AROUND CHANTABURI - PHLIO WATERFALL, LAEM SING & CHAO LAO BEACHES

The next day was a huge ride, first south to Nam Tok Phlio (Phlio waterfall) which is a really nice spot with streams and swimming holes that are just loaded with fish, that WILL take a little nibble at you, in amongst beautiful jungle.  

There is a moss covered chedi along the way, built in 1876 to honour the place King Rama V would take his main squeeze, and future queen, for courtship.  Of course the main attraction is the waterfall which is nice enough, once again huge numbers of fish swimming around in the cool, crystal clear water.

You can buy bags of long beans to feed the fish with along the way which is great fun as they scramble over the top of each other for a snack, not as amusing when your swimming with them and people are throwing all the beans right at you!

From here we headed further south and to the coast, which we then gradually followed north past Laem Sing and up to Chao Lao, making frequent stops for refreshments and to take in the great views.  Not the most spectacular beaches by any means, but I loved them and the whole area, barely a tourist in sight and miles of deserted coastline to enjoy.  But soon it was time to head back to town.

We covered a lot of miles, lots of funky little fishing villages interspersed with canals and inlets, a few beach front stalls with cold drinks and fresh seafood, there is even a small forest park along the way and the whole area just has an attractive charm to it.  For a quiet beach getaway, it hits the spot just nicely.

 There are quite a few other attractions around the place but they would have to wait for next trip, after the big day we'd had it was another great night back at Wang Phla with dinner and drinks on the balcony, while we all took turns stirring the fish into a feeding frenzy with the little pellets they sell there.

Next day we took the bikes to the mini bus station and organized for them to follow us to the bike rental shop, once again to save on any taxi fares, and that was no problem.  A mini bus back to Pattaya was cheap, can't remember exactly, and took under 3 hours.

A fantastic break away and so close to Pattaya, I can see many future trips here on the bike, the whole coastline from Sattahip, Rayong etc all the way around is really nice and generally very quiet.