Prachuap Kiri Khan is a smallish town on the penninsula about halfway between Khao Sok, and Bangkok. It faces the South China Sea, and is definitely cooler than the towns on the Andaman Sea. There really is not a whole lot to do there, but it's a good place to take a break from the long journeys up and down the penninsula.
Vinous-breasted Starlings.
A beautiful male, Blue Rock Thrush. It reminds me of a Mountain Bluebird.
A comical Toad.
The only monkeys in town all reside on a hill just north of town. It is topped by a Bhuddist temple that can be visited by climbing a long, hot stairway. There are hundreds of Long-tailed Macaques all along the stairway. They are mostly well behaved if you show no fear, or menace.
This is a Yellow-vented Bulbul. They are common in the south of the country.
By far the most common bulbul in Thailand is the plain jane, Streak-eared Bulbul.
Scaly-breasted Munia.
A few kilometers north of town there is another Bhuddist temple seen here. It's right on the ocean, and at the base of a hill. You can see the typical rural countryside reminiscent of much of Thailand. There are two caves in the hillside, where I was standing when I took this photo. Both of these caves contain Bhuddist shrines.
Inside the uppermost cave, an army of Bhuddas recedes into the darkness. There were bats in there too.
I'm not sure if this is an Ashy, or Crow-billed Drongo.
A male Asian Koel feasts on berries that match it's eyes.
Colorful Green Bee-eaters. My third of eight species of bee-eater.
When I die and go to Heaven, I hope it looks like this. This is not in Prachuap, but further north in Phetchaburi.
This is even further north. North of Bangkok in Ayutthiya. There are impressive ruins at the old capital of Thailand that was sacked by the Burmese in the 1700's. This decapited stone Bhudda head was taken up by a strangler fig, and cradled in it's roots.
This is where the journey ends. I hope to return someday to explore the far north, and far south of Thailand.
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