Leaving Bangkok I started heading south along the coast. The coast in Thailand is a bit odd because there is so much of it, with so many nice beaches, but apparently everyone loves to congregate at all the same ones. On the second day out of Bangkok, this was the beach that I was at, where I had lunch for $1:
The same day I was in Hua Hin by dinner time and this was the beach:
The restaurants have their menus posted right at the edge of the water and most entrees were going for $10. It's been very odd shifting in and out of resort and tourist areas along the coast. There haven't been too many historic sights, and it's been mostly relaxing, with some fairly boring riding. The roads are flat and the weather is hot. It's very much like south Florida all over again except the food is better, cheaper, and there are a few more hills.. I've eaten lots of amazing fried rice and lots of amazing curry. While almost every dish has some spice in it, so far nothing has been incredibly spicy. To be fair though, I have eaten at a lot of buffet style places where I can point at food and avoid eating the dishes that have hundreds of peppers in them. But on the other hand I have been disappointed a few times when asking for food and I've been warned about it being spicy only to find out that it's just a step above mild (and I'm generally a spicy food wuss).
Buddha with a view:
In Chumphon I had my entry stamp extended so I could stay in Thailand. The lady at the office was trying to convince me to go to Ranong, take the boat to Burma, then come back to get another 30 day entry stamp, but as I didn't need another month and I can't just hop over to Burma without a visa, I paid for a 7 day extension which was the most they would offer. Oddly enough, looking at the wording on the stamp it basically says that I applied for a longer extension and was denied, but they'll let me stay an extra week anyway (I assume to give me time to leave the country).
Moving south, there are still plenty of Wats, but they're starting to thin out to make way for the mosques. I'm also seeing more women covering their heads and faces. Apparently this will continue into Malaysia.
Leaving Surat Thani I met a Dutch cyclist who was on his first day of riding on a 6 week tour through southeast Asia and we rode together for a while before he turned to take the ferry to the island with the full moon party. It was a bit interesting to talk to someone just starting out when I'm close to finishing.
When I was in Nakhon Si Thammarat they were doing a 4 day long festival which seemed to center around hundreds of people doing circles around the most famous Wat in the city while carrying long yellow ribbons.
Apparently the prevailing wind in this part of Thailand comes from the south/southeast, so I have been fighting that since I left Bangkok. Tomorrow I will be in Malaysia and I still haven't been able to find a map, so it'll be more memorizing, guessing, and dead reckoning which hasn't failed me so far, so we'll see how it goes.
The same day I was in Hua Hin by dinner time and this was the beach:
The restaurants have their menus posted right at the edge of the water and most entrees were going for $10. It's been very odd shifting in and out of resort and tourist areas along the coast. There haven't been too many historic sights, and it's been mostly relaxing, with some fairly boring riding. The roads are flat and the weather is hot. It's very much like south Florida all over again except the food is better, cheaper, and there are a few more hills.. I've eaten lots of amazing fried rice and lots of amazing curry. While almost every dish has some spice in it, so far nothing has been incredibly spicy. To be fair though, I have eaten at a lot of buffet style places where I can point at food and avoid eating the dishes that have hundreds of peppers in them. But on the other hand I have been disappointed a few times when asking for food and I've been warned about it being spicy only to find out that it's just a step above mild (and I'm generally a spicy food wuss).
In Chumphon I had my entry stamp extended so I could stay in Thailand. The lady at the office was trying to convince me to go to Ranong, take the boat to Burma, then come back to get another 30 day entry stamp, but as I didn't need another month and I can't just hop over to Burma without a visa, I paid for a 7 day extension which was the most they would offer. Oddly enough, looking at the wording on the stamp it basically says that I applied for a longer extension and was denied, but they'll let me stay an extra week anyway (I assume to give me time to leave the country).
Moving south, there are still plenty of Wats, but they're starting to thin out to make way for the mosques. I'm also seeing more women covering their heads and faces. Apparently this will continue into Malaysia.
Leaving Surat Thani I met a Dutch cyclist who was on his first day of riding on a 6 week tour through southeast Asia and we rode together for a while before he turned to take the ferry to the island with the full moon party. It was a bit interesting to talk to someone just starting out when I'm close to finishing.
When I was in Nakhon Si Thammarat they were doing a 4 day long festival which seemed to center around hundreds of people doing circles around the most famous Wat in the city while carrying long yellow ribbons.
Apparently the prevailing wind in this part of Thailand comes from the south/southeast, so I have been fighting that since I left Bangkok. Tomorrow I will be in Malaysia and I still haven't been able to find a map, so it'll be more memorizing, guessing, and dead reckoning which hasn't failed me so far, so we'll see how it goes.
