Pooper scooping in Pranburi

[sabang]

Pranburi district (or Amphoe) is immediately south of Hua Hin district in Prachuab Kiri Khan province, and immediately north of Sam Roy Od and it's national park. Tourism here is mainly of the Bangkok weekender variety, although it does have some 4/5 star resorts for the foreign & HiSo Thai set, chief among them the Evason. It boasts some very pleasant stretches of beach, but without the 'in your face' tourism of Hua Hin- only a twenty minute drive though, for those neon nights out. Local prices too, excellent seafood, a small expat community, and plenty of low key places to have a beer- Mrs sabang and I were impressed by Pranburi.

We were there for two weeks on a 'working' holiday- dogsitting for NR's tribe while she was in the UK. Taking care of 14(?) dogs meant a fairly vigorous start to the day, and a shorter afternoon stint for feeding the dogs- so plenty of time left for sightseeing and checking out the local scene. And, apart from one cantankerous canine that bit me (shame on you Spice!) the dogs were an absolute pleasure to take care of.

I suppose you don't visit Pranburi to see dogs, but I'll kick off with some dogs anyway. Siri -



The famous Star, with Missy flashing away behind-



Pups-



And plenty more. Cute fella's.

Marmite and smeggy have done reports on Prachuab also-

https://teakdoor.com/thailands-travel...-province.html (Prachuap province)

https://teakdoor.com/thailands-travel...hiri-khan.html (Prachuab Khiri Khan)

Hope they don't accuse me of plagiarism.

[natalie8]

Great of you to sit for NR's brood. Your pics were just a teaser. Please post more doggy pics and scenery pics!!!!

[sabang]

Khao Kalok, or Skull mountain, is a Headland- and I would say quite the most pleasant beach in Pranburi. The northern side of KK acts as a sand trap, so the beach is fairly wide here, and Khalok makes an uber nice backdrop. Took us a few days to find this place, but we kept coming back. The coast from here up to the town of Pak Nam Pran is basically developed with a mixture of mostly small resorts - but a coupla bigger ones like the Evason, some townhouse developments and Condo's. Hua Hin it's not (it's much nicer) but neither is it robinson crusoe's island.






Khao Kalok has this cave thing, and also a walking trail where you can commune with nature whilst being robbed by monkeys-






There are a couple of restaurants edging the beach, and some vendors who do grilled chicken and somtam- all at reasonable prices. Pleasantly surprised too that a large Leo was only 50Bht from our favourite seafood restaurant- I reckon thats well cheap for a view like that. No hassles if you just wanted to sit down for a beer.

The two beachside restaurants-






These shots were taken around dusk on Chinese New Years Eve- more people, but hardly what you'd call crowded-

[sabang]

Pak Nam Pran is basically a fishing port located where the Pranburi river meets the sea. The beach goes south from there to Khao Kalok. Here we found a farang bar, the Bamboo-



Spent quite a few afternoons and nights here chatting to John and Jane, the owners. They also throw a free BBQ on Saturday afternoons, from around 3pm (Pranburi time) at which local expats gather, as well as a few visitors escaping Evason prices.






At 80 bht a Leo it's not bargain basement, but who's complaining when you're sitting next to the beach with some farang company. Sing's Bar is just a few yards up the road (70 bht Leo), there are a few massage type places, a solitary souvenir stand, and the Evason is just up the road.

At high tide, not much beach left here-



Low Tide-



The actual township is nestled between the jetty and the estuary-






Apart from missing out on tsunami's, this side of the Gulf of Thailand boasts a favourible aspect- the sun rises over the Gulf, and at the hottest part of the day it is at your back (plenty of shade around). Much more pleasant than having the bright afternoon sun reflected off the sea into your face- I'm not really much of a beachgoer, but found it quite pleasant relaxing by the sea here for that reason.

[natalie8]

Beauty! Keep 'em coming.

