Road Trip - Jomtien to Phuket by car and back

[ChiFlyer]

I am going to put this one up in pieces, providing there is some interest.

The GF and I recently made a 9 day road trip by car to Phuket and back to visit with some friends in Phuket. I decided to divide the trip up into 3 driving days each way. The purpose of the trip was to get out and relax, not to drive ourselves nuts with a difficult itinerary. The estimated driving times include frequent potty breaks and stopping for a leisurely lunch. The leisurely lunch was usually at a 7-11 for a hot sandwich and a coke. btw, I have a friend who is older than I am (I am 71) and he is doing this as a 2 day trip by motorcycle. The man definitely has stamina.

We were well prepared and carried a refrigerator bag, thermoses, etc. The thermoses were for cold coffee. Google Maps served us well both for overall directions and traffic congestion warnings. I got off course once or twice, but was quickly notified that a u-turn was needed.

Day 1 - Jomtien to Hua Hin (320 Kms - 6 hours)

This was a pretty much an un'eventuale travel day and also a very pleasant night. One runs the prescribed Google Maps highways skirting South of Bangkok. The Bangkok area construction is a pain, but put on the old "jai yen yen" face and plod through this part. It takes about 90 minutes for this part.

One needs to pay some tolls on this portion so have a couple of hundred baht sitting ready.

We had made a reservation at the Palayana hotel in Northern Hua Hin. More than a nice enough place with beach access and a complimentary buffet breakfast, which was more than acceptable. I paid 8000 for 3 nights as we stayed for 2 nights on the drive back to Jomtien. More on that later.

https://www.thepalayana.com/

 

We only stayed one night at the Palayana on the way to Phuket and by searching the internet came up with a near by Thai Seafood restaurant similar to Pupens in Na Jomtien. The GF really liked it and I thought it was pretty decent as well. It is call "Chom View" and is back across the city boundary in Cha Am.

 

Many pics to follow:

Overview:

 

The food:

 

The buffet breakfast at the Palayana was good as well.

 

About my only disappointment with staying at the Palayana was that I discovered that there is a Shearton next door where I could have used my Marriott points. 

Edited November 24, 2020 by ChiFlyer

[article22]

I stayed at the Sheraton in HH and really enjoyed it.

Good location too. Only issue was the beach in front was really dirty then...guessing it will be much better now.

A friend was in HH and went to the local vineyard and had a lovely time. Not cheap but the food and ambiance was top notch.

Enjoy your trip.

[ChiFlyer]

7 hours ago, article22 said:

......

Good location too. Only issue was the beach in front was really dirty then...guessing it will be much better now.

......

We walked over to the Sheraton to have dinner on our last night. It was dusk, but the beach seemed fine to me.

[ChiFlyer]

Day 2 - Hua Hin to Ranong (400 kms 6.5 hours).

We decided to overnight in Ranong on the way to Phuket. The route on Rt 4 is a tale of two very different segments. The first half to Chomphon is easy money once you clear Hua Hin, which doesn't take that long. The King was coming into the city from the opposite direction so that caused a backup in that direction. It did not affect us. Quite the procession for the King's caravan, as one would imagine. The second half going to Ranong becomes increasingly winding with elevation changes. About 25 kms outside of Ranong it becomes a little dangerous with unfinished construction. There were no backups, but one needs to go very easy for about 15 kms. Our friends had advised us to consider avoiding this section, but that would have added over an hour to our travel time and Google Maps indicated that it was ok. Like I said, no reason not to do it at this time, but slow it down considerably at the indicated mileage markers.

Ranong does not have much to offer in the way of hotels or Farang restaurants. We were only here for one night each way, so I am certainly no expert on the topic. There are some hot springs and spas just outside of town. My friend's Thai wife recommended these, but we were a little too beat from the drive so we took it easy.

