Coffee culture in Pak Nam Pran, Thailand

I am in Pak Nam Pran, a town a few hours south of Bangkok, Thailand.

A busy but relaxed small town, population 13,371, near the ocean, which feels like mostly locals live and work here.

I didn’t think there was much here.

I am wrong.

There is more life than I realized but perhaps this is the way with towns and people.

Much lies beneath the surface of what we see.

I am like a kid here and there is much that stimulates me and makes me curious.

How do we lose this sense of wonder as we grow older?

There is nothing like going away to awaken our senses and to return home to appreciate the people and things we have left behind.

As I arrived on the main strip of Pak Nam Pran by bicycle from the beach trail I saw a big sign “Coffee by Tommy”. It looked like a coffee shop. I was curious and very hot.

I entered the coffee shop and felt like I was home though I didn’t understand the Thai language being spoken around me.

There is a language that I hadn’t realized we had in common until I entered.

Coffee!

The menu board has some coffee drinks in English like Espresso, Americano and Cappuccino.

The coffee shop is not much different from the independent coffee shops at home that I like to frequent but on a smaller scale and with the Thai influence.

Indie music, Wi-Fi, air conditioning (important factor as it is very hot and humid here now), a guy working on his laptop, young counter staff, one might be Tommy trying to make a living, and staff checking their phones when it’s not busy.

An older woman enters, probably a frequent customer. She sits down on the couch. There is an exchange in Thai and she says,”cappuccino kapunka (thank you).”

I ask for an iced Americano. It’s 45 Thai baht ($2 CDN/$1.30 USD), which is much cheaper than Bangkok.

There are many things that bring us together despite our apparent differences.

Coffee is one of them.

Coffee by Tommy, Ban Pak Nam Pran, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Thailand 77220

Originally published at Caroline Ishii.