Thailand - Sam Roi Yot - Samut Songkhram

Cycling towards Bangkok gave us our last cycle beside the sea, a giant snake, agricultural backroads, salt fields, and a floating market with dancing fireflies.

So sad to leave Happy Minds. Jan and Nan had looked after us so well and we really liked the area. Lilz was feeling much better though, and we must keep rolling.

Our 43 miles was a day of two halves. First half cycling along beach roads. Second half negotiating the busy city of Hua Hin. The benefit to us of the city was sourcing some gas canisters for cooking (rare things).

On the other side of Hua Hin, escaping the long straight highways, we were on rural roads cycling through pineapple plantations. We weren’t sure if the campsite we were aiming for existed, and it got ever more squeaky bum as the sun began to set and the road got narrower and narrower turning from tarmac to gravel to dirt. Hallelujah! Here’s the campsite! Totally deserted. However after a quick phone call the owner sped over to us on his scooter. We picked a spot overlooking the flooded quarry, with random koi carp swimming far below and enjoyed having the peaceful place to ourselves.

We packed up as the sun rose. Today’s 60 miles started well with the morning giving us an unexpected treat, just outside Cha-Am. I would have missed it, happily focused on sailing along sunny rural roads. Lilz however had the sense to look around him. To our right a giant rainbow snake reared up over 30 meters high. We had to investigate.

Wat Tham Chaeng unveiled Thailand’s largest naga statue in September 2023. The former abbot of the Wat had a vision of the snake 30 years ago to serve as a guardian to the temple's "Tham Chaeng" (Bright Cave) and as a symbol of protection, wealth, and prosperity for the community. The statue is bonkers. Fierce, bearded, and artfully coiled, its 227 meter body loops behind the naga’s hooded head in nine great twists that you can walk through for luck. People write their name, date of birth, and wished for blessings on strips of red cloth and attach these to the naga. I also learned a new colour… the naga is coloured ‘Nilpal’ - a shiny dark green colour reminiscent of a beetle wing, known for reflecting rainbow light in the sun. 🪲

The day was a mix of picturesque rural back roads through agricultural landscapes dotted with hills, and boring hot straight rural roads that we shared with large trucks pulling trailers full to bursting and thunderously loud. The trucks are decorated with colourful paint jobs, detailed metalwork, Michelin Man figurines (signifying wealth and status, apparently), tassels, extra loudspeakers, extra lights, and more wing mirrors than any truck driver could ever need. We saw lots of wooden traditional homes in this area, built on stilts with decorated steeply pitched roofs.

As we neared Samut Songkram (our destination), at the very top of the Gulf of Thailand, being near the sea was reflected in the activity we saw…

We saw acres and acres of salt farms glistening on either side of the road. This area is the largest producer of salt in the country. Sea water is pumped into the fields and is allowed to gradually evaporate during the dry season between January and April. Once the water has evaporated, the salt is collected into photogenic crystal pyramids which dry in the sun. We passed large wooden storerooms holding mountains of the mineral, and little stalls selling the finished product in large white sacks and jars.

We saw shellfish and seafood everywhere, being transported, sorted by ladies into large colourful baskets, or sold by numerous roadside stall holders. The bags of red crab claws were so vibrant and large they didn’t seem possible.

We glimpsed the sea for the last time as we crossed the bridge over the mouth of the Bang Tabun river looking out over a wide pale bay. Nutrient rich, the bay is great for harvesting blood cockles, mussels, and oysters, and fishermen’s huts on stilts dotted the shallow sea. From now on we’ll be landlocked until April when we’ll see the sea again at Ha Long Bay in northeast Vietnam.Read more