Thailand Road Trip : Day 4 Cha Am - Chumphon

On The Road Again

On this day 4th of our road trip we made it easy a bit. Driving long distance each day can take a toll if not spaced out properly. So on the 4th day we took it easy and planned on a short distance of 4 hour drive to Chumpon.

We started the day with buffet breakfast at our hotel Long Beach Cha Am Hotel then got ready and checked out. It was a late breakfast and our group pigged out on the breakfast so we could skip lunch altogether. I couldn't eat so much in the morning so I got some nuts and snacks for the road instead.

If we look at the map from Cha Am to Chumpon, one would think that we would drive along the coast and have coastal view. Though it looks pretty close to the coast, we didn't actually have ocean view on that stretch of our trip.

Even with no stopping for lunch, we did stop at least twice for stretching and bathroom breaks. Bathroom breaks are usually done at gas station with 7 Eleven. So we could easily load up on whatever snacks we need.

Hop Inn Chumphon

Hop Inn Chumphon is a budget hotel. Clean with basic necessities for a one night hotel. Our room had a big window with mountain view. Adjacent to the window was a long platform with a chair. We used that to place our laptops and drinks and bags among other things.

On one side of the bed was a night stand. It's a queen size bed with two pillows. The wall was pretty spartan. Bathroom was very clean. That was the first hotel bathroom that I actually went into shower without my  flipflop on. The bathroom tiles was beige color and looked clean.

There was a coffee station downstairs that one could get coffee from. It's not just coffee but also hot cocoa and mocha.

โรงแรมฮ็อป อินน์ ชุมพร HOP INN Chumphon

75/59 Soi Krumluang Chumphon 3, Krumluang Chumphon Rd., Tha Taphao, Mueang Chumphon, Chumpon 86000

Phone: 02 659 2899

Steak Dinner

After a day of driving, we decided to just walk around to look for food. Earlier we passed a road side pop up market so we decided to walk there to take a look. It didn't seem that there was any seating area provided and the market was more for locals to buy food and bring home to eat. So we settled in for a restaurant across from the market. It's a steak restaurant. Steak Mafia.

I was imagining the steak restaurant in the west where most steak would cost about USD25-USD35 or even more depending on the cut and source of the beef. So I was surprised to see the steak dish in Steak Mafia only cost THB 70 (USD 1.95). Some of the more bigger portion (combo) cost double THB 140 (USD 3.80).

Most of us in the group chose a simple pork steak and only one chose thai basil seafood (pad kra pao). The menu surprisingly had English words describing the dish. Pork steak with mushroom sauce. Grilled pork steak with spicy sauce. Or pork steak with black pepper sauce. When our orders arrived they looked very similar and then the waitress told us, that's the spicy sauce to go with this steak. And this is the sauce to go with this steak. 😁

My grilled pork steak was on the sweet side served with a little bit lettuce and mashed potato. The steak had been marinated prior to cooking so it was well seasoned. The mashed potato was a bit dry but I was sure it's a lot healthier than other mashed potato I have tried.

Steak Mafia

F5XQ+P6X, Tha Taphao, Mueang Chumphon District, Chumphon 86000