• 
• 
• 

There's something terrifying yet exhilarating about the rooster that dares to cross the road in front of our car. The sound of the horn sends him scurrying back, the reason for his crossing still unknown.

But maybe he was crossing the road just to slow us down. It gave us the chance to notice lots of people jammed into a roadside eatery.

"They must be serving something interesting," is our consensus, and we park and stroll up to the stall. It turns out the attraction is "khanom jeen" noodles with a choice of three toppings: the common fish curry paste, chicken green curry or the southernstyle fish turmeric curry paste called "kaeng tai pla".

It takes little to convince us to grab a seat. We're served at least 10 vegetable side dishes and tiny dried crispy fish, all of which goes well with the khanom jeen and puts us in a buoyant mood for the lovely drive along the seashore at Tubsakae.

God bless chickens that cross the road.

The locals would say Tubsakae Beach is lively today, even if it seems dead quiet to visitors from the city. It's vast, and the breeze fills our nostrils with the tang of brine.

There's a pair of piers and many colourful fishing boats bobbing in the surf as they're loaded and unloaded. The crews hang squid on basket trays to dry in the sun.

The squid bleach, but the sun has turned an old man mahogany as he sits alone on the shore scrutinising the business ends of three fishing rods.

"What are you catching?" I ask. He opens his creel to reveal a few small whiting fish, known as pla sai. I've only ever seen them before deep-fried with chilli sauce.

The fishing is good around here, he assures us as we peer through the sun's glare to the shade of nearby pine trees, where the boat fishermen nap to the lullaby of the waves.

Time is standing still, and yet billboards along the roads bear pictures of fierce confrontation. The citizens of Tubsakae have for years been waging war against plans to build a coalfired power plant here.

These are the same people who, a couple of months ago, rallied to rescue two black-tipped sharks that somehow got beached. When the sharks resisted repeated attempts to carry them back into the sea, they were loaded onto a boat and taken far enough out so they wouldn't swim back onto shore.

Read what you will into that curious tale, but if it's a tale of tourism, consider that Tubsakae district has two national parks - one embracing the seaside called Had Wanakorn and another with a swath of jungle known as Namtok Huay Yang.

Had Wanakorn National Park, where sharks insist on swimming inland and people need three fishing rods, is impressively vast and unspoiled.

Those tall pine trees - planted by Kasetsart University students 40 years ago - outnumber visitors to the beach, despite the presence of good camping spots and a few bungalows and lovely islands not far off - Koh Jarn and Koh Tai Three.

A fine resort has just opened on the beach too, and there are a few more in the district.

We keep the sound of waves in our ears during dinner at a restaurant called Pla Talay, where we thrill over terrific steamed squid in lime, chilli and garlic sauce.

There's no meandering rooster to slow our drive home past starlit temples and coconut orchards. How dearly we wish that feathered friend of tourism were there to insist we turn around and stay a little longer.

If you go

Tubsakae is in Prachuab Khiri Khan province, 120 kilometres south of Hua Hin and 330 kilometres from Bangkok on Petkasem Road (Highway 4).

You can buy a ticket to Bangsaparn at Bangkok's Southern Bus Terminal and ask to be let off at Tubsakae, or take the BangkokYala or ThonburiLangsuan trains, both of which stop in Tubsakae.

The latter train, which passes through many stations in Tubsakae, leaves Bangkok at 7.41am and arrives there around 2.15pm. The fare is Bt61.

To check the railway times, call 1690 or visit www.Railway.co.th.