Why I choose Chanthaburi to (hopefully) retire to

[Noble_Design]

In summary this province just ticks almost every boxes for me and my wife:

1) Nice beautiful beach and sea

2) Clean environment unlike it's neighboring province of Rayong, there are no industrial areas in Chanthaburi

3) Reasonably near to Bangkok (and to a certain extant Pattaya) incase we need to fly out or do some medical treatment/shopping that's not available here. Chanthaburi is approx. 3 hrs drive away from Bkk and they are currently upgrading the existing 4 lane roads to become 6 lanes in quite a few sections.

4) Has both mountains and sea (refer pics below)

5) Reasonably close to Cambodia so that we can gamble a bit at the casino. 

6) Chanthaburi is a heaven for fruit lovers as they are one of the biggest fruit producers of this Thailand

7) Near to islands (Koh Samed & Koh Chang)

8) Plenty of affordable sea foods

I was introduced to this province a few years ago by my then gf now wife when she suggested that we go to the temple on top of Khao Kitchakut located in Khao Kitchakut. The special thing about this temple is that it is only opened for 2 months in a year, if I'm not mistaken it will be opened from id Jan until mid March. 

You cannot drive to this temple as it is located on a hill and the road going up is dirt/mud/unpaved. It is only accessible by 4WD pickup trucks and you can hop on one at the foot of the hill for 40 baht/person if I'm not wrong. This cost covers both ascend and descend. 

The pickup truck doesn't bring you all the way up to the temple though, you will still need climb quite a lot of stairs in order to reach the highest point which is the focal point of the temple. However the path is quite well lit and isn't that steep. Even elderly seniors could make this pilgrimage.

On the top is this big rock and next to it is what the temple describes as remnants of Buddha's foot prints. This temple is so popular that even late at night (this picture was taken around mid night) there are still so many people of all ages making merit up there.

 

 

Here's some of Chanthaburi's beaches, the 2 most famous beaches are Kung Wiman and Had Chao Lao. Both are nice IMHO, probably some of the nicest non island beaches you can find:

 

 

 

And then there's this picturesque road that you can drive along the seaside, just fantastic view:

 

 

And I forgot the name of this waterfall which is very beautiful and loaded with mahseer fishes, you are literally swimming with them!

 

 

We took the opportunity to buy a piece of land in this province last year for our so-called retirement home. It's nothing fancy or too big, just 1 rai of square shaped land about 13 minutes away from the beach. However we won't be moving there so soon, I'm only 38 so it should be quite a while before I retire.

Edited September 26, 2022 by KaptainRob
Excessive photos - read the FG's please (and I was kind, only removed half!)

[Marc26]

I have never been but that area is my next jaunt after this trip this year

 

I have heard great things..........

 

 

They also have one the prettiest Church's in Thailand

 

 

[Noble_Design]

23 hours ago, Marc26 said:

I have never been but that area is my next jaunt after this trip this year

I have heard great things..........

They also have one the prettiest Church's in Thailand

Chanthaburi is definitely a gem and that church despite being in the middle of the town is actually surrounded by houses which gives it a homely feel unlike other churches surrounded by tall buildings/shops etc.

[cowslip]

OP - hveyou styed in the is province all year round yet?

Whilst I agree it is stunningly beautiful both inland and on the coast, It is one of the wettest places in Thailand during the wet season.

[Noble_Design]

10 hours ago, cowslip said:

OP - hveyou styed in the is province all year round yet?

Whilst I agree it is stunningly beautiful both inland and on the coast, It is one of the wettest places in Thailand during the wet season.

Nope not yet. Have only been able to visit once a year to check out our land.

Yes it is very wet during the raining season but that's fine with us. I have always preferred the rain than the heat and bone dry climate in some other much more inland provinces

[BigHewer]

I’ve always liked Chanthaburi and I think it’s underrated as a place to visit. 

The riverside vibe is really cool in the city with some great little bars, restaurants and galleries. Thanon Sukhaphiban even has designated “Instagram points” for those that way inclined. 

Also the Chao Lao beach area is nice, apart from the soi dogs at night.

[cowslip]

The rainfall is connected to the system that effectively closes Koh Chang for 6 months of the year. Much, much wetter than Pattaya to the west. 

The area is famous for fruit and gem stones.

I agree it is a great place to visit but I've turned down a job in the area because I couldn't handle their wet season. I also nearly bought some coastal land there

 

Edited October 10, 2022 by cowslip