Thailand - Hat Wa Ko Beach to Sam Roi

Sunday 1 Feb, 48 miles

This was a great cycling day. Felt like I was sailing along through happiness itself. Everything just seemed to make me smile.

It started with an impressive huge red ball sun lifting slowly from the sea. As we sat eating our breakfast on one of the swings (Thais love a rustic swing on a beach) our fellow camper gave us a boiled egg each and a big bottle of water!

It felt calmly surreal cycling past the dinosaurs in the early morning light. A golden morning, the lazy beach road took us along to Khlong Wan, a lovely little village by the sea. We stopped at Rosana Cafe X. A scenic cozy place with airy wooden windows opening onto a wide sea view with out-of-place wintery songs about snow and fires in an open hearth playing in the background.

Coming out of the village we poked our noses into a beautiful local Wat: Wat Klong Wan Phra Aram Luang, all red and glinting gold. Opposite, I delighted in seeing a large eclectic topiary garden, home to a leafy giraffe, plane, snake, horse, hens, dinosaurs, camel and leaping gazelle.

Not much further along a sculpture of a plane was taking off outside a large checkpoint complete with stern looking guard. We were entering a Royal Thai Air Force base - Wing 5. Signing our names in the register and we were through! This beautifully-curved bay was once a battlefield between the Thai and Japanese armies during WWII. Today war couldn’t be further from people’s minds as they relax on Ao Manao Beach in their swimwear looking out at tree-clad islands on the horizon. Peaceful cycling under shady pine trees.

Being an airbase we had the ace experience of cycling across a runway, and grinning ear to ear we were both reminded of cycling on Berlin’s Templehof. Pretending to be a plane was over too soon, and leaving the airbase took us along Prachuap Khiri Khan’s relaxed holiday-feel promenade. Here we met two other cycle tourers! We stopped to speak to Oliver from Austria, and then Peter from Germany rolled up to join us. As we were chatting and exchanging tips, experiences, routes and general cycling joie de vivre, the French couple we saw yesterday cycled past. After swapping numbers we clambered back on to our steeds and waving farewell to two very lovely adventuring gentlemen were back on our way.

We did a thing we’re bad at, misjudging when to grab food. Having passed loads of opportunities to get lunch from numerous food shacks and eateries we now found ourselves in a food wilderness. A ten mile white concrete road stretched, straight as a die, to a point in the far distance. We must have picked up some speed as we overtook the French cyclists who had stopped to talk to a fellow countryman tourer travelling south.

Finally the blinding white road was at an end and we stumbled upon Paen Hjem Cafe and its delightful owner, Jum. A gentle kind smiling lady she sat us down amongst her plants and cooked us up scrambled eggs and extra (free) jam and toast. She took our water bottles and put some ice in them and gave us each a handful of biscuits. She’s the sort of lady you immediately want to hug.

Approaching Khao Sam Roi Yot and things started to get dramatic. Limestone mountains layered hazily one in front of the other, with golden Buddhas sitting calmly at their base. Thick mangroves, their roots clawing at the road, stitched land to wetland. Karst formations made rocky gargoyle faces at us as we cycled past.

A strong headwind made it slow going through this incredible landscape. The only movement the constant turn of the oxygenating paddle wheels of the numerous shrimp farms and the wading birds plucking their feet across watery plains.

At last we made it to Happy Minds. Jan and Nan, the lovely owners, greeted us warmly and showed us round their green and pleasant resort. As the sun slid behind swaying palm trees our minds were indeed very happy. What a fantastic day on the bike.Read more