To initiate our southward migration, we caught a cheap flight out of Chiang Mai into Bangkok, and quickly hopped onto a first class bus straight to Hua Hin. Our first impression here was not so good after the bus bypassed the downtown area entirely, bringing us to some remote bus station from which we were expected to taxi. Fortunately (and after walking an angry kilometer) we found a super cheap ride into town.
Hua Hin gave us our first opportunity to expose our pale white skin to the beating sun. We piled on the 'screen and hit the beach asap! Unfortunately Hat Hua Hin Neua didnt have much of a beach...
Our visit to Plearn Wan, the supposed "vintage village containing stylized versions of old fashioned shop houses" was not so exciting -- nothing remotely vintage here. But the Asian tourists were fun to watch as they eagerly snapped away with their cameras.
Hua Hin contains one of the few beaches in Thailand where we spotted high-rise hotels.
The far south side of Hat Hua Hin, Khao Takiab, where all the old expats bask in the sun under the watch of a standing Buddha figure.
After the slight letdown at the beaches of Hua Hin, we were quite pleased to arrive at Prachuap Khiri Khan. That is, after an unusual minivan ride, where the driver seemed to be in a particularly bad mood; he pumped the brakes sharply and yelled angrily in Thai when we both started to drift off to sleep in the back. NO SLEEPING! Huh.....? Still not sure what the issue was, but we decided to force our eyelids open.
Here we glimpsed our first views of the dramatic limestone cliffs towering over the sea. This phenomenon is more characteristic to the Andaman coast, rather than the Gulf of Thailand.
Khao Chong Krajok...just one more reason to love this place. This hill towering above the coast, offers amazing views of the coastline, after a hot hike up past the playful monkeys. Here a curious monkey accepts a flower from Kaitlin.
Just about halfway there...
Finally, the top!
Further north of the hill, we found Wat Ao Noi shimmering in a fresh coat of lacquer.
Eerie white Buddha figures in the dark end of Tham Phra Nawn, aka Sleeping Buddha Cave.
Ao Manao, a beautiful swimming beach south of Prachuap Khiri Khan.
Kaitlin talking with some friendly folks we met at the beach.
And the views, oh, the views... This was our view from the guesthouse balcony.
Last beach on the gulf coast: Ban Krut. Here we truly embraced the lifestyle of a beach bum, and did virtually nothing but swim, rest, and eat. Our overall lack of photography here reflects this change in attitude.
This Wat on the horizon certainly looked magnificent, but we opted to enjoy it from a distance. Beach bumming syndrome was starting to suck the exploratory inspiration from our otherwise eager and energetic selves. And you can only see so many wats, after all...
For extra credit, here's a bird with a really cooling looking tail. Nick opted to spend an hour photographing them; Behold!
Goodbye, gulf coast! You were fun but we have islands to hop and pinnacles to dive!
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