Thailand -the adventure continues…..

On leaving Chumpon, I decided to take the coastal roads rather than Route 4 that has been my chosen road all the way from Phuket.  It was a great decision.  What a delight to travel along rural roads through green jungle with shade across the road and minimal traffic.  It reminded me of the Natal North coast in the ‘sixties. Thailand has a department of rural roads and those I followed were  designated Scenic routes. After a gentle ride I reached Bang Saphan and was faced with a small issue of where to stay for the night.  This area has the most beautiful beaches and plenty of resorts but they are very expensive.  As I cycled into the town I remembered advice from my friend, Mishally, who said to ask at the Buddhist Temples if I needed accommodation.  The monks welcomed me and let me stay in their main hall which was great as it had ablution facilities and I had this whole beautiful hall to myself.  It also gave me an opportunity to use my hammock that I’ve been carrying all this way.

Hammock and Mosquito net

My bedroom

From there I continued on the coastal route but midway I decided not to go all the way to Prachuap Khirie Khan but to head to a national park and camp there for the night.  This complicated the navigation and I found myself traversing the most rural roads, dirt tracks and even paths through a forest.  It felt like I was back in France or Italy on the Via Francigena , the one difference being that the day was extremely hot and humid, reaching 47deg C at one point (see my post on the page “The Kindness of Strangers”)

However, eventually I made it and what a delight, it was paradise (well almost – no beer for sale in national parks!)

I took my time in the morning, had a swim and a nap and packed up only when I was repeatedly asked if I’m staying another night.  It was a short, gentle ride into Prachuap Khirie Khan which is a very pleasant seaside town

Beautiful view and a beer at last

Back on Route 4 now and onward via Hua Hin (also a very expensive resort city, it reminded me of Durban but so much nicer) to Samut Songkhram.  This city is famous for the Railway Market.  I stayed just 300 metres from the market and a train came through soon after I arrived so I was there to see the action.

Maeklong station Samut Songkhram

Tourists waiting for a train to arrive

You walk through the market on the track

Busy market

Here comes the train -see how the market has cleared out of the way

Close call!

Then at last the day dawned when I would reach Bangkok.  I had booked in a hostel that is cyclist friendly in the East of Bangkok so I asked the owner to give me advice on the best route to take.  He sent me details that routed me along the rural roads, winding in and around many fish farms and having to catch a river ferry on a tributary to the Chao Phraya River around which Bangkok is situated.  I had some problems with navigation especially finding the ferry – who knew you have to walk through a very large, busy food market to find a dark alley in the bottom right had corner that leads to a ticket desk and a ferry pier?  Certainly not many of the locals I asked!  Finally a hard ride through dense traffic to reach my destination….Bangkok…. City of Angels.

Monitor Lizard on the road through the fish farms

On the ferry

The tide was out – very shallow

Waiting for the rain to stop in Bangkok