[sabang]

^ Cheers, a fair bit more to come.
But it'll have to wait- TD Gallery is playing up , so can't post Pic's right now. Nothing that lunch and a couple of beers won't fix.

Next we'll head north of the Pranburi river mouth, including the Pran forest park.

[November Rain]

Nice one, sabang.

Now that you've got round to doing your thread, better get my backside into gear about doing mine.

[forreachingme]

Pranburi is a very nice place, nearly relocated there, but finally choose Bangkok for Business proximity reasons..

The Windy Bar is a nice little bar to visit in this area, always meet great people from all over the globe at this little place...

[sabang]

The Windy Bar

I didn't see this place unfortunately- where is it located? I'll probably be heading back to Pranburi soon to check out some land there.

[Rural Surin]

Quite nice! Looks like a nice place. Great pics.

[Travelmate]

Pleased to note it's not too shabby.

[kingwilly]

damn, that's making me really miss thailand...

[sabang]

No prizes for guessing the main cash crop around here:-



This incongrous monstrosity is quite out of character, a cluster of condo's of which the largest one looks like a tenement-



But they are right across from the entrance to the Milford golf club. Strange place to have an apartment complex really- apart from a couple of shops, there is really nothing there. We're just a couple of km's north of the Pranburi river mouth.



This was a guest house, now closed down and going to seed-



Heading towards Hua Hin just a few km's is this quite pleasant beach and Wat- forgot it's name. It's one beach after another around here.





Todays destination though is the Pranburi Forest Park, on the northern edge of the river estuary. Some tidal wetlands on the way-

[natalie8]

This incongrous monstrosity is quite out of character, a cluster of condo's of which the largest one looks like a tenement-

And to put one building directly in front of the other to block its view of the beach. That's f*cked.

[sabang]

The park is quite a pleasant destination really, and utilised more by local families than foreign tourists. It's free to get in, plenty of parking, a restaurant and a smaller kiosk place, the beach is there next to a grove of pine trees, and of course there is the forest- which in this case means mangrove forest, which is prolly it's main claim to fame.

The restaurant was quite pleasant, and quite cheap. Pity we'd already eaten, but the Leo was cold.



On the other side of this grove is the beach, looking out from the restaurant-



I was quite flattered that this moggy took a shine to me, it didn't seem to mind my doggy aroma. Friendly fella, it even hung around after it realised we were only having a liquid lunch -






Looking north, towards the monstrosity-



To the south, this breakwater marks the Pranburi rivermouth.



The Kiosk, for coffee n snacks-



After a couple of beers, it was time to do the mangrove walk.

[sabang]

An easy twenty minute stroll, during which time you will see lots of mangroves.









About half way around, there is a dock, and you can take a 90 minute cruise around the mangrove estuary, 150 bht per person.






Theres a viewing tower which they have considerately placed so that you can look over the mangrove forest to those damn monstrosities again -






Plenty of water monitors around here, but you probably won't see one unless you do a river cruise. You definitely will see loads of crabs, and the odd mangrove.

[natalie8]

That boardwalk looks really nice. I wanna go to Pranburi!!!!!!!

[forreachingme]

i made a thread about Pranburi few month ago, somehow i cannot paste the link...

The Windy Bar is the meeting place for some locals, like cooks or managers of different resort like the beautifull Aleenta...

It is on Kao Kalok Beach, just before the Evason pool, walking distance hundred meter or a couple of 100's.

Seat there and meet the world, this small place is quite incredible, the staff is very friendly...

On the same ground then windy bar, you can find a seafood restaurant, good food, but prices ever increasing but not quality...

The Orchid resort is a nice place too for food and accomodation, the owner is a British guy...

For Seafood drive to the end of the Kao Kalok beach, out of the resort area, just before the Pranburi river, good fresh seafood at correct Thai prices...

