2018 Singapore-Thailand Drive – A Rayong Adventure

Day 10 – Rayong

Finally we get a photo with all of us in the frame!

Sometimes, the most memorably fun moments in life are those simple ones which don’t even cost a penny!

It is a completely different experience when you go sightseeing as a tourist, compared to when you go sightseeing under the guidance of a friend who lives at the locality. And so it was on this day, with my friend Ben leading us around Rayong, our experience and sense of enjoyment was completely unlike all our other days in Thailand.

We started the day paying a quick visit to Central Plaza Rayong to get some creams and medicines. This in itself turned out to be a fun stop for the kids, feeding the fish in the adjacent pond, taking advantage of the many photo opportunities along the walkway into the shopping complex. Sometimes the most fun moments in life are those simplest ones which don’t even cost a penny!

Our friend Ben really had a field day with the kids, taking good care of them and making sure they had a good time no matter what we were doing!

Suphattra Land

Our main highlight for the day was a visit to Suphattraland, a huge fruit orchard and agrotourism experience in Rayong which offers plenty of things to see and do for the whole family. Rayong is well known for its tasty fruit produce, and Suphattra Land is a great place which showcases the best of what Rayong has to offer.

We first enjoyed a bus tour around the orchard, where we saw all the different fruit trees grow in their respective sections of the orchard. Jackfruit, Durians, Mangosteens and Longans, you name it, they grow it there in this fruit heaven!

We got off the bus at the Rambutan stop. There, the kids got to experience first hand the picking of Rambutans using the long bamboo poles, under Ben’s expert guidance.

The little one posing for a picture as his older brother tries to figure out how to get the Rambutan’s down from the tree.

We then enjoyed the spoils of our own labour right beside the Rambutan tree where we picked the fruit! You don’t get fruit any fresher than that!

Moving along, we reached the fruit tasting stations, where you could sample practically any of the fruit growing at the orchard, as much of it as you want. The most popular station was the Durian station, which attracted long queues. The Durians in Thailand were rather different from the ones we commonly get in Singapore and Malaysia, much drier in texture and not as pungent. It was interesting to see the staff skillfully removing the hard thorny shells and portioning out the fruit in easy-to-eat strips.

The other great thing about Suphattra Land was the abundance of interesting backdrops and displays… great places to take a group photograph!

Amazingly, after this there was a second bus tour across the road to the other side of this huge farm, where we saw the vegetable plantation, which included a huge hydroponics section and a bee farm. There was more free food on offer, this time we got to taste the traditional Thai vegetable salads, made from the fresh vegetables growing at the farm. The food was tasty, but super spicy, as you would expect… we are in Thailand after all!

Looking at how they pound and prepare the salad

All in all, we had a great time at Suprattha Land. Even the little drizzle of rain that day could not wash away the smiles on the kid’s faces!

Dinner At The Beach

After a long day out at the orchard, we were all tired, but Ben insisted on taking us out for dinner. (And we all say, more food?!) I told you their hospitality was top notch! Being relatively free from tourists, Rayong boasts a whole stretch of beaches which are relatively empty in comparison to other parts of Thailand. Along this stretch, there are numerous seafood restaurants, serving mainly the locals. This is a great place to enjoy a sumptuous meal and have a nice walk along the beach and marvel at the beautiful sunset.

Uncle Ben worked his magic on the kids again, getting them all so excited just to kick a big abandoned plastic barrel at the edge of the water as the waves receded, and to rush back inland before the incoming waves reach them. The game was so simple and yet so engaging, and it extracted maximum fun and squeals of spontaneous laughter from the kids. This is something we Singaporeans need to learn – that we don’t need fancy gadgets or expensive toys to give our kids the experience of a lifetime. Just an abandoned plastic barrel and some creativity and imagination will do the trick! Sometimes, the most memorably fun moments in life are those simple ones which don’t even cost a penny!

The kids playing “Kick the Barrel and Avoid Getting Wet!”

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This is part 12 of my 2018 Drive from Singapore to Thailand Blog Series, click HERE for part 13 where I share about our drive to Hua Hin!

2018 Drive from Singapore to Thailand Blog Series:

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