A Weekend in Pranburi, Thailand
Here we go again, one of my travelogues from Bangkok to any point in Thailand. Last time, we made the easy breezy weekend trip to Kanchanaburi. This time around, as it was recently my birthday, we decided to head a bit further down south to the coastal town of Pranburi.
Getting there: What we did and what we should have done
As many travel blogs and web forums there are on traveling around Thailand, one can get the occasional misfortune of not getting the right (or updated information). Traveling to Hua Hin was easy-peasy. But going further down south to Pranburi, one can get quite a few diverse opinions.
While some recommend taking the van from Victory Monument to Hua Hin and then getting the song thaew to Pranburi, other recommend taking the bus from the far-flung Southern bus terminal directly to Pranburi.
Waiting Area at the Southern Bus Terminal, Bangkok
We are also looking at the most convenient trip at the shortest period of time. So we tried the second option, which at the time made sense. So we took a cab to Southern Bus terminal, which took over an hour. Only to find that the buses leave every 2-3 hours (not 20-40 mins as "travel experts" mentioned in the Thailand travel forums).
Ticket Counter to Pranburi at the Southern Bus Terminal
This rendered waking up early useless and if you don't catch the bus, try to amuse yourself in all of the Southern Bus Terminal's retail offerings. And with four 7-11 stores in the terminal building, I don't blame myself for thinking they should have a cinema. With 2 hours of waiting time, that's enough for a movie. But one can only hope.
Shops at the Southern Bus Terminal, Bangkok
Taking the bus from Southern Bus Terminal is a long 5 hour trip from Bangkok to Pranburi despite no coffee breaks or the expected stops at the gas station. Although they only let go of passengers in the many stops at Cha-am and Hua Hin. Upon reaching an intersection somewhere in Pranburi, we were ushered out in what looked like the end of our bus journey. In the intersection, we walked around to ask how to get to Pak Nam Pran. Finally, we found the definitive red song taew that agreed to take us to the hotel. In total, our travel and waiting time took us around 8 hours from Bangkok to Pranburi.
An alternative way and what we should have done was to take the van from Victory Monument to Hua Hin and took the hotel shuttle van with pick up from Hua Hin. Some hotels in Pranburi offer a pick up service and it would be good to know this in advance. This was what we did on our way back and the travel time was easier and faster at around 4 hours from Pranburi to Bangkok.
Arriving at the Hotel
Finally, after over 8 hours of travel time, we finally reached our hotel in Pranburi . We were taken to our corner room with lovely designed interior.
Evason Room at Evason and Six Senses in Pranburi
Seeing as it will be evening soon, we hit the pool to have a bit of swim and some sun.
Evason Six Senses Hua Hin Pranburi
After more than an hour, we decided to walk around the sea-side and around the resort. Our hotel resort was next to the sea but it wasn't really a proper beach. Nobody goes to the beach because it was a narrow beach with mostly large rocks.
Evason Hua Hin Six Senses Pranburi
Evason Room at Evason and Six Senses in Pranburi
Breakfast at Evason and Six Senses in Pranburi
Nature and surroundings at Evason and Six Senses in Pranburi
After the swim and some rest, we decided to explore the area in the evening to find a good place to eat. Paying so much for dinner in a five-star resort is a crime against money! So we walked along the beach road, and we finally stumbled upon a busy seaside restaurant serving Thai and western food. If this is busy with foreigners, then it must be good. The food was really tasty.In the evening, I had a good relaxing bath. Wish I could have more of this in Bangkok.In the morning, we had one of the most amazing breakfasts. They have a wide selection of pastries, dried fruit and juices.More nature pictures and the hotel surroundings. They apparently grow some of their vegetables. Their spa rooms are also made of clay.Do you have any travel experiences to Pranburi that you wish to share? Please share with us your travel experiences by leaving a comment below.Next week, I'm going to share with you my experiences in getting some of the best deals in Bangkok, in a series of posts about living in Bangkok on a budget.