[sabang]

Prachuab Kiri Kan province of course is a narrow ribbon running north/south, with sea and a coastal strip to the east, rising to the mountains & the Burmese border in the west. At it's narrowest point in Prachuab, the Kingdom of Thailand is all of 13km wide from the sea to the Burmese border- so with such limited catchment area there are no Mekhongs or Chao Praya's here. But the Pranburi River is quite pleasant, and River tours are available. One way is to hire a fishtail boat- the short cruises from the Mangrove trail we've already seen, but this will just show you the Mangrove inlets and the fishing port. A local expat also does eco-cruises with a quiet electric boat- for the nature addict this will give you the best views of the birdlife and monitor lizards. For the portly tourist in his four star hotel in Hua Hin there are cruises in this Gin palace-





No doubt the food and booze flows liberally, but that converted junk won't go too far upriver.

For us rough and ready types, hiring a fishtail boat for three hours costs 700 bht from the Pranburi Riverport- a rather grandiose name for what is a lean-to and small wooden pier a few km upriver from the fishing port. Four of us did that, I busied myself with beer and chatted to my mate who had come down from Jomtien for a few days- and left the photographs to Mrs. Bad decision. A few phot's survived the editing process though-






















The area is noted for it's bird life and the elusive water monitor lizard. We saw three actually, but never quick enough to capture tham on camera.

Close to the riverport, in fact nestling by a bridge over the Pranburi river is this pleasant place, and only a few km's from where we were staying with the doggies. Good spot for a beer, fried alligator 100 bht, even served rabbit, and duck. So a fairly eclectic menu for the culinary experimental- but the usual Thai staples too.



The pier is about 500m on the other side of the Bridge.

[sabang]

The Windy Bar is the meeting place for some locals, like cooks or managers of different resort like the beautifull Aleenta... It is on Kao Kalok Beach, just before the Evason pool

Ahh, I think I know this place- it's like a cabana, in the grounds of a smallish resort(?) We popped by, but early afternoon- only one other couple there. I'll pop by for an evening drink then. Cheers.

[sabang]

better get my backside into gear about doing mine.

I look forward to it NR. how're the doggies?

[sabang]

The character changes as you round the Headland going south- no Resorts here (yet), some fishing boats nestled in the lee of Khao Kalok, just a few Thai families picnicing.



Looking north towards khao kalok-





And south toward Sam Roy Od, where the mountains meet the sea. Some more resorts down there.





We chanced upon this small place, turns out it had only been open five days.



Mr owner spoke some Engleesh, amazingly, and Mrs owner was only too happy to ride off in the motosai and bring us some cold Leo- they only had Chang. They were a nice, hospitable couple- even gave us some of their award winning locally grown papaya to try, very nice it was too. The extensive menu-



A few relaxing beers were had here, and the girls ordered some food. I was thinking that, maybe, there could be some investment opportunities around this part of the world. You might just be hearing more about that, later.

So thats a snapshot of Pranburi, but theres plenty more beaches, temples, markets etc we didn't see, or didn't take shots of. Theres also the mountains with their reservoirs, some wineries, forest parks and views. Our friends from Jomtien liked it too- a very pleasant, laid back area.

[November Rain]

how're the doggies?

They're OK, thanks. Loads more than when you were here. 8 orphaned pups (Mum was poisoned) juvenile (now named Scampy) with pinned broken legs & pelvis, poisoning victims and a new one yesterday, victim of a really bad (deliberate) scald. She's lost her flesh from her ribs to her hind leg. Daily wound dressings on the cards for a while. And antibiotics, of course.

Gorgeous pics, sabang, I've really gotta go out & explore more of my area. BTW, did you & Mrs Sabang ever try the jungle 'specialities' at that restaurant near the river - saw you featured it. Were you brave?

[Marmite the Dog]

juvenile (now named Scampy) with pinned broken legs & pelvis

You've named a cripple after Scampy? How bizarre!

[sabang]

i made a thread about Pranburi few month ago, somehow i cannot paste the link...

Presto.

https://teakdoor.com/thailands-beache...-pranburi.html (Kao Kalok Beach - Pranburi)