Prachuap Khiri Khan Town

A serious option for long-term living

There are three places in my home province of Prachuap Khiri Khan where I like to spend time. Hua Hin is at the north end of the province. It’s the largest of the three, and is a popular tourist and expat destination with a seemingly endless amount of goods and services. Anyone who has read this blog should be at least a little bit familiar with Hua Hin.

Ban Krut is at the south end of the province. It’s a sleepy little fishing village that gets busy on weekends with tour groups from Bangkok and hosts a small, mostly German expat community. I wrote about charming Ban Krut in a post last December.

Susuek Road, the cultural hub of Prachuap town, with many of the old style wooden buildings and shop houses still standing. Watch out for this rush hour traffic!

Smack in the middle, in terms of location, population, and everything else, is the provincial capital of Prachuap town. If Hua Hin is too big, noisy, and crowded (too hard), and Ban Krut is too small and isolated (too soft), then for a growing number of people, Prachuap town is just right.

It’s more of the industrial waterfront of a fishing town than a swimming beach, but even that is scenic in its own way. The promenade spans the length of downtown from the airbase in the south to well past the pier at the top of the photo. Just watch out for the monkeys.

Prachuap town doesn’t have the same variety of accommodation, shopping, and medical care as Hua Hin. It doesn’t have easy-to-use local public transportation, or an English-language cinema either. But it also doesn’t have the constant traffic or crowds. It has plenty of restaurants, local markets and food courts, and even a Lotus’s Hypermarket, Makro Supermarket, and a Home Pro for day-to-day shopping convenience.

The vibe is calm and low key, with little vehicle traffic and a lot less noise than other spots.

Prachuap town is only an hour by car from Hua Hin, and right on the main southern railway line. During this time when air quality is becoming increasingly an issue, Prachuap’s AQI tends to be about 20 or 30 points lower than Hua Hin. If Hua Hin were ever fully to jump the shark (a subjective determination to be sure, but more about that some other time), Prachuap town would be a natural alternative for many western expats looking for a similar, quieter, yet still convenient and welcoming place to live. For a growing number of folks, the slower pace, lower cost, and more genuine Thai vibe already make Prachuap town a better place to call home.

For a relatively small place, Prachuap town has much going for it. These colorful murals are popping up all over town. Did you notice the cat mural on the right side of the first photo?

On my last visit to Prachuap town, I noticed that unlike in the much smaller and laid back Ban Krut, other westerners were pointedly unwelcoming. I suspect it is because they don’t want their secret to get out, and fear a big influx of westerners will negatively impact their happy home town just as it has over the years in places like Pattaya, Phuket, and Samui Island.

Lovely Ao Manao Beach on RTAF Wing 5 base. I wouldn’t cross an ocean just to come here, but when already in the area, it is definitely worth a visit.

I love visiting Prachuap town. It is a top choice for that second or third trip to Thailand where travelers get off the beaten path and seek more of a daily life experience. There is the fascinating history of the Japanese attack on the morning of December 8, 1941. There is the famous Ao Manao Beach on the Royal Thai Air Force Wing 5 base. There are the restaurants and coffee shops, temples, local markets, and friendly people that make day-to-day life so enjoyable here.

Avocado toast at Milano Home Garden, a popular breakfast place downtown near the Susuek Road cultural area. It’s fun to have small things to look forward to wherever you live.

Living full time in Prachuap town, on the other hand, would present a few challenges. I am not sure about housing. There also isn’t a convenient in-town public transportation system, so I would need to have my own wheels, most likely a car. I don’t know if there is a local dating scene either, as the majority of Thais everywhere already don’t mix with westerners, even if you speak Thai. But I also noticed that the locals I’ve met in Prachuap town have been more open and friendly in general. Even so, I suspect I’d be happier if I were in a relationship before I moved there, and I am not sure if I am ready for that yet.

And finally, just in case you really wanted to see that cat mural. How awesome is this!

One of the many upsides of living in a smaller place is that I would feel more encouraged to get out and explore, and if I had a car, those regular trips would be much easier to make. Don’t be surprised if you see this option begin to develop more over the next few years. Cheers.