Relaxing in Haad Chao Samran

It is Saturday morning. We drive southwest of Bangkok listening to Eva Cassidy singing "Fields of Gold" as we cross the Kanchanaphisek Bridge. We are heading for Haad Chao Samran, in English, Merry Kings Beach. We stay at Fisherman's Resort, which is under new management, so they have dropped the "Village" from the title. But it is still the same peaceful place where the sun, tides, and wind constantly change the shape of the land and the mood of the sea.

Andy had heard about Khao Luang Cave on television and he realized it is just 5 minutes away on the outskirts of Petchburi town. He asks for directions at the front desk and we make plans to stop there on the way back to Bangkok on Sunday. After breakfast we pack the car and cheerfully set out with a map that's not to scale. We find the place at the foot of a hill at the end of the main drag just over the railroad tracks.

We are greeted by a troop of monkeys in the parking lot. The parking attendant will sell you corn on the cob to feed the monkeys. He will also put a stuffed crocodile toy on top of your car; for an additional fee, of course. He explains that it discourages the monkeys from climbing on your car. It seems to be a very nice sideline business he's got going here. The logic goes something like this. The monkeys' cuteness draws tourists who also feed them. Some people want to feed monkeys but don't have food. Sell the tourists monkey food. Unfortunately, idle hands are the devil's workshop and monkeys who are hungry and also curious have destructive proclivities.  Hence, the Toy Crocodile  Scarecrow idea was born to ward off the evil monkeys who associate people with food.

The stuffed croc works like a charm. It's always better to propitiate any and every spirit, I feel.  I suspect this monkey couldn't care less about our beliefs, croc or no croc. I don't know if this idea works as well as the watchful eye of the parking attendant. No one ever hangs around long enough to find out since everybody goes down into the cave.

In the main cavern is a Buddhist shrine. Sunlight pours through the roof, lighting up the cave. It reminds me of the cave in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam, but its natural beauty was enhanced by artificial light. Here, the natural light pours into the cave, creating a cathedral for the Lord Buddha. Where the cave roof has collapsed, the sun shines through. It's as if a giant's fist had punched this hole in the roof.The happiness in the expression of the reclining Buddha reminds devotees that he has achieved nirvana. The Buddha himself is not a god but a teacher. He was the first to achieve enlightenment and his message was anyone can achieve enlightenment too.

We get back in the car and drive past a pack of hungry monkeys lining the road. They eye us warily, on the lookout for a treat; crass opportunists at a buffet. Unlike his cousins in the wild, Koko is too stuffed to eat anything.  He snoozes.

On the way to Bangkok, we stop at Mahachai (in English Thalay Thai Seafood Market) in Samut Sakhon, a main distribution point for fresh seafood from the Gulf coast. Here, seafood can be cooked to order on the spot. We eat fish in scallion ginger sauce, curried crab, and morning glory (pak boong) with chilies in brown bean sauce.

Going to Haad Chao Samran has been the perfect way to spend our next-to-last weekend in Thailand. I should feel rested and ready for work.  Instead, I feel the reluctance at the end of some vacations, that it will soon be over. I do not want it to end. It will be a long time before we come this way again and I am glad to have these memories.
  

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