We left Chiang Mai knowing we will be back. But having spent quite some time now looking for somewhere quieter than where we are now, but still with water views and good walking, how come Chiang Mai which is a long way from the ocean has such a strong pull?  We have seen our suburb of Manly transform from a quiet village feel 28 years ago to a place so overrun with day trippers every weekend that we avoid walking along the esplanade on a weekend.  But we have never tired of the view we have and that is why finding a replacement has been tricky. We feel we need a view, preferably a water view and walking distance from good walking, and with a community sense. Chiang Mai is far from an obvious choice, or even understandable choice… apart from the good community feel.

We are looking forward to checking out a number of quieter places by the ocean. A quick flight from Chiang Mai to Phuket where we can pick up a one way car hire to drop off in Bangkok before we leave Thailand will enable us to visit a number of places along the way. With so much beautiful coastline, we had received far too many suggestions on where to look. Reluctantly we have filtered it down to coastal areas on the gulf of Thailand south of Khanom, south of Saphli, around Pak Nam Pran and east of Rayon. Wonderful tropical islands with minimal inhabitants and limited access to good medical facilities have been excluded.

When we were in southern Thailand in December 2014 on Streak and Storm, we did not visit Phuket due to its size and development back then, what is it like now? Anne fairly quickly gets the hang of driving here while I handle navigation. Taking a backroads route to our hotel at Choeng Thale gives us glimpses of many existing property developments interspersed with local businesses and native bush. There are signs and banners for new luxury townhouse developments being spruiked in English, Chinese and Russian, sometimes only Russian.

Our impression is that it is too busy and built up for us and we head north the next morning.

After leaving Phuket Island we follow Highway 4 North East driving on the same route that we rode almost 11 years ago, although I cannot recall any details. We are heading for Khanom. While there we also plan to catch up with Philippe, a friend and fellow motorcyclist from France who we met back in 2016 at the South African Horizons Unlimited event who is now living on the nearby Island of Ko Pha-ngan. En-route we stop for lunch and meet Ford. He is running his parents restaurant, working as an architect remotely and studying for a Masters in Town Planning, very impressive. You never know who you will meet on the road.

You would expect a place call “Le Petit St.Tropez” to be run by a French person but no it was Dutch. Being between seasons, we were the only occupants so a very quiet night was had. It was great to catch up with Philippe the next day for lunch. While it had been years since we last met, the conversation flowed as if we had only met recently. A great time was had. It would have been nice to have a couple more days but onward we must go.

We head to Thung Wua Laen Beach which one of our friends’ friend in Chiang Mai had recommended. Anne selects Clean Wave resort – what a find it turns out to be. We have a little bungalow across the road from the “resort’s” restaurant building. We soon meet the only non-thai there, chat with him to find out he is married to the resort’s owner. He is Swedish and has been working in Asia for 30 years and his wife used to be a hospital administrator – both a great source of information on the hospital scene and living in Thailand as an “expat”. This beach only has a handful of non-Thais, has a great feel, has fabulous coffee and seafood and is just a few kms south of the next little piece of paradise on the other side of Saphli.

We both book ourselves another massage before continuing our route north. They are so cheap here! AU$10 to $20 an hour. In Chiang Mai, we had a 2 hour massage for $20.

As the time of our return winds down, we both realise we are “full”. We end up south of Hua Hin which we have not planned to visit again following a visit there some years back being too busy and touristy. Time to make the most of a lovely swimming pool, a local seafood restaurant where we meet a long term expat and get more pieces to add to our puzzle.

Our last stop is Rayon to the east of Bangkok. We navigate across the toll roads around the city and arrive at our destination having driven past factories and other industrial facilities for a couple of hours. Why was this region suggested to us?

Next morning we head further east for 20km, turn off towards the sea and enter a different world. Beach to one side, local shops, a fresh fish market with the fishing boats drawn up behind each stall. This little strip at Rayong beach is completely different but close enough to hospital and other facilities we may need. There is an expat community which we meet at the Stay Cafe on Mae Ram Phueng Beach.

This last couple of weeks in Thailand have not only increased our knowledge of the country as a potential retirement destination but just as importantly helped us get a better understanding of what we are looking for and how we might achieve that. Our thanks to all who gave of their time to enlighten us and while we have no timeframe the possibility of moving to Thailand one day and becoming part of a community there is a distinct possibility.

It has been a very enlightening visit and has given us plenty of food for thought. Time to head home now. Final stopover will be Manila for a couple of days.

– Anne & Anthony