A Fishing Village, Coconut Monkeys and the French

Your faithful reporter here, in Bang Saphan. In all likelihood, you won't know where that is, and that's part of its charm.

Bang Saphan is a small, quiet beach resort town that is just about as far from an airport as you can get in Thailand.

Despite having a nice beach, nearby islands and loads of natural attractions, it will never be a destination for anyone without a backpack. No upmarket tourists (or the travel agents who make a living off them) are going to brave six-hours-plus on potholed highways prowling with truck-driving speed freaks to reach the place.

So how did I end up there? Well, for one, I live in Thailand and for two, I own a car. Three, Bang Saphan is exactly halfway along the grueling twelve-hour drive between Phuket and Bangkok.

My wife and I cruised into town and, after a few wrong turns, found the Coral Hotel, where we'd booked a room.

The Coral is the most civilized resort in the area, and the only one with a pool. I actually found free wireless internet at the hotel restaurant. Wow. Five-star places in Bangkok still think they can charge guests 700 baht (US$20) per hour for that privilege.

Fisherman's kid shows off the catch.

From the balcony of the open-air restaurant, I can see tranquil waves washing in on the shore. Nothing like the big rollers we get off the Andaman in Phuket.

Today the water is murky and the sand is still wet from this morning's thunderstorm. We've had a noisy one every morning at around 5am, so I've not made it out to nearby Koh Thalu (Keyhole Island) for snorkelling, as rainstorms make for cloudy water and happy jellyfish.

The centerpiece of this 40-key resort is a nice-sized free-form pool. Big enough to do laps but small enough to keep an eye on your kids.

Next to the pool - I kid you not - is a legal-sized boxing ring with ropes and mat, sitting right out where most resorts would place a little flowery garden or a bowling lawn or outdoor spa. No one's gone at it since we've been here.

Next door is a coconut plantation and yesterday we saw men chasing trained monkeys up to knock down coconuts.

The gardens themselves are great. As most Phuket resorts should have done, they've left all the old-growth trees and there are some really amazing plants. Lots of giant butterflies too - the kind that send eccentric British dudes in pith helmets into ecstatic frenzies.

My wife wants me to put in a word for Khun Noo, her massage woman. Best to listen to my wife on this, as she's quite the massage connoisseur.

Apparently the resort has borrowed Noo from a local hospital and was able to tell my wife all sorts of things about her physiology and psychology, just from an hour's massage. Significantly she said, "You should not worry about your husband - he's a good man." Don't know how Noo got this from a backrub, but who am I to argue?

While my wife might vote for the massage, in my mind the best thing about the Coral is the food. The resort is French-run and most of the patrons are French as well. I've never had bad food at a French resort. Probably because they know French customers can get noisy if the food sucks.

Another good detail: they play Thai music. I really wonder about resorts that play modern pop in their restaurants. Who comes to Thailand to listen to Britney Spears and Crazy Frog?

We never made it into the town of Bang Saphan itself, frankly, as there's nothing much out there. A stroll down the beach is about as far as you need to get from the resort. You'll see real fishermen with real nets (the kind they don't let onto Phuket beaches). I also never made it into the waves - too many giant jellyfish on the shores for my liking. It's probably better outside the wet season.

All in all, a nice quiet stop between Phuket and Bangkok. If you're making the drive, Bang Saphan is a perfect break. Bring a frisbee.