Dave and his Bike

Days 91, 92, 93 & 94.

Day 91.

I woke up to the peace and quiet following the storm yesterday. I had been woken in the night by rumbling thunder, but initially this morning it was calm. It didn’t last. A short, sharp shower accompanied breakfast, but the rain seemed intermittent enough for us to continue with our plan for the day.

We were on the road between showers, and hit the main road after about 10km. Shortly afterwards, the torrential rain hit. We quickly found shelter in a roadside shack, and waited it out for ten minutes until it had eased, and the spray from passing lorries had lessened. Once on the road again, we passed the magnificent and huge Buddha statue of Wat Khao Chedi Wisai Tri Rattanaram temple, poking its head out above the trees and into the clouds.

We repeated our game of hide and seek with the weather on several more occasions, cycling on in the lulls between downpours, and seeing the evidence all around of the recent and persistent rain. We bought drinks at one stop, lunch at another, and the third one was ironically the waiting area for a car wash.

It was at that point which we thankfully left the dual carriageway after a gruelling but fast 50km. The last 30km of our day was spent on much better and quieter roads, and without getting caught in any more downpours. The first place we tried for accommodation in Lamae was the Baan Imm Sook Resort. It’s more of a motel than anything else, with clean tidy rooms, hot showers, but bizarrely no windows in the rooms. Cheap though – even more so as we’ve opted for the twin room.

The rain started again not long after we arrived. Six hours later and it still hasn’t stopped. It’s a bit ominous for the next few days ride, but we’ll see how we get on.

Meanwhile, we got to the stage where we needed to eat. The hotel owner gave us a couple of umbrellas and sent us off into town – a 600m walk. There was no restaurant (well not one we could find), just stalls in a covered market selling food. We opted for chicken-on-a-stick and a drink from 7Eleven. Part way through eating it, the lights went out.

We found our way back to the accommodation, getting seriously wet feet on the way whilst listening to the bullfrogs doing their thing, to find the owner kindly waiting for us. With two small candles and a bowl. Marvellous. I actually think it is quite funny. So an early night it is then…

Mileage so far: 5098km.

Day 92.

It’s December 14th, meaning that I’ve been on this ridiculous escapade for three months now. Just as well I’m still enjoying it as there’s plenty more to come.

It was still raining when I woke up, but at least the power was back on. The amount of standing water in the car park would suggest that it hasn’t stopped raining all night. I’d left my cycling shoes in the porch area, in the vain hope that they may have dried off a bit. The reality was that a small frog had taken up residence in one of them. I’m not sure which one of us was most surprised when I tried to put my shoe on.

Breakfast was courtesy of the 7Eleven in Lamae. Cheese and ham toasties, eaten in the covered market out of the rain. Then we were on the road. The rain had been quite heavy first thing, but had now eased off, and remained a light drizzle with the odd hard shower every so often. It was still enough to soak us to the skin immediately, a state which we remained in for the whole day.

The first route across to the main road was flooded enough for us to avoid completely. The second one was better, and rideable through. I did, however, discover one of the minor problems with using front panniers which are lower to the ground (it’s also the biggest benefit as the centre of gravity is lower, meaning a more stable ride and better handling). When cycling through water a foot deep, the panniers become partly submerged and almost stop any forward progress. The water can also get into the outer pockets which are not as well sealed.

Once on the main road, the water level was sufficiently below the road level for us not to worry too much. There was still enough standing water to keep us occupied though. Fortunately navigating was easy, as we stayed on one road for most of the ride. The rain (or flooding in particular) seems to have brought the snakes out into the open. There were many more little yellow and black ones than I’ve seen before, and one really big green one. All sadly victims of the traffic.

Steve wasn’t feeling the love today. His stomach was grumbling and his breakfast hadn’t fuelled him enough. On top of that his back tyre looked a bit soft, despite him pumping it up first thing. He added a bit more air, but then over our roadside shack lunch break (a lovely pad kra pao) it went completely flat. Neither of us could find a puncture, so he replaced the inner tube anyway. Which immediately started to deflate. Steve swore. Turns out that his pump somehow loosens the valve when you unscrew it. Once we had tightened the valve up, the tyre kept its pressure.

Not long after re-mounting our bikes, we saw a couple on a touring tandem heading in the opposite direction and waving frantically at us. It was a shame that it was raining, as a fellow tandem tourist (historically) I would have been interested in their story, and how they were coping on a tandem. A 20km jaunt in slightly heavier rain took us back onto the dreaded dual carriageway for 10km before reaching Tha Rong Chang and a decent hotel for the night. Steve legged it into the next door service station toilets before we checked in. The grumbling stomach had developed. Not in a good way. Whilst Steve was preoccupied, a couple of Belgians turned up on their bikes. They are heading to Koh Lanta over the next few days. We didn’t have much more conversation, as we were all dripping wet.

