I got the first glimpse of my room at Baan Chansamut Homestay in Rayong late in the evening. I was sold out on it immediately. I had a large and clean room to myself. Other than a double bed, there was a bed in the loft. The room was air-conditioned. The bathroom was small but absolutely clean! I loved the view from the large wooden deck the most. The deck of the house opened up to Prasae River!
Rayong is 3 hours away from Bangkok by car. I am told that it is a popular weekend destination with people from Bangkok but it is yet not firmly established on the backpacking trail!
I lugged my bag into the room and almost immediately got out on to the two tier boat of the family for a sunset dinner! The only trouble was there was no sunset once again, the clouds ruled.
They had a delicious spread of sea food which is a waste for me as I am a vegetarian. But in rice eating countries they always make something worthwhile for the odd vegetarian too. I had vegetable fried rice , omelet (I do eat eggs) and stir fried vegetables for me! It went down well with Chang Beer.
After coming back from the cruise in the dark we sat on the beautiful wooden deck of the homestay. The boat was moored next to it! There was a piano in the proch which all our Japanese friends could play. We had more beer and wonderful conversations. I went and sat on the reclining chairs for a while. The owner of the house didn’t speak English but I asked a friend to ask him if he would give me vegetarian food if I came on my own. He assured me via the friend that any guest would get vegetarian food if they so desired.
Even though the conversation was good I do not have the energy anymore to stay up late particularly if I know I have to get up early the next day. Our plan was to go to the market and then to the mangrove forest again early in the morning.
I had a choice to sleep in early but I thought I would not. My room was the first in the row, right next to the deck but I did fall asleep in minutes even though I could hear my friends having a gala time outside.
The next morning after coming back from our excursions (which is the topic of a separate post) we sat down at the deck again to have breakfast. The owners have two lovely dogs but then I am terrified of them. The smaller of the two was cute, he would drag a soft toy all around! And yet I was afraid!
My breakfast was rice soup. My guide, Kob, told me to use the condiments garlic, sauce and veggies to create a flavor. I was truly struggling at the beginning as I did not garnish my soup well. I could also empathize with Chhavi (my daughter) and her struggles the food! But gradually I got the hang of it. And I finished off the whole bowl!
After breakfast, it was time to say good bye to Baan Chansamut Homestay in Rayong and head to Chanthaburi. I so wish to go back to Rayong and spend more time exploring the place!
PS. I was invited by TAT to attend TBEX Asia 2015. Rayong was the part of the post conference FAM trip.
A very interesting account of the place 🙂
Thank you!
Room looks nice. Its wonderful to hear you can get vegetarian food. I had struggled for 12 days in Thailand 🙁
Arun it is a bit of struggle for sure. Limited choice but with so few people being vegetarian the world over, I can see why it happens!
Home stays are a great way to explore local culture. I am sure you guys enjoyed it a lot…
Thank you so much!
looks to be a lovely place to stay
Bikram’s
Yes Bikram, quite an experience it was!
Seems an interesting place to visit in Thailand. 🙂
After 6 trips now I can second that strongly.
truly interesting place. lucky you.
Thank you 😀
Interesting. Feels and sounds so much like my stay at the Kerala Backwaters.
Ami only to some extent yes! 😀
Looks like a lovely place… Heartening to hear that you do get vegetarian food across most places nowadays.
Chaitali with the number of people who are vegetarian rising availability is increasing slowly!
Looks like you had a nice day out except for I see there was a little struggle with the food:) I like the pictures too. Please drop by to read my travel tales too. Thanks in advance:)
Thanks Rashmi 😀
What a fun place to stay at!
Thank you Lady Fi.