We stayed at the Numsai Kaosuay Resort, which was nice enough.

https://www.numsaikhaosuay.com/

The grounds were nicely maintained, but the rooms were a little spartan at 2000 a night. I upgraded to a small suite on the return for an extra 1000. Much nicer, but a little pricey for what one was getting. Breakfast was included. The other hotels that we looked at were no better price or accommodations wise. My friend's wife (who grew up in Ranong) suggested the Blue Sky for a future visit.

Here are a few pics from the Numsai Khaosuay.

We dined at the Farm House Restaurant, which was ok.

Edited November 25, 2020 by ChiFlyer

[ChiFlyer]

Day 3 - Ranong to Phuket ( 300 kms 6 hours)

The third leg was not all that remarkable. The roads were decent enough and once one is on the final 100 kms there are plenty of gas stations etc. The only thing worth pointing out is that once one is on the island traffic slows down considerably. Phuket tourism is way off, but the island has other industries (manufacturing, infrastructure, shipping) that are relatively unaffected. Traffic in general IMO is worse than in the Pattaya area.

Our target was the Panwa area, which is toward the Southern end of the island. Things are very laid back and comfortable in Panwa. It has a fair number of upscale condos and hotels that are nicely spread out. Our friends' place is a little over 200 sqm with a full ocean side patio and 3 bedrooms. Condos are much pricier in Phuket than in Pattaya from what I have seen.

The final few kms into Panwa is one place where I did get off course. The Google Maps lady got confused and we ended up in the parking lot of a restaurant at the top of a fair sized hill. I called our friends (I was off by 3 kms) and they met us for lunch at the Sky View (?) restaurant. Turns out that this is a new place that they had wanted to try, so all's well that ends well as usual.

There is a viewing tower at the end of the parking lot for the restaurant so we ascended that and took some pics.

Over to our friends' place, unpack, and a glass of wine at sunset.

Edited November 26, 2020 by ChiFlyer

[Macawber]

Thanks for the report so far. I'm not planning a similar trip in the near future but I did learn something from your report. I didn't know that there's a bridge (?) crossing from the mainland to Phuket... or is there?

[ChiFlyer]

23 hours ago, Macawber said:

Thanks for the report so far. I'm not planning a similar trip in the near future but I did learn something from your report. I didn't know that there's a bridge (?) crossing from the mainland to Phuket... or is there?

Yes there is a bridge that connects the island to the mainland. No tolls or anything like that, but you do go through a checkpoint as you enter Phuket. They were checking temps the day we went through. The checkpoint is no big deal. It took us about 10 minutes to get through.

Also, I did not mention it but there are occasional police checks on the highways once you get South of Hua Hin. Not a big deal either. They take one look at my Farang ass in a small car and wave me through. I suspect they are looking for larger vehicles that might harbor illegal aliens or drugs.

[ChiFlyer]

The Evening of Day 3 through Day 5 - Checking out Phuket

This is going to read like a family vacation travelog. Our friends showed us around Phuket for a few days checking out the sites and a bunch of restaurants. I can say for those of you with more prurient interests that al lot of bars and MPs are closed due to the pandemic. At the same time there are still many open. We did not check out Patong, which I understand to normally be ground zero.

We were very fortunate to have hosts who lived in the area and enjoyed showing us around. I would not have covered this much ground on my own.

Some restaurants for a starter.

Old Panwa is a Malaysian run breakfast place in Panwa. They have a 50 baht breakfast that is pretty good considering the price.

 

I really liked We Cafe. They have 3 places on the island. The format is similar to the now gone Wooden Box in Pattaya. You pick the items for a salad with many of the ingredients being grown on sight. There are also other items on the menu. Everything was very good.

 

For dinners in Panwa we tried both Rim lay and The Cove. Both of these are very nice reasonably priced casual restaurants with good food. Both are both struggling to get through the current economic crisis.

Rim Lay - sorry forgot to take food pics - but the Chicken Panang was very good.

 

The Cove - I really liked this place

 

 

 

 

This post is getting rather long. I will continue with the sight seeing in a follow up.

