It’s About Time
We have lived in Thung Wua Laen, Thailand for over two years. It is about time I showed you around our little village. It might help you understand why we are still here. Let me preface the photo essay by explaining this is our low season and rainy season and I shot these images early in the morning (to do so in the afternoon would be too hot). In other words, you won’t see blue skies or people in most of the shots. Though we get a fair number of Western tourists, this is a Thai beach for both vacationers and weekenders. We have a small ex-pat community, nothing like the hordes that populate Hua Hin, Phuket, or Pattaya. Even our nearest city some 15 kilometers away, Chumphon, doesn’t have much in the way of ex-pats. We count ourselves lucky!! Enjoy the tour.
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- About to step out of our front gate.
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- Looking to the right.
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- Our landloards have 10 houses on our street. This is the office.
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- We are the last house on the right before the turn. Privacy and a big garden.
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- Facing our house. Left one.
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- The next house up.
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- Across the street.
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- Also across the street.
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- Looking up the street towards the sea.
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- Moving up the street.
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- At the top of our street. The brick path in the image center leads to . . .
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- . . . the beach.
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- Looking back down the street from the beach steps.
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- Our favorite hangout. Our Norwegian friend Per and Fon, the owner.
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- Next door to Pirates is the massage place owned by our friend Jang.
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- Taking a right from the top of our street.
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- Ka-hads. Current favorite with most of our expat friends.
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- If you need a Western toilet this is the place to go.
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- Proceeding down the road. I will address the little shops you see on the right later.
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- The village name mean ‘field where the bulls run’.
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- closeup
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- One of the Thai resorts.
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- The end of the road leads to the Cabana Resort.
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- At this end is White Beach Bar and the police station.
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- Usually only manned on holidays and weekends.
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- A good Thai restaurant at the bend in the road.
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- I’ve turned the corner and I’m look back.
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- Looking ahead and to the left is our local Wat (temple).
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- Heading back the way we came.
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- Mali Blues’ owner is a gifted musician who chooses to stay here instead of touring.
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- Many musicians from around the world come here to play with him.
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- These shops were not here two years ago.
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- They started with a few squatters then formalized, kind of.
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- Some are now quite elaborate.
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- Rentals and sales.
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- This restaurant even has a floor.
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- Fast food shops too.
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- Now we’ve passed the top of our street, heading north this time.
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- Clean Wave is one of our favorites, a bit up-scale.
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- Traveling up the road.
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- This is Apple’s. That’s her in the red shirt. She studied in Canada and has impecable English.
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- Continuing up the road.
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- This is the newest resort and it is somewhat upscale.
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- They even built a separate beachside bar.
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- Lots of green space along this road too.
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- Both north and south of our street there is a lot of open space to the beach.
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- Read the first rule.
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- These fishing boats first appeared a few weeks ago.
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- New local color or the fishman’s ride to their boats?
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- This center owned by a Frenchman, we also have one owned by a German, and another by Thais.
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- One of three “minimarts” on the beach road.
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- Funkey’s, the English bar.
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- I go for the bangers and mash, John for the meat pies.
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- Great place to watch the changing of the light in the early evening.
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- Sabai sabai, the French bar. Chris is a great cook.
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- Chris is also into diving.
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- The minimart at the end of the road. The road turns here.
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- Some days as I ride my bicycle past views like this . . .
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- I can’t believe I live here and get to see this everyday.
Jane Estes
John and Jane in Thailand 
Seeing your pictures of the beach makes me miss you guys even more and Thung Wua Laen beach. That wasthe best 3 days that stretched into 4 and 1/2 that we have had thus far.
Irene michon
June 24, 2013 at 10:30 pm
Great report and pictures. Thanks. Heading here next month for 3 weeks and really looking forward to it.
Lawrence Westfall
August 23, 2017 at 7:40 pm