hi

i am touring around thailand for a month in october, as a 'mature bat-packer', am planning to travel from Bangkok to Samui and then on to Phuket

as i have time i will probably do this by this by bus or train and will probably stay in Hua Hin for couple of days, the journey from hua Hin to Samui, are there any places of interest that would be worth stopping of for a day or so (I know I am being a bit vague here, i'm fishing a bit and am looking for any reccomendations and your reasons)

also how long is the trip between Sorat Thani by bus/train

apologies last sentence should read

also how long is the trip between Sorat Thani and Phuket by bus/train

USEFUL LINK1

USEFUL LINK2

SOUTH of TH check it out (so u can choose where are interesting places you want to take a look)

Bambi

Chumpon is worth a stop. Head out to the beach, which is largely unspoilt, wheras the city itself if rather dirty and ugly.

cv

petchburi is worth a few hours of anyones time , and as a

'mature bat-packer'

you are sure to appreciate the caves there.

its about 40minutes north of hua hin.

petchburi is worth a few hours of anyones time , and as a

'mature bat-packer'

you are sure to appreciate the caves there.

its about 40minutes north of hua hin.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Maybe he works in a cricket equipment factory...

totster

hi thanks for the tips and tthe links bambina

Prichuap Khiri Khan is worth a look. Nice little town on a beautiful bay although the beach isn't really suited to swimming. There is a temple at the top of a hill which gives great views across the bay and at the bottom lots of monkeys to feed.

If you like nature then between Hua Hin and Prachuap Khiri Khan is a national park called Khao Sam Roi Yod. Great scenery, caves, waterways, lots of birds and generally unspoilt.

No train from Surat Thani to Phuket. The bus takes around 4 hours.

I have frequently driven down to Samui from Pattaya. this really requires an overnight stop, but if you have a liyttle more time there are quite a few places of interest between Bkk and Surrathani. There's the National parks Kaeng Krachan and Khao Sam Roi Yot for a start, and the resort towns of Cha'am and Hua Hin.

One place I keep ending up at is Bang Saphan. This is a small town off the main road on the coast. It's situated between Prachuap Khiri Khan and Chumphon.A strange place; you have to pass an enormous steel mill to get to it. But once there you'll find a few cheap hotels and some good eating. It's a resort largely used by Thais, and relatively unknown to farang. The railway passes through the main part of the town so if you're travelling by train you should be able to organise a stop-over there without any trouble. it's then a short taxi/bike ride to the seafront.

By the way there used to be a ferry from Chumpon to Koh Pha Ngan and Samui.