Town of Ranong, staying a funky little place called the TV Bar, where you don't watch TV, you sit on them, and the loudest guesthouse ever, all for 100 baht, that's just over 1 pound. Easy day off, ATM, 7/11, internet cafe all within spitting distance. Money saved spent on a good food and beer, and an interesting town with Burmese and Chinese influence. Few tourists here though, more a travel hub.
Same Same but Different
Switched from West to East coast, riding across the isthmus. A very famous Thai saying same same but different and that's how it is. Have been in this area before, however, this time made an effort to avoid all the main roads and jolly good too, so is a bit different, but same same, then again different, he he he. It's all very easy, smooth roads, convenience stores with all the goodies:- good quality milk chocolate, shakes, beer, a few holiday makers. Being on the Burmese border, this is place to renew your Thai visa, ie. hop across the border and re-enter into Thailand, a few expats here...
Lots of Thais have pick up trucks, goes with weather and laid back lifestyle; Convenience, chuck the picnic and family in the back, throw the whole lot to the ground by a scenic water fall. Hot climates are brilliant, no running indoors hiding from the cold/damp. In the towns and cities, life is outdoors, you eat cheaply at food stalls, buy fresh produce at the market, it's comfortable, sit down chew the breeze, say hello in Thai, wonder around, safe, friendly. As if everyone shares the same living room. Marvellous...
Kuraburi, quiet town north of the big beach resorts, nothing special, staying a bungalow care of Tom & Am who have a small startup company, Surin Island Tour. Genuine hospitality, evening meal is with locals & guests, sharing food & drink, make a contribution, anyone turns up, fisherman, wives searching for their missing husbands. At the market, I bought spices, fresh fish and shrimp, then barbecued. Raw shrimps with chilli, garlic & lemon tasty. After whiskey & cokes, the next day was an official rest day, no cycling. Kuraburi is the launching point for the Surin Islands, with just enough tourists, managed by forest rangers, you hire camp and snorkel gear for some of the worlds best coral, good to see fellow travelers roughing it, the way it used to be.
When the opportunity to purchase an island presented itself, a fun way to spend the day, and before you can say "no way dude", I was boating out with estate agent and her charming assistants for an island tour. And that's how it began, fell for the place, and I'm now the proud owner of my own island, no plans of returning to England anytime soon. There's a big Ikea on the main land, however, the Island's resources are plenty, reeds for wicker chairs, coconuts for breakfast, lunch, dinner, ursula andress, ...
Lobster Coast
Tempted to visit Khao Sok National park with its tree house accommodation, but alas, that's an inland diversion away from the beaches. Knew this coast was going to be more upmarket, but there's a deal when you look. Staying at the upmarket beaches of Khao Lak, loitering at exclusive beach bars, pretending to be part of the scene; lycra shorts and HGV touring bicycle, he he he, they noticed I was different. A fine resort beach, fresh batches of pink lobsters roasting in the sun, paying inflated prices, and why not, they're only here for 2 weeks, poor things. I'm 500 yards back over a Swiss pub, sacrafising air-conditioning for a fan cooled room. Cycled through the coastal resorts, superb for a 2 week family holiday, enjoyed the lunch but alas too expensive for a cheap bum like me. A sprinkling of Thai fishing harbours and local stuff, a nice touch. If you're keen on a 2 week family holiday, this is an excellent choice, better than Phuket.
Scenery continues to be amazing, like those paradise beach shots you see in glossy magazines. The tsunami is very evident here, monuments, charitable centres and evacuation routes. I saw a restaurant actually named Tsunami. Could you imagine a restaurant in Berlin called holocaust?
Krabbi Town
Cutting across the headland, avoiding Phuket like the plague, classic ride through scenic karst mountains, a pleasant change with hills and views, tropical jungle, vines descending from over-hanging trees, a cacophony of insect sounds and a WWII Japenese sniper hiding in the undergrowth.
