After visiting Koh Chang, Nam and I headed back toward familiar territory: The miles-long stretch of beach at Rayong. We booked into the same hotel we had stayed at two years before, and I used the net cafe next to the lobby to find a good place to eat.
A review of Tamnanpar Forest Restaurant caught my eye, so we went off on a leisurely drive to find it since we were in relax mode and had no plans in particular. We were in for a surprise!
The view as you enter the grounds from the parking lot of Tamnanpar.
The weather was overcast (we had been plagued by rain showers the whole trip), and rain had muddied the waters, but the forest atmosphere was truly magical. Somebody has invested a lot of money, love, money, time, and money in this restaurant, and it really shows.
As I get older, flowers and insects become more and more captivating.
Two things I never thought I’d see written in English
“Best Public Toilet of the Year,” you say?
The very thought of a Best Public Toilet intrigues me… Who awards something like this? Is there an impartial panel of judges that visits public toilets on their free time, tallying piss stains on concrete floors and drunken scrawlings on gecko-infested walls? What is their stance on squat vs. western toilets, or paper vs. water/fingers?
Wondering about such things are a waste of time, however, because as it turns out, Tamnanpar inarguably has the Best Public Toilets, Ever. Take a look for yourself:
This is what you see when you are standing in front of a urinal.
Speaking of urinals, I could pee here all day.
Paper AND a spray hose – no standing buckets of fetid dookiewater here!
The majestic pathway to the magical men’s restroom
GENT!
LADY! I think you can get in trouble for taking photos like this in most places.
The inside of the LADY room, courtesy of Nam.
The center display of the main dining hall. Very cool.
Nam in front of some of the waterfalls in back of the restaurant.
Billed creature with webbed feet.
Nessies?
Another Skink Thing.
The food at Tamnanpar was very good, but not exceptional. However, the restrooms more than made up for any culinary shortcomings.
Unfortunately, we did not stick around for the nightly entertainment which includes an “Indy Jones” dance troupe performance of some kind – we’ll have to go back again with a video camera sometime. If you’re ever in Rayong looking for a cool place to visit, you might want to check this place out.
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All links for the On the Road 2007 series:
On the Road 2007 (Part 1)
On the Road 2007 (Part 2)
On the Road 2007 (Part 3) – Koh Chang
On the Road 2007 (Part 4) – Overloaded
On the Road 2007 (Part 5) – Tamnanpar
On the Road 2007 (Part 6) – The Animatronic Chicken Roasters of Rayong, Thailand
Raising a family in Thailand // Documenting Issan food, culture, music, and people
Oh my god, how amazing! The photos look incredible, which means that it’s way cooler in person. Guess I’ll have to visit this resort, just to experience the Best Public Toilets in Thailand!
BTW, I hereby predict that you you will one day be gardening, growing flowers, and have a lovely mini-animal farm, just like the one your dad thinks is cool…..it’s in your genes!