Life's a beach

Chao Lao beach

So Mr John had the whole week off due to the rain / flooding last week and it was much needed.  This term runs from May to October with the odd long weekend and he was feeling a bit run down.  He was perked up a bit by the arrival of a toaster on Friday when we got to enjoy peanut butter on toast....mmm bliss! 


Anyway, he announced on Saturday that we were going to the beach the next day and our friend Juls decided to join us.  About 38 kilometres (or 40 minutes on the scooter) is Chao Lao beach and so off we went.  Although it had rained in the morning, the sky didn't look too threatening, so we chanced it and were rewarded with a sunny dry day at the coast.

The unassuming entrance

The beach itself was a little disappointing (we've obviously been spoilt by the beaches on Koh Chang) but it wasn't overcrowded and we enjoyed a lovely lunch at our own thatch shaded table. Fortified by a lovely cup of coffee, we headed back down the coast for a bit of an explore before heading back to Chanthaburi. 

We were given small fish to feed the big fish!

It was well worth the small detour as we came across the Sea Farming Demonstration Unit in Kungkrabaen Bay.  It didn't look much, just a sign with a long walkway and a network of further walkways at the end of that.  In fact, Mr John didn't come down the walkway at first. 



Laem Sadet Aquarium on the beach

The fish they were "farming" were amazing.  There were leopard sharks, bull sharks, turtles and .... I knew I should have taken more photos of signs as I've forgotten half of them!  Heading back towards the main road is Laem Sadet and we stopped here to see an Aquarium that Mr John had seen on his last stay in Thailand.

There's a huge variety of fish, moray eels, sea urchins and sharks to see and a small walkway through a plastic dome so you see the fish swimming above you.  Now anyone who's been to an aquarium is probably thinking that's fairly standard - nothing new there - except this place is free to get into!  Needless to say we all left a donation in the box by the exit.