Staying in the town of Krabi, superb budget accommodation and great food at the Siboya Guesthouse. A 1 pound room, tropical heat and no windows, a fan at full blast hopefully does the job, he he he. Krabi town is great, relatively relaxed, having a good balance between trekkers and local Thais, ie it's not overdone like the sea-side resorts. Here in Krabi town, Thais live and do business with each other, a few trekkers on the side. The weather is hot, hot, hot, sorry about the winter back home in England, however, wouldn't mind it for a 5 minute cool down.
No time to explore coastline on the way here to Krabi, a few drinks then full throttle, and I was too mean to buy a map, and now have a free tourist map, seems there are several beaches within cycle exploring range (map), a coastal side-tour beckons.
Krabbi Coastal Tour
The side tour started well, visiting a quieter area, no accommodation near the beach, then another 20km and it blitzkrieged into an overcrowded repetition of restaurants, trinkets, tailors and hotels, the Ao Nang area, as recommended by the guide book, which has subsequently received a full slap in the face. It's OK if you step off the plane with your partner/friends/family, 2 weeks away from the office, eating, drinking, shopping, looking at the beach; strangely, there weren't many people actually on it. Found a good value guest house, fraction of the average price for a windowless fan room. The Thai manager was nice enough, she confided that she (and other Thais) didn't like working here at resort and we laughed together. I thanked her and rode away, remembering a deal I'd seen on the way here:-
There's a sign pointing down a dirt track towards the coast, advertising swimming pool and good value bungalows, and bloody marvellous it was (Arawan Bungalows). Exactly what most people dream of, but hidden away, the place was being re-furbished and had no package holiday makers, just a few people who'd noticed the road side advert. Fantastic bargain, with staff outnumbering the guests. Stayed 2 days, chilled out, swam the pool, reading a book, used the bike for shopping expeditions returning with panniers full of cold beer, yogurt, water... At night, Muslim prayer calls wafting from the fishing village across the bay, very atmospheric. It's a mixture of Buddhist and Muslim here, on the southern beach resorts, no problems. Going further South towards Malaysia, it becomes mainly Muslim where are serious tensions, fortunately on the the other coast.
So in this perfect paradise, I could yell yipee skip across the beach naked, a carrot protruding from each nostril, and say "paradise, it's all mine", but then what to do after that. After 2 days of isolation, it's time to seek human company, but not to one of those beach resorts. Good old Krabi town is the answer, staying again at Siboya Guesthouse, near the river side, a banana shake, coconut shake and an iced coffee for less than a pound. Smaller room, no windows, carried the bike upstairs and squeezed it in, all for 80baht a new record in cheapness, money saved spent on luxuries.
For the 3rd time in 10 months, the laundry was done by someone else, besides, my coffin room doesn't have a sink, and a white t-shirt deserves a decent wash every 4 months. Made friends with the lady who owns the tailor shop, after she repaired my tatty cycling shorts, spent a delightful couple of hours just chatting. Thais like to talk shop/money, profit and expenses, so interesting business; shop-rent around 450USD per month, quality tailored suit around 120USD, overheads bla bla bla, and she makes some profit with a fair amount of labour in the process. Fixing cycle shorts is free. Has a happy smiley outlook, something Thais do well.
10 Days Later
Still in Krabi, yes sir, 10 days in a row, this town being a travel hub out to the resorts. Relaxed and down to earth, less commercial than the resorts, and retains it's charm as an actual Thai town, a healthy balance of Thais and tourist. The anthropological studies continue, I will apply for the role of "wise man on mountain", dispersing pearls of wisdom to those seeking answers. The best answer to any question is "look east when you see swallows flying overhead", that just about covers any subject.
