So…. After 8 full weeks of teaching without one of Thailand’s many bank holidays last weekend we finally got to take a short break and go away for 4 days. Nick and I were joined by a friend from work and his girlfriend and we headed out for some R ‘n’ R in the back of beyond.
We had decided that we wanted to do something a little different and avoid the regular tourist areas; places within driving distance of Bangkok end up absolutely crawling over bank hols and it can end up taking over 5 hours longer than usual to get there and back. For this bank hol Nick had found a resort that was in a little known area called Kung Wiman about 40 kilometres from Chantaburi.
Our journey down there was surprisingly easy for a bank hol, we seemed to avoid all the traffic. We got to the resort, a new ‘eco’ spa retreat, and it felt like we were the only ones there. In fact, by the time we had eaten breakfast (a single option of bacon and eggs to be consumed everyday for four days!) the next day, we still hadn’t seen anyone else. The resort was not far from the beach and we got stared at quite a lot when we walked down there. There were no tourists Thai or otherwise anywhere to be seen. Over the course of the next four days we didn’t s
ee another foreigner in the area, it is definitely the most ‘Thai’ experience I’ve ever had. Kung Wiman seems quite new to the hol scene and when we hired the bikes we did see busier areas, but it was kinda nice that things were so quiet around us. We got to enjoy the beaches without jet skis and banana boats.
The break was mainly eating, reading and playing cards. The food was fantastic but limited. We ate seafood more or less straight for 4 days, and for someone who is reasonably new to eating fish, prawns and crabs (especially the type you have to peel, crack or de-leg) it was quite an experience. By the time I got back to Bangkok I was desperate to eat steak or bangers and mash. However, if it hadn’t been for our Thai friend who came with us our menu would have been even more limited as everywhere we went the menus where only in Thai and my food ordering is far from up to scratch.
ee another foreigner in the area, it is definitely the most ‘Thai’ experience I’ve ever had. Kung Wiman seems quite new to the hol scene and when we hired the bikes we did see busier areas, but it was kinda nice that things were so quiet around us. We got to enjoy the beaches without jet skis and banana boats.The break was mainly eating, reading and playing cards. The food was fantastic but limited. We ate seafood more or less straight for 4 days, and for someone who is reasonably new to eating fish, prawns and crabs (especially the type you have to peel, crack or de-leg) it was quite an experience. By the time I got back to Bangkok I was desperate to eat steak or bangers and mash. However, if it hadn’t been for our Thai friend who came with us our menu would have been even more limited as everywhere we went the menus where only in Thai and my food ordering is far from up to scratch.
On our day exploring the area (on rather decrepit mopeds), we checked out another beach, visited a local temple and went around the local mangrove forest. The King here is very environmentally minded and has set up an educational tour around the plantation that is constantly being extended. It’s all free and really well set out. You can see new areas being planted and also oysters being grown. While we were down there I tried oysters for the first time (cold, de-shelled and over ice, definitely not to my taste), we got around 50 oysters for less than 1 pound 50.
The place we stayed was set in really lush tropical gardens with waterfall, pool and lookout point over the surrounding area. We did find that although the rooms were nice and the people there very friendly, that they were not really set up for guests. In the pictures posted on the internet all of the terraces are decked out with cushions, mats and plants to make them look nice and inviting. When we got there the terraces were more or less bare with not a plant or mat to be seen. Me being the ‘pushing demanding foreigner’ that I am, obviously was not ready to let this slip as most Thai visitors would and went and asked for cushions and mats so we could sit outside. It took 3 attempts before the staff went and raided the proprietor’s house for stuff. This was obviously a case of dressing the place up for pictures, and while I und
erstand that this takes place everywhere, there is a limit. I hope that they now realize that people will come to expect what is advertised and they need to be a little more prepared. On a better note, the spa treatments were professionally done and the massage was well worth it.
erstand that this takes place everywhere, there is a limit. I hope that they now realize that people will come to expect what is advertised and they need to be a little more prepared. On a better note, the spa treatments were professionally done and the massage was well worth it.After our 4 day weekend we have now returned to work and are just about to take another 3 day weekend. Even better than this, is the fact that somebody high up the chain of command has just decided that 2 bank holidays in a month isn’t enough and that we need one more. We have just had a week on Monday confirmed as ‘Referendum Day’ and we have another day off.
The pictures are from around the garden, our explorations, and our room. You get the nicely presented brochure picture of our room. After much pestering we got some resemblance of this.
1 comment:
Sounds a really interesting place and well done you for asking for cushions etc! Hope they get their act together or they may not stay in business very long.
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