 

Edited November 27, 2020 by ChiFlyer

[ChiFlyer]

The Evening of Day 3 through Day 5 - Part 2 - Checking out Phuket

Our friends went all out in showing us around town to take in the sights. We took a pass on the Big Buddha, as I had seen several before. Some notable sights in no particular order were:

Cape Promthep - this is a popular foto shoot site on the Southern end of the island. We were cautioned not to return for a sunset view as this draws large crowds to the point that one has to jockey for a camera position. Still this is a nice day time visit.

 

Kata Beach - this is more toward the center of the island. We stopped at the Boathouse restaurant for lunch, which is a little pricey. We ordered some small dishes. I had the Gazpacho and it was very good. Really nice place to kick back and take in the view. The third pic of the surfing dog was fun to watch. On this particular day, a guy took his 4 dogs into the water where they took turns surfing.

 

 

 

 

I thought I has taken more touristy shots. They may be in process from Line threads that I have not fully checked out. I will add as I find them.

Really the best views were from my friend's condo in Panwa near sunset as we had a glass of wine before dinner.

 

 

 

Both my friend and the GF are camera bugs, so many of these shots are theirs. This last one he sent me the day after we left. An early morning rain led to a rainbow.

 

If you are lucky enough to be in Thailand, like myself, this is an excellent time to visit Phuket for the natural beauty. If you are more interested in Patong, you probably want to wait.

I consider myself to be very lucky to be here in Thailand at this time. I would like to take credit for the brilliance that got my here, but it was ALL dumb luck. Better than being smart I guess.

I will be wrapping this up tomorrow with the return to Pattaya. That should be a relatively short post in that it is primarily a rewind. There will be some additional info about the Hua Hin area.

 

 

Edited November 27, 2020 by ChiFlyer

[ChiFlyer]

Here is another Kata Beach pic meant to bring a smile to the PA Crowd.

 

[ChiFlyer]

Days 6 to 9 - back to Pattaya with a layover in Hua Hin.

The trip back was unremarkable except for a two night stay in Hua Hin. We stayed at the Palayana once again, which is a very good hotel at about 2000 a night. It is next door to the Sheraton where I could use Marriott points, so I may give that a try on a subsequent visit. We walked over to the Sheraton for dinner on our last night and they do indeed have a nicer pool. Here are the dinner pics at the Sheraton.

 

 

 

An interesting thing about the Palayana is that they have very nicely maintained outdoor foliage. There are a number of a certain kind of tree that draws hundreds of birds at twilight. The little buggers put up quite the racket but that only lasts an hour.

The GF used to operate a hair salon in Cha Am Beach North. We ventured over and she met a few friends from the past. Everyone had an enjoyable time. Cha Am Beach North really seems to be hurting due to the drop in tourists. Tourism is most of their local economy from what I saw. Nice enough beach waters, restaurants, etc. Based on the restaurant signs I would guess that the area is very popular with Scandinavians and Germans. Despite the absence of tourists, traffic still pretty much sucked on beach road.

Well - that's about it for now.

 

Edited November 29, 2020 by ChiFlyer

[slashlarue]

On 27/11/2020 at 16:23, ChiFlyer said:

The Evening of Day 3 through Day 5 - Part 2 - Checking out Phuket

Our friends went all out in showing us around town to take in the sights. We took a pass on the Big Buddha, as I had seen several before. Some notable sights in no particular order were:

Cape Promthep - this is a popular foto shoot site on the Southern end of the island. We were cautioned not to return for a sunset view as this draws large crowds to the point that one has to jockey for a camera position. Still this is a nice day time visit.

 

Kata Beach - this is more toward the center of the island. We stopped at the Boathouse restaurant for lunch, which is a little pricey. We ordered some small dishes. I had the Gazpacho and it was very good. Really nice place to kick back and take in the view. The third pic of the surfing dog was fun to watch. On this particular day, a guy took his 4 dogs into the water where they took turns surfing.

