Bung told us that the drive will take approximately 2 hours, so we sat back, relax, and admire the view of suburbs and country side. We made an unplanned stop at Suwan Corn Farm in Klang Dong , as Helen wanted us to try out their sweet corn. Suwan Corn farm is part of the Kasetsart University Department of Agriculture. There is a visitors center that borders the highway where they have a rest stop with a shop that sell corn products. The top seller is of course their corn. While we were there, there are cars that stop by and buy cartons of corns and after tasting the corns, I can understand why. If ever you are in the neighborhood, I recommend making a stop here to try their corns. It is fresh and not frozen or stored in cooler for an extended period. The corn juice is also my favorite.
We are away from the bustling Bangkok and in the beautiful country settings where greenery abound. Next destination is PB Valley Winery. Up until this point, I have no idea that Thailand has domestic wine production, didn’t know that the tropical humid South East Asian region is conducive to grapes production. PB Valley Winery was founded in 1989 by Dr. Piya Bhirombhakdi, hence the name PB Valley Winery. The guide told us that only 3 varieties of grapes stock that they imported from Europe were adaptable to the climate in Khao Yai region and they were able to produce fine wine from these three varieties. PB Valley Winery sit on a 1000 acres of land at 1100 feet above sea level providing an ideal condition for wine making. There is a restaurant onsite that serve a pretty good Thai infused western dishes. Pizza is on the menu and so is pasta.
There are other winery in the Khao Yai valley, but PB is just more well known and the reason for the existence of vineyard in the valley. It is definitely worth a visit.
Thames Valley Khao Yai Hotel
I do not quite know the reason, but there are many English theme hotels, retail stores, and eatery here in Khao Yai. Helen and Bung had us booked into the Thames Valley Hotel. The hotel ground is built like a park with a man made “stream” that have very large Koi fish who will approach the side if you get close. You can purchase fish food at the front desk of you want to feed these Kois. Koi fish are so gentle and beautiful, I can just watch them glide gracefully in the water all day. Koi pond is still on my bucket list. If I can build up the courage, I may just start digging a pond. I think it will be worth the backache just for the chance to watch these beautiful fish everyday. A guy can dream can’t he?
Thames ground is setup for special occasion photography such as wedding with its many statures and sculptured garden and water features. The rooms are nicely decorated and enough amenities to make you feel at home. It is setup to be a mini resort of sort, where you spend your days on its ground. Unfortunately, Thames, like any hotel, it is just a place where you put in for the night, that you are very unlikely to have the opportunity appreciate it. It’s a pity, we didn’t get to really enjoy what it has to offer.
For dinner headed out to a nearby hotel where they had outdoor dining on an elevated patio with view of the surrounding area. Unfortunately, I relied on others to post the photo in our Line group chat and didn’t download in time and it expired. Now I know why I am missing so much photos! It did say elevated patio dining right? So after dinner, I got up from my seat and took a couple of step back and next thing I know, was I landed about 3 feet below on the steps! Luckily for me, my butt took the blunt of the impact and i was sore for a couple of hours. Where is the safety railing you ask? There is no railing, i guess with railing it will spoil the aesthetic of their romantic outdoor dinning area. On the edges of this area, they have round capsule like enclosed booths decorated with floral settings and there were literally a few young ladies and couples in formal evening gown posing for photos. There was one young lady I noticed had either her boyfriend or professional photographer, spent at least a couple of hours having her photograph taken! In the background is one of the round capsule. The lady is all deck up in formal gown and we feel so under dressed. Those hanging lamp shades remains me of those hanging mosquitoes coil inscense coils that I remembered growing up in Singapore.
Next morning we head out to Pattaya, I am really looking forward to it as the itinerary listed an afternoon of free time to take in Pattaya beach area, such as riding the jet ski! Yes, I have been looking forward to this before we left the States, had my swim trunk with me 🙂 My only
concern is that the weather isn’t so sunny.
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