Having taken the separate room option for the night, I checked my panniers for any dampness following the submersion earlier in the day. The main body of them was fine and remarkably dry. The outer pockets however, were a different story. One pocket was literally full of water (two mugs full to be precise). To the extent that I no longer have a first aid kit.

Most other stuff will be fine once (if) it dries out. Lesson learned. Dinner was only a few yards away (chicken fried rice) followed by a visit to the shop next door for healthy snacks. They didn’t have any so I made do with chocolate. Route planning and decision making in Steve’s room was a precursor to an early night, as we are aiming to get most of the way to Krabi tomorrow, depending on the weather and Steve’s stomach. The weather still isn’t looking great.

Mileage so far: 5190km.

Day 93

It had been raining overnight, but wasn’t when I got up. I had a full re-pack of my panniers after yesterday’s debacle with the flood water which slowed me down a bit before we left. No breakfast at the hotel, so the nearest 7Eleven provided our morning nourishment. The traffic was remarkably light for the first half of the day – probably because it is Sunday and a lot of the small retail premises are shut. The undulations which had started in a small way yesterday increased in both frequency and elevation. It seemed that for most of the day we were either going up or down hill, but never on the flat. I enjoyed it for the morning, but later on I got a bit weary and the climbs became quite hard work.

We passed many more rubber plantations in addition to the proliferation of palm trees, and it was interesting to see that the traditional way of collecting the sap/rubber is still being used.

By midday the roads were actually drying out, which was more than you could say about me. The evaporation of the water and increase in temperature meant that the humidity seemed very high, and I sweated profusely all day. Not attractive.

A tea stop after about 50km in Phrasaeng (Thai iced tea) refreshed us nicely, and lunch was taken in Wat Samai Suwan (I think), leaving us less than 30km to finish our day. Despite starting to feel the grind of the last stretch, I really enjoyed it. The people here are lovely. Moped riders smile as they pass; people working in food stalls or sitting outside their homes shout ‘hello’ as we pass; a small girl sitting on a veranda with her family gave me a beautiful smile and wave; a guy in a pink shirt on a motorbike slowed as he passed me, grinned and said ‘Hello – welcome to Thailand!’. It makes me smile just thinking about the welcome we are receiving everywhere we go. It is fantastic.

We stopped at a hotel in Kao Phanom. A twin room for about £16 including breakfast, and really friendly and helpful staff. The shower is tepid (and that’s being generous) is my only complaint. Dinner was next door. I was attacked by mosquitoes while we ate, but so far no adverse reaction.

Steve has felt much better today which is good. His back tyre managed to stay inflated, which is also good. All-in-all an excellent day on the bike, and now only about 35km to Krabi tomorrow, where we can organise a ferry out to Koh Lipe with any luck.

Mileage so far: 5300km.

Day 94.

It was raining when we woke up, and looks like it had been all night. It wasn’t heavy, but persistent and the sky didn’t look like clearing. Breakfast was brought to our room (which was rather luxurious), and was very nice – pad kra pao, rice and some small sweet puddings. Different (I wouldn’t usually opt for spicy pork at that time of day), but good.

A quick visit to the nearest (you guessed it) 7Eleven for some bits and pieces, and we were on our way, for the shortest ride we’ve ever done together. It was raining lightly when we left, which tailed off to nothing at some point. The scenery was particularly stunning, with hills and cliffs rising up in front of us, and rubber plantations to the side.

There is something beautiful about the landscape and atmosphere here even in the rain. I love it.

There was quite a bit of undulation this morning, and it was pretty steep in places. 11% up and the same going down on more than one occasion. I recorded over 60kph somehow. Sadly though we were soon in Krabi. That may have been our last proper ride in Thailand.

It was just as well we arrived in town early though, as the plan was to book ferries to Koh Lipe, then on to Langkawi (Malaysia). The first place we tried at the jetty made a couple of phone calls, asked if we had folding bikes, then said it was impossible to take the bikes on a ferry. They did offer us the option of a minibus or a taxi a couple of hundred kilometres down the coast. We thanked them for their efforts and went to the next operator across the road. That proved much more fruitful. We now have tickets to Koh Lipe tomorrow, and onwards two days later. Result.

We found a great little hotel a few hundred metres away with a view out over the estuary, and after showering we found some lunch and walked along the river front for a while. A bit of a touristy afternoon. Chill.

Dinner was at the night market. Massaman curry (me) prawns in tamarind sauce (Steve). Excellent food. Accompanied by a Chang. Not a bad evening. No rush in the morning, as we don’t have to be at the ferry terminal until 1000hrs.

We both have mixed emotions about the next few days. On one hand it will be nice to visit the islands, and end up in a country neither of us have ever visited; on the other hand we will miss riding the bikes for a few days, and will be sad to leave the Land of Smiles.

Mileage so far: 5334km.