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From Phuket to Bangkokby car
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We were in Thailand once again and this time we went by car from Phuket to Bangkok. To do this, you need only an international Drivers-Licence, a little courage to the left-hand traffic and curiosity on not much frequented touristic regions. The streets and big 6-lane Highways are very well an you can drive really without stress. Also in Bangkok with its horrible traffic is it because of the good traffic facilities, all traffic-signs in English, too, no more problematic to drive, than by us during the rush-hour. Nobody insists on his rights or honks, may be they don’t know a real traffic regulation. But everything becomes o.k. We thought to go by car here would be very strong, but it was really easy and so we could enjoy our nearly 900 km long trip from Phuket to Bangkok. But before we start, we spent 1 week in the Amari Coral Beach Resort in Patong and it was the perfect place for us to relax. The Resort is apart the Patong Beach and quiet, but in a very short walk you are in the crowded middle of Patong. We hoped, that Patong became much better after the Tsunami, but in the meantime it looks nearly like Pattaya. But Phuket is not only Patong, there are so much wonderful places to see, and so much activities to do.
Our first 400 km long distance to Chumphon was very beautyfull. Around Pang Nha, and on direction to Krabi there are spectacular rock formations and also on the further way you can see rice fields, coconut plantations , rubbertrees, oilpalmtrees, enormous pineapple fields, many small lakes, mountains, nice villages and cities with old timber buildings, wats and much jungle.
The first stop on our trip to Bangkok was Chumphon, the calm province capital off the coast. We stayed approx. 15 km north in the Cabana Resort directly at the beach. But the weather was not very good, strong winds and big waves and so we could only go for a walk at the beach. There is no mass tourism, the beautiful beach is mainly visited by Thai families, there are many small bungalow resorts, typical Thai-restaurants and Hawkerstalls at the beach. Also the fishing port is small and everything is somehow original and delightful.
Our 2. stop was Cha Am, 250 km far away from Chumphon. Also this drive was very stressless. We drove along enormous coconut plantations and at the roadside, you can see everywhere how the coconuts became finished. In the near of Hua Hin changed this landscape from the coconut plantations to enormous pineapple fields, as large as cornfields. Cha Am belongs beside Hua Hin to the touristic centres south of Bangkok. Both places are grown nearly together. The 25 km distance is nearly complete connected by the hotel zone along the beach. Cha Am is very calmly and a little bit boring and so we were glad to be here by car. One of our excursion was the fishing port at the end of the town, an absolutely highlight! Unbelievably what we got to see here. Fully Fishing cutters, tons of fish and seafood, we could watch the whole working-process from the discharging to packing and selling. Very very interesting!
Another excursion was the visit of Phetchaburi. The city belongs not to the touristic must sees, and so there are not much tourists here. In the city centre there are more than 30 temples. But every explanation and all signs are only in Thai-Language. But the people are very friendly and openly and so we had no really problems with our sightseeing
The last 200 km to Bangkok were not very interesting, no great landscapes, only factories, salt extracting plants and Scrimps farms along the way. The road system was very well, only the 6-10 lane highways with its much traffic was exciting and made us a little bit nervous because we came from the province with less traffic on the streets. But we habituate to this.
All in all we drove more than 1.500 km with our Nissan Sunny stressless and comfortably through Thailand. Thailand by car is at all no problem and the distance Phuket-Bangkok is very nice. We would make it at any time again.
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