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After letting my camera, me, and Gracie cool down a bit and finishing up the last few steps, WE MADE IT to the Top of the 396 steps of Khao Chong Krachok Hill. This basically gets you to Wat Thammikaram Worawihan a.k.a. “Monkey Temple”.
Now, once you DO get to the top, there are still opportunities for climbing up even more steps and taking some AMAZING photos. The views from here are truly spectacular.
You will indeed read Many recommendations about how you should probably NOT climb the stairs in the afternoon/late afternoon (i.e. the hottest part of the day). Ok, that Is a pretty good suggestion. But, I will put this suggestion out there – climb when the sky is the clearest. Just take your time, take breaks, drink water/stay hydrated and ENJOY yourself. This is by far one of the greatest views in Prachuap Khiri Khan so while we felt it in our legs once we got to the top, after resting for about 10 minutes, you soon forget how long it took and, at least *I* was Incredibly Grateful we did it.
I know we will go back to PKK and I *know* we will climb this again.
Thanks for watching and joining us on our journey.
Stay tuned for some more from the beaches of Prachuap Khiri Khan – one of my Favorite places in Thailand!!
Live the Dream.
~mikes

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Wat Thammikaram Worawihan, “Monkey Temple” on Khao Chong Krachok Hill in Prachuap Khiri Khan, Thailand. Walking up several hundred steps is hardly the end of the world. Doing it at 4pm at Latitude 11 in Thailand when its 90 degrees F (~ 32 degrees C) and the humidity is about 70%, its not impossible but, as you’ll not from the video it was indeed a challenge.
Gratefully we thought to bring water. Gratefully I haven’t been a smoker for years!

This is colloquially called Monkey Temple. The monkeys are really only at the base of the stairs, along the streets and sidewalks and for the most part, the only fight amongst themselves. They look at us humans, very used to us being around and will follow us somewhat, undoubtedly because many a tourist will feed them on occasion.
I think they are great and as far as pets go, I think a Monkey would be THE BEST pet ever. But, time will tell.

It ended up being 396 total steps. On our way up, sure, we got tired and hot but my camera-phone also suffered the ambient heat as well as direct sunlight as well as the heat it generates taking video. So, just about the time we were making it up to the top, My camera gave out. So, we needed to take a break WHICH sort of happened at a decent time as the video was getting to about 10 minutes so making this a Two Part video worked out well.
Hope you enjoy and as always, THANK YOU for joining us along our journey.
~mikes

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From our hotel, Hadthong ( http://www.hadthong.com/ ) we walk north along the beach (sort of a boardwalk/sidewalk ) and from there we end up at the base of a great temple:
** Khao Chong Krachok.
More info on that here: http://www.prachuapkhirikhan.org/khao-chong-krachok-prachuap/
and, for more info on Prachuap Khiri Khan (PKK) click here: http://www.prachuapkhirikhan.org/

Thanks for watching. Hope you enjoy.
~mikes

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A quick walk from the Prachuap Khiri Khan train station, straight toward the beach and then walk about 1 block south and you will reach the Hadthong Hotel.
http://www.hadthong.com/

Its got GREAT VIEWS. The physical plant is pretty weathered on the south side and my recommendation is that you book one of their “Suite” rooms as those are newer and much nicer. Additionally, if you can get a high floor (higher than 4th floor) you can really take advantage of leaving the windows open all night long and listening to the sound of the waves! Just Awesome.
That said, were got a GREAT deal of only 1200 THB (~$40 USD at the current exchange rate, Dec 2019) as the views and sounds were great. Do be aware that many of the rooms are pretty weathered and if we had to do it over again, we would Definitely look at the room more thoroughly before “signing on the dotted line” and, the next time we got to PKK, we will likely stay at the SUN BEACH GUEST HOUSE or ZEA ZIDE Hotel (very new).
This is just a quick tour of our hotel room and the view.
MUCH MORE INTERESTING STUFF coming from our trip to Prachuap Khiri Khan.
Stay tuned!
~mikes

