Stopping over in sleepy Prachuap Khiri Khan.

It's not in the guidebooks. Well, it wasn't in our guidebook, anyway. Patrick ran across some info online when we were plotting our southern route. Prachuap Khiri Khan is billed as "a nice stopover between Bangkok and Chumphon", and that's probably the most accurate description we've seen of a town in a long while.

Our brief stop turned into three nights. It's the laid-back kind of town where that just happens. We got off the train, we lounged around, we did some planning, we rented bikes and saw some stuff, we played with the guesthouse kittys, and then we got back on the train.

Here is some stuff we saw:

the bay from the north side of town

the bay from the middle inlet

the bay from the south side of town

sweet langur monkeys in the historic park

not-so-sweet monkeys crossing the road 

at Khao Chong Krachok

not-so-sweet monkeys impersonating aht

at Khao Chong Krachok

not-so-sweet monkeys jumping in the Khao Chong Krachok fountain

(it was hilariously adorable)

sweet baby goats doing their baby goat thing

a 60-ton green sandstone memorial to Thai WWII vets

another Buddha cave with a somewhat creepy statue arrangement

BATS!

gorgeous Wat Ao Noi with its nine-headed dragon

some really cool skies

And that was our stopover.

Food notes: the night market food stalls are good, otherwise we didn't eat anything spectacular. This is a really great place for seafood. If only we liked seafood.

okay, the authentic Tom Yum soup was tasty

but do not eat train station pork and rice

and it's okay to give in -

try the grilled "bread, butter, and condensed milk" treat -

(but don't blame us when your teeth hurt afterward)

Lodging notes: Maggie's Homestay was fine for three nights. Big rooms, fairly clean shared bathrooms, lots of mossies, a handful of cute cats, and pretty gardens.

what 350 baht gets ya in PKK

Allegedly, Prachuap Khiri Kahn is where the Bangkok folks go on holiday but we didn't see much evidence of this. We were happy to spend three nights there and we'd be happy to stop over again on the way back north. But first we have to get south! At long last the island plan has been sorted - via train, then taxi, then overnight ferry. Sooooo not gonna miss these slow travel days...