All photographs taken on these pages were taken with either the Nokia N8 or the Nokia 808 Pureview. While they may not be as good as some
DSLR cameras, they take extremely good photos for a “camera you’ll always have with you”.

Prachuapkirikhan is the Provinial Seat of Prachuapkirikhan Province of which Hua Hin is a district. While the government offices of the province are located here, Prachuap is in many ways less developed than Hua Hin. There are no large shopping malls, five star hotels or spas, and KFC is the only fast food chain represented. However, Prachuap is not without its charms.

The town is on the shore of a large cresent-shaped bay with a road, walkway, and bike path the length of the bay. There are no high-rises to obstruct the view and the architure is very old school. There’s little traffic and Prachuap is a nice, quiet town in which to spend some time.

Click on images to enlarge.

This is the view from the middle of the bay. The islands and cliffs to the south are at the end of the bay. There is a nice road and walkway the length of the bay. The water is not good for swimming but on the other side of those cliffs is Manao Bay which has beautiful white sand and shady trees.	In the evening many small shops and restaurants open on the streets that run parallel to the Prachuap Bay.

It often rains in the afternoon in Prachuap, often giving rise to beautiful rainbows over the bay.	Sunrises over Prachuapkirikhan Bay are often worth getting up for, especially to watch the boats coming in or folks jogging are exercising.

Popsicles and other sweets are always popular near the Children’s Playground near the pier.	This shot was taken from the Children’s Playground. The first sellers to appear are those selling fruits and snacks. Later those with more substantial menus will set up and the activity will last until late in the evening.

Fruit For Sale in the Evening	This cotton candy lady is very popular with the kids. She doesn’t yet make the fancy flowers like they do in China but she sells well.

The fishing pier is quite animated at night, complete with flashing lights. In the background you can see the many fishing boats looking for squid in the bay.	These young ladies work at a local cannery and are out enjoying the Night Market on a Friday evening.

This is the pier in the middle of Prachuap Bay. The pier is brightly lit in the evening and many purchase snacks at the market for a walk on the pier. Here you can see the islands and cliffs that mark the south side of the bay. Evenings are quiet but very pleasant in Prachuap.	There are several VWs like this converted into small coffee and drink stands in Thailand but the one in Prachuap is one of the nicest.

Night Market After a Quick Shower at Prachuapkirikhan Thailand	She’s got her eyes on the popcorn and sweets but also an eye out for that strange person with the camera.

Many restaurants open near the bay in the evening. Menus are much the same with a wide variety of seafood for sale and the prices are much better than what you will find in Hua Hin or Bangkok. Quality can vary from place to place though so look for one with many young couples or families already eating there. Most have English menus for non-Thai speakers though translations of names might seem a bit odd in some cases.

There is a wide variety of things for sale at the Night Market. Fruits, sweets, and snacks of every description along with clothes, household knick knacks, cell phone cases and on and on. Here are large globes for the home and the lady is selling horse shoe crab eggs along with crab and shrimp.

King Mongkut Memorial Park of Science and Technology in Prachuapkirikhan was built to commemorate the viewing of the 1868 solar eclipse by King Rama IV and his son Prince Chulalongkorn. King Rama IV is known as the father of Thai science study and is the king who opened Thailand to the West.	The Waghor Aquarium is located about 12 km south of Prachuapkirikhan town. The aquarium and the King Mongkut Memorial Park of Science and Technology, just south are located in a quiet park on the beach but no swimming is allowed as the aquarium gets its seawater from the gulf.