This day was in two parts: first, the ride from Khuraburi to Takua Pa; then an out-and-back excursion to the island of Koh Kho Khao. Breakfast in Khuraburi was a crispy hard-boiled egg in a sweet-and-sour sauce on rice – quite tasty and great fuel for the ride. The ride was generally uneventful, with the exception of what looked like small elephants in the road ahead, but turned out to be water buffalo. We stopped and took some pictures, but when a large bus passed a buffalo in the road, we decided it was time to move on. Another unusual observation was a French couple on bikes headed north. He was pulling a trailer. My panniers don’t seem as heavy now. The 300 km milestone was met and exceeded today too.
The second part of the day involved a vague idea about going to see the ruins of an ancient town. It turns out that the townsite is on an island, which is served by big and little ferry boats. Getting there, we passed through what must have been an area that was devastated by the tsunami. Once on the island, we pedaled to the townsite – not much there – and remarked about how empty this tourist area was for high season. Empty restaurants and resorts seemed to be clustered around the southern end of the island. Past that area, there was just empty road with an occasional passing motorcycle. Land is for sale there if anyone is interested.
Our return ride was accompanied by some of the liquid type of sunshine.
Caroline’s stats:
To Takua Pa:
Time spent riding: 2hr 58min
Time spent riding: 2hr 58min
Distance: 58.2km
Average speed: 19.6km/h
Max. speed: 52.3km/h
With Koh Kho Khao excursion (no panniers):
Time spent riding: 4hr 48min
Distance: 89.3km
Average speed: 18.5km/h
Max. speed: 52.3km/h
Bike shoe tan line rating: 6 (out of 10)
Sore butt index: 3 (out of 10)
Mosque sightings: 2
Mosque sightings: 2
Water buffalo crossing the road: 2
Dog chases on sandy roads: 1
Rain showers: 1Pad thais consumed thus far: 5
No comments:
Post a Comment