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After a night in Hua Hin, a city Gracie and I had already been to several times just for the day, we decided to explore Thailand some more via train. So, we walked back to the Hua Hin train station and took the train about 1 and a half hours further south to Prachuap Khiri Khan. PKK turned out to be One of my top 5 favorite places in Thailand. The speed there is SO CHILL its great. Its even more relaxing that Cha-Am.
We did hear from a few folks that live there permanently, that PKK can actually get quite busy and rowdy. Apparently Prachuap Khiri Khap is the “capital” of Phetchaburi province so during big holidays and festivals This is the place they have big celebrations!
But, during our 2 days it was VERY mellow. With the evening little “street food market” right along the water the biggest excitement we saw. We really never ventured more than about 2 blocks inland.
LOVE IT!! Being the Beach Guy that I am – this was a hugely welcomed time.
Cha-Am is hardly a horrible place to stay and considering the deal we got on our condo at Lumpini Sea View Condo it was one of the best months in Thailand.
BUT Exploration is in my blood so it was nice to get out and explore.
So – this is the start of a few videos of our Prachuap Khiri Khan mini-vacation.. from my vacation up in Cha-Am.
Enjoy 🙂
~mikes

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Gracie grabbed our backpacks and a few days worth of clothes and I took the train from Cha-Am down to Hua Hin (only 6 Baht per person!) one afternoon and decided to stay over for 1 night.
While the Cha-Am Night market is AWESOME, its only once a week on Wednesdays.
This particular Hua Hin Night Market is *every night* and there are actually a few in Hua Hin.
Still, we like Cha-Am a LOT more – its super quiet with a LOT less Farang so I prefer it.
So, this evening we walk over from our hotel and sample some of the food and have a look around.
Thanks for joining us on our walk.
Live the Dream!
~mikes

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So, even what is considered to be “Peak Season” (i.e. mid-December, thru Christmas and the week of New Years Eve) in Thailand the sort of “bars and restaurants” area of Hua Hin down by the north part of the beach, near the Hilton, I have to call it “slow” in comparison to other Farang-tourist areas I’ve been to in Thailand.
Now, to be fair, comparing it to Bangla Road in Patong Beach in Phuket or any part of the beach area of Pattaya would not be a fair comparison BUT even in speaking with the locals it seems to be “slower” this year than last.
Just wanted to follow up as a few of your have commented/asking about the comparison between day and night in Hua Hin.
Thanks for watching.
All the best,
~mikes

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This is a bit “out of order” depending upon the order with which you consume videos from Live My Ass Off (https://www.LiveMyAssOff.com) In fact, I rarely do “Live Streams”. In fact, interestingly enough, the last time Gracie and I did a live stream on YouTube was when we were in Bangkok on the Chao Phraya River on one of the “commuter boats” as we headed up to check out the Grand Palace/Wat Po.

This day, we hopped on the BTS from our condo near On Nut and headed up to the Asoke station, then a quick walk down to Benjakitti Park. We’d been here few years prior and in fact, it was arguably a bit nicer as the weather had not taken its toll on the infrastructure.
BUT, Gratefully, Bangkok has allocated a significant amount of the necessary budget for upkeep. In this part of the world where the elements are quite intense (e.g. Intense Rain, Sun and Heat) the soil can wash away within hours so reconstruction is necessary.
That is what is happening at Benjakitti Park here in Bangkok.

On this day, I decided to go live on Facebook at about noon-ish in Bangkok so about 9pm Pacific time so 12 midnight on the East Coast so I wasn’t expecting *any* viewers but figured I’d give it a shot. Turned out some long-time friends tuned in from *the other side of the world* so I figured I’d continue the ‘cast.
This YouTube post is simply the edit of that.
Thanks for watching.
Live the Dream!
~mikes

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After our 20 cent train ride, we spend 30 cents on ice cream and take a walk towards the beach and then into the little “beach town area” before heading over to our hotel.
During the early afternoon time, even during High (or Peak) season, the streets were quite empty but it was still quite nice to explore for the first time, a new part of Hua Hin.

Thanks for watching.
Happy New Year!
~mikes

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Gracie and I decided to take the train from Cha-Am down to Hua Hin this morning. Unlike in the past when we have gone to Hua Hin for running errands and such things, only going for a few hours, we would take a mini van. This trip will involve a few “new” experiences.
First, we plan on staying overnight.
Second, we will be taking the train. This part I’m really psyched for!!
The State Railway of Thailand or SRT system, I pleasantly learned, is a pretty mature system. It’s not brand new nor amazingly shiny like you’d experience in China’s Mega Cities or that of Japan however, I felt quite safe and the cost, or more accurately, the VALUE, is exceptional.
So for part one, join us on the beginning of our journey and our ~30 minute ride south.

Thanks for watching.
Happy New Year!
~mikes