The night market & dining where the locals go is the best, unlike the consumerism at the beaches, where earning the tourist dollar is the main concern. My tailor friend has installed cable TV in her shop, we watched some English movies, I got the drink and snacks. The cinema is closed tonight, as she is busy with an influx customers. Bought a rose for each of the 5 ladies running the guest house, they work long hours which can't be fun, bought a smile to their faces, and gave me a challenge for the day, to find roses. One of my daily habits is to read the Bangkok Post sitting on the dock of bay, looking the intellectual ex-pat, a nice vantage spot watching long tail boats whiz past, picking up locals and tourists from the jetty, egrets and killer whales playing water-polo with a freshly slaughtered seal pup.
Finished a book, City of Joy, a story set in the "slums of Calcutta" which makes my guesthouse room appear luxurious. Enjoying a prolonged stay here, as Phil Collins once said, "just another day in paradise". Everyday staying here, not cycling, means the average distance per day goes down by 237 metres. Staying here an additional 57 years would reduce that average to 1 km per day, thats sounds agreeable. A late afternoon jog, following the river to the coast, rejuvenates the system.
One reader asks: how is the weather affecting you where you are? all ok or are you pitched up somewhere like wickies version of grizzly adams!! waiting for spring!! A well put question, so I've been conducting experiments with monkeys living in the mangroves nearby. In tests designed to assess monkeys sense of fairness, a group of brown capuchin monkeys "went on strike" and refused to perform routine tasks when they saw others receiving greater rewards for the same tasks. Monkeys that witnessed their partners getting grapes often refused to conduct future exchanges, would not eat the cucumbers they received, and in some cases, threw their rewards back at me. The next phase was to replace the monkey troup with a cross section of wicky society. With the latest batch, I am taking brain cells from the monkies in order to form a super breed of wickies. Results to be published soon...
To the Malay Border
Back the bicycle again, after a lovely stay in Krabi, far too long, he he he, was getting restless. The bike had been immobile for so long, the wheels had stuck, not to mention the ivy attaching the frame to the wall, the grapes make good wine though. First day out, and sod it, didn't come all this way to do the main roads, so its towards the coast, and an overnight at
Pak Meng Beach, wonderful & nicely under developed. Installed in deck chair and watched the sun-set over food and beer. It would have been romantic but by oneself doesn't count. Lots of firecrackers echoing along the road-side today, its the start of Chinese New Year and theres a strong presence here. Next day & small coastal roads with interesting navigational challenges, like no decent sign posts, several small turnings, plus crap map. Love it. So bypassed Trang, the main travel hub, taking the awkward coastal roads, hoping for decent accommodation ahead, and here are we in:-
Thung Wa, small very casual town, less of us tourists about, so lots of friendly 'hello' greetings to the one and only honkey, myself. They insisted on paying for my beer at the adjoining kari-oki bar (loud or what), then, I rode off 2km into town, happily accepting an invitation to join with a group of Thais, good natured food & drinking. We were toasting Chinese New Year, since there's a heavy Chinese presence here down the coast, everyone kinda joins in. One chap was the local policeman, offering his sister's massage services, good natured fun by all, then as I took my early leave, being a poor cyclist, they insisted on paying for my food and beer. People can be so nice, ahhh faith in humanity. Finally, we swapped and autographed t-shirts, and lucky for me again, I received a clean shirt, mine needed a wash. Yehah, a fantastic evening out. And a happy new Chinese year to you.
Nice area here, South west coast, in the Muslim south of Thailand. It's mixed, Buddhist and Muslim, no problems, those are on the other coast, but I expect it's safe and friendly too. Majority of people are nice everywhere, just a few hard nuts making the headlines, bla bla bla...
Hot once again, how to cope? Sweat, then get an ice cold drink, and repeat... Beats a hot cup of coco in English winter. In no hurry to reach Singapore and fly back to English winter. Any job offers from you guys out there?
Then the last stop in Thailand, Satun where I took a rest day. Malay was going to be more expensive, especially with the high demand for accommodation during Chinese New Year. I was invited to join the local bike club for one of their rides, and quite fast they was, and with no panniers for a change, averaging around 30kmh, then a quick 40kmh back to the hotel.