Samut Songkhram

Recently after leading one of my birding meetups at the park near my condo, Wind, a new friend from my meetup group, invited me along on a day trip to Samut Songkhram Province, one of the coastal provinces west of Bangkok.

After a three-hour morning birdwatching walk in the park, I followed Wind to his car along with Kat (a girl from Seattle who has two cats that are patients of my wife), and Sidney (from Illinois, a friend of Wind's).

It had been a beautiful sunny morning at the park, but it started raining on us as we drove out of Bangkok, and traffic slowed down to a crawl as we made our way along Rama II Road (aka, Highway 35). A few hours later, the skies cleared up, and we arrived at our first stop: lunch! After a big morning of walking outside and a long car ride, you can imagine how hungry we had become.

Kaomai Plamun Ampawa is a restaurant specializing in coastal central Thai seafood. 

Since we were near the coast, it was only fitting to order a feast of seafood to share Thai-style. We had a gargantuan platter of crab fried rice, a bowl of crab dip with vegetables, shrimp "donut" rings and sweet honey sauce, squid stir-fry, and a big bowl of sour shrimp soup.

By the time we left, I was so full that I could hardly walk, although we had to end up leaving some food at the table... we had ordered too much.

We got back in the car and drove down the highway along the coast. Soon, we were hit by the salty smell of sea air.

Don Hoi Lot is a beach and sandbar in Samut Songkhram Province at the northwestern tip of the Bay of Bangkok. The Mae Khlong River empties out into the bay here, and the rich sediment that it deposits forms a system of mudflats; the perfect breeding ground for the razor clams ("hoi lot") from which the beach gets its name.

Just off of the beach is the shrine to Admiral Prince Abhakara Kiartivongse, Prince of Chumphon, the "Father of the Thai Navy".

Prince Chumphon was the son of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), the reformist monarch who modernized Siam in the early 20th century. The prince studied naval science abroad and played a key role in establishing and professionalizing Thailand’s modern naval forces.

Prince Chumphon remains a beloved figure in Thai history, and his shrines across the country continue to draw both sailors and everyday worshippers who come to pay their respects.

 There were a lot of people out at the beach, picnicking and enjoying the pleasant afternoon. We walked around the beach for a while and explored the local market. Then, we were back on the road. It was time to head back to Bangkok, but not before taking another stop along the way.

Salt Lake De Maeklong is a small café just off the highway on the Samut Songkhram salt flats, one of Thailand’s traditional salt-farming regions. 

Sprawling fields of muddy black sand and dozens of glimmering and reflective salt evaporation pools spread out before us as far as the eye could see.

The salt flats are a peaceful, otherworldly place where you can feel the ocean breeze drifting inland and appreciate a glimpse into one of the country’s oldest coastal industries while enjoying a drink at the cafe's quiet roadside viewpoint.

I ordered a salt coffee. It was an iced caramel latte made with locally harvested salt to give it a sweet, salty flavor.