The overnight train from Chiang Mai pulled into Bangkok around 7:30 am. What a cool way to travel. I wish the train system was more affordable in Canada. Boarding a train in the evening, sleeping with the car rocking back and forth, the odd whistle from far ahead, and waking up somewhere completely different is top-notch adventure. The distance from Bangkok to the Malaysian border is too far to reach by bicycle with the time left on our visas so we booked another southbound train. Our departure time was 7:30 pm - another overnighter - giving us the day to explore a bit of Bangkok, but first, coffee. We rode for what seemed like an eternity around downtown trying to find a place for breakfast that wasn't a street-side shack. We were eventually successful but desperately caffeine-deficient and close to the breaking point when the coffee finally arrived. Navigating through the city was anywhere from tricky to full-on white-knuckle crazy. We made our way cautiously back to the safety of the train station. Bangkok seems to be bursting at the seams.
The train dropped us off at Surat Thani on the East coast of southern Thailand and from there we rode across the country heading for Ao Nang in the province of Krabi (I heard that giggle). It's about 200 km with not much in between for amenities. Both Leigh and I felt good heading out in the morning, but the mid-day heat and humidity was too much. At the 80 km mark - a respectable days effort if I do say so myself - it was time to track down a place to stay. Finding a hotel wasn't easy but after an extra 15 km of back and forth along the highway (as we continued to melt) we were off the bikes and in the air conditioned luxury of a small bungalow. I did - for the record - break out the cookware for dinner and breakfast as we were not confident about eating locally. And I was looking for an excuse to cook.
The next day was our longest ride yet, 120 km in +30°C temperatures. We made the 5000 km mark of our journey right smack dab in the middle of the middle of nowhere. With the humidity thicker than grandma's homemade pea soup (love to eat it, don't want to wear it) there was no time to reminisce, just a quick photo for the blog and we're off again. The clouds finally showed up late in the afternoon but they brought thunder, lightening and torrential rain to be endured for the last 20 km of the ride. I don't think I have ever been more wet! We finally washed into Ao Nang around 5:30 pm.
Time for some fun in the sun. We have been hauling around some snorkeling gear purchased back in Vietnam with the intent of exploring the underwater world along the west coast. There are many islands scattered around the coast of Ao Nang that are home to a gazillion types of tropical fish. As newbies to snorkeling even the smallest little wiggler was cool to see. We even caught a glimpse of a small sandbar shark. You know when you look out across the water to that island and think ‘that’s not that far’, it is that far, in fact it’s a lot further. We kayaked out to Poda Island for a couple of hours of snorkeling that turned out to be a 10 km round trip on open sea. Heading back to our hotel we saw three massive monitor lizards casually strolling across the dirt road back into the little river I guess they call home. They didn't seem to be at all fazed by the family of monkeys roaming the trees above. Awesome.
We stayed and played in Ao Nang for a few days then moved on, but not without celebrating my birthday in fine fashion with lots of Italian food and wine at a restaurant that faced the sea. Leigh found out about Koh Lanta, an island south of us that was known to be quiet and away from the typical tourist craziness. At the very southern tip of the island there are a string of small resorts and the road dead-ends so we were confident of finding some seclusion. Our mapping program wouldn't give us the exact distance but we figured we could do it in a day. It was the longest day of our lives. 130 km later we dribbled into The Bamboo Bay Resort around 7:30 pm, the temperature still somewhere in the high 20’s. We were soaked from helmet to heel in sweat. The last few kilometres were so tough with hill grades between 8% and 19%, a pitch black night with no streetlamps and one working headlight between us. I'll admit I had one of those 'What on earth am I doing out here' moments as I climbed a very steep hill I couldn’t even see. It was so steep I almost fell over while stopping halfway up. But as always, it was well worth it! Our destination was the at the top of that hill. We both had a huge glass of beer in hand while our passports were registered. Our air conditioned hut was about 80 feet above sea level with a balcony view to die for. The next week was filled with more snorkeling, some swimming, kayaking, and cave exploring, a bit of touring around. In the evenings we feasted at the seaside restaurant, then I would join a few guests and staff in the coolest little outdoor bar ever (worlds best mojito) and Leigh would call it a day.
At this point we had to choose how to head south: inland by bicycle or coastal by boat. We took a good look at the map for the inland route and knew the amenities would be slim pickin’s not to mention a major backtrack north just to get back to the mainland. And since we were toting around full snorkeling kit it made more sense to follow the water. There is no shortage of ferry services between the many islands up and down the coast. This is a good chance to let the true fish in us come out.