 

 

 

 

I thought I has taken more touristy shots. They may be in process from Line threads that I have not fully checked out. I will add as I find them.

Really the best views were from my friend's condo in Panwa near sunset as we had a glass of wine before dinner.

 

 

 

Both my friend and the GF are camera bugs, so many of these shots are theirs. This last one he sent me the day after we left. An early morning rain led to a rainbow.

 

If you are lucky enough to be in Thailand, like myself, this is an excellent time to visit Phuket for the natural beauty. If you are more interested in Patong, you probably want to wait.

I consider myself to be very lucky to be here in Thailand at this time. I would like to take credit for the brilliance that got my here, but it was ALL dumb luck. Better than being smart I guess.

I will be wrapping this up tomorrow with the return to Pattaya. That should be a relatively short post in that it is primarily a rewind. There will be some additional info about the Hua Hin area.

 

 

Beautiful pictures. Could use them as desktop wallpaper.

[jimboh]

Is there any of the National parks worth stopping at on that route? Am planning on driving to Krabi soon.

[ChiFlyer]

10 hours ago, jimboh said:

Is there any of the National parks worth stopping at on that route? Am planning on driving to Krabi soon.

I will ask my friends who live in Phuket. She is Thai and grew up in Ranong. more later.

Also we did the route we did because I had decided to overnight in Ranong. Others tell me that if you want to make it a 2 day trip, it is better to overnight in Chumphon and continue of Rt. 4. The road going into Ranong gets pretty rough in places.

 

Edited March 17, 2021 by ChiFlyer

[ChiFlyer]

52 minutes ago, ChiFlyer said:

I will ask my friends who live in Phuket. She is Thai and grew up in Ranong. more later.

Also we did the route we did because I had decided to overnight in Ranong. Others tell me that if you want to make it a 2 day trip, it is better to overnight in Chumphon and continue of Rt. 4. The road going into Ranong gets pretty rough in places.

 

@jimboh I expressed the highway numbers incorrectly, especially for the final destination being Krabi. At Chomphon you would want to continue South on 41. Later you want to get onto 44 near Tai Rom Yen National Park.

[ronboy]

On 29/11/2020 at 18:35, ChiFlyer said:

The GF used to operate a hair salon in Cha Am Beach North. We ventured over and she met a few friends from the past. Everyone had an enjoyable time. Cha Am Beach North really seems to be hurting due to the drop in tourists. Tourism is most of their local economy from what I saw. Nice enough beach waters, restaurants, etc. Based on the restaurant signs I would guess that the area is very popular with Scandinavians and Germans. Despite the absence of tourists, traffic still pretty much sucked on beach road.

Well - that's about it for now.

Just read your fantastic road trip now..thank you from a year in Australian Lockdown 

I have travelled extensively through LOS by bus and now visit from Australia to either Hua Hin or Jomtien. I meet up with either one of 2 women working in Bangkok.

I really like Hua Hin which is the right sized city for me. I like visiting Cha-am ..the Thai working man's holiday destination with endless Party Buses from the rest of LOS.

Cha-am is busy with Europeans escaping their winter. Even in the low season I like the traditional low key development of the endless Cha-am beach front. Accommodation is so cheap.. I thought at one time of renting a 2 bedroom old Townhouse 10 mins from the beach for 2 months. B2500/ month unfurnished 

Like my German and Dutch friends we are going crazy waiting to get back to Jomtien and Hua Hin. Unlike them we have had little  problems with covid19 in Australia and can travel extensively.. but it's not the wonders of LOS. 

[ChiFlyer]

22 hours ago, ChiFlyer said:

I will ask my friends who live in Phuket. She is Thai and grew up in Ranong. more later.

...

 @jimboh my friends have never been to Tai Rom Yen National Park. Still this one looks interesting with regard to the net reviews, although I do not think I would want to go to a bat Cave at this time.