We stayed for a week at the Pakmeng Resort for a week from the 1st of January after staying on islands in the area other years. I thought being on the mainland would mean easier access to sightseeing activities but Pakmeng was not a good base for this. The bungalow was fine, apart from a very hard bed, quite clean and right opposite the beach. Unfortunately if the tide was in, there was no beach and most days it rained. Heavy rain. I don't know if this was just bad luck of where Pakmeng is situated but we haven't had rain in that part of Thailand at the same time of year before and the girls in the restaurant said it rained every day. The main problem with staying there is the lack of transport as there were no tuk tuks or taxis in Pakmeng and the lady who ran the resort was not very helpful with suggestions of things to do apart from selling us tickets to go on her own boat trip. This trip was great but only filled one day. There are a few restaurants, convenience stores and an ATM in the centre of Pakmeng but that is about a 3 kilometre walk from the resort so you really have to eat most meals in the resort restaurant. One day when we had made the trek in the heat and humidity to have lunch somewhere else the lady in charge had us driven back to the resort as we must have looked so hot and bothered. There were places to book tours there too but they mostly seemed to do the same 3 or 4 island day trip. I wanted to see the dugongs but even though there is a statue of them along the beach I couldn't make the people understand what I wanted to see. There is a bus to Trang each morning so we went there one day but to really see the sights in the area you would need a car or at least a motorbike. Next time we will stay on an island again with resorts nearby so you have a choice of food and drink and sand to sunbathe on.