology of our trip correctly, it wasn't after the visits mentioned in this article, because after Nong Bua, we went to Laem Sing. No, it was another day, and we did this visit after exploring the city of Chanthaburi. So it was late afternoon when we arrived on this little piece of land.
And needless to say, at this late hour, fishing activity was practically nonexistent. So we drove through a rather deserted-looking village, after parking somewhat haphazardly at the entrance to the road leading to the cluster of wooden houses on stilts. That left us with a 600-meter walk to the end of the road, which terminated at what appeared to be the island's port cooperative.
In Jitima's words, "there's not much here" when I saw pretty colorful houses, we clearly didn't have the same feeling. In his defense, it was very quiet, no shops, nothing to put under your nose in terms of snacks, souvenirs, no murals or other.
Just a few locals outside, an old, closed restaurant with a sign reading "Restaurante Pelicanos" and the remains of a Spanish-language menu written in chalk—a foreigner trying to set up shop? I admit it piqued my curiosity. On the other hand, we came across a brand-new hotel—well, hotel, more of a guesthouse given its size—but with a modern look that contrasted sharply with the rest of the village, clearly giving it more of a "hotel" feel than a guesthouse (which, in my opinion, given the location, isn't the most logical choice).
Casually, going to the end of the road and taking pictures while hanging around, it took 20 minutes there, and 20 minutes back while chatting with a local after having come across an adorable puppy rewarding us with all his love as he passed in front of his house.
However, the walk didn't end there. Curious as I am, I was determined to head towards the island's temple, simply called Wat Ko Proet, because upon arriving on the island, before parking, I saw signs indicating it to the left, when you were actually going to the right. But the interesting thing is that, in addition to the temple, it also indicated a viewpoint.
Even though it was only 500m, we took the car again to park at the temple and be ready to leave afterwards. We also had to hurry a little, because it was approaching sunset time. The temple itself is nothing extraordinary. And at the time, I thought that the view in question was the one we had from the balustrade next to it. A view of the continent, with the mountain of the Namtok Phlio National Park in the background and the shrimp farms in the foreground.
I thought, yeah, OK. But luckily I didn't stop there. Seeing other cars arriving, I generally saw no one going there, which was also a bit chaotic to access (damaged terrace). On the other hand, I saw a green area at the back, where you could see the sea and people going into the woods on the side. I thought, AH, that must be more like it.
And indeed. Signs quickly confirm that the true viewpoint of the temple is in this direction. And we do mean viewpoint of the temple, because the temple itself is part of the temple grounds. There's no "ticket" as such, but a donation is more than welcome, so be it. We comply and set off along this dirt and gravel path. 300 meters to cover, a bit tricky as it's uphill and wasn't very well maintained when we were there, so it can be quite treacherous at times given the slope. At the top of the climb, we reach the foot of the cliff, but this isn't the actual viewpoint, although the view is already quite impressive.
I quickly captured the sunset, just in case the journey to the actual viewpoint meant we missed the best moment. It was slightly higher up and to the left of our arrival point. We passed an old structure (a shelter?) and then a wooded area, and there it was. The timing was perfect; it was the first day of the year, January 1st, and since the days are quite short, the sun sets before 1:18 PM, so it was just after 17:30 PM when we arrived at the viewpoint.
Below we can see an old concrete staircase leading to the foot of the cliff, where there is apparently a cavity, struck by the waves which outline the rough coasts on this side of Ko Proet.
Because of its rugged and wild appearance, the Thais readily compare it to a miniature Bali… (cliffs being generally rare, apart from the karst formations with vertical walls). But while Thailand is fond of somewhat grandiose "titles" (another example being Sam Phan Bok, nicknamed the "Grand Canyon" of the Land of Smiles…), it's certain that this still relatively unknown spot adds undeniable appeal to Ko Proet, beyond the village itself.
But as things can change quickly in Thailand, I've seen that since our visit, a cafe has opened on the edge of the cliff (the Sky View Cafe). This will probably change things and attract more people, because in addition to the obvious breathtaking view, I imagine the access road has been improved to allow for the construction of this building.
And I'll conclude this article by addressing a comment I've already received: that I shouldn't talk about these kinds of places so they remain "little slices of paradise." But conversely, not sharing them would simply make the blog obsolete, because it would mean only talking about places and information that are already well-known.
A cruel dilemma… But for me, the choice is made, and I always assume that word of mouth, whatever its source, happens with or without a blog.
If you are going to Chanthaburi, you might be interested in these other articles:
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