I was really excited to be leaving for the glory land of cycling in South East Asia this morning. The two nights at the 99 Guesthouse have really refreshed not only myself but my cycling clothes as well. Taking them into the shower after any stage is one thing - a laundry in a proper washing machine with detergent an other. Obviously the bike had received the same sort of attention and it really felt like starting all over again. It´s just 10 km to the border with one nasty little ramp just before you approach it. Made me laugh - almost like saying: If you wish to leave our country, take this!
Border formalities were once again a piece of cake despite all the Cambodians commuting on their Border Passes. They have to pay a small amount of money and then don´t need either passport or visa. As I said, still took me less than 15 minutes to be checked out. What I am still puzzled about is why the Cambodians ask for fingerprints when you are leaving the country. Double checking whether it is the same person that has entered I guess. Getting into Thailand has never been a problem as their facilities are simply organized on a different level. There are officers receiving the applicants pointing them to the correct counters. Me already having a visa was "Arrival Counter 2" taking the same amount of minutes to get my 60 day access. Yiippee! Feels so good to be back in Thailand, knowing I will have two months of cycling and feasting here before I finish off this trip on Penang/Malaysia. Another aspect that I am looking very much forward to is the prospect of meeting two long-time cycling friends: Californian Bob lives just north of Bangkok and we might even ride a bit together, like we did in 2012. Singaporean Chris and his wife Coleen should be awaiting me down at the Thai/Malaysian border to join me for my very last days before departing for New Zealand on May 1. So let the good times roll!
Having said all that you can hardly imagine how disappointed I was to find the road north of the border (#3) under comprehensive extension constructions with the full monty of red dust or gooey mud. After only 5 km my bike looked much worse than before yesterday`s cleaning and my gear was covered in dust again..... This is Thailand though with nasty times coming to an end predictably soon! 10 km north of the border the roadworks had shifted to the sides of the remaining asphalt and apart from a bit of dust it was back to the typical great conditions to roll on.
As always when coming up this way I turned left into the first noticeable village after the border, Hat Lek. Not only a charming fishing village to look at but a 7eleven for a first cold soda water and topup of my dtac sim card. AND a first Pad Pik Gaeng Moo. Another fifteen kilometers up that Hway 3 I turned left onto the unnamed road running directly along the sea. I only remember there is a sign for the Meet-The-Sea Resort on that particular corner. From there on the horrible roadworks were quickly forgotten as it is just delightful cycling despite the numerous shrimp farms along the side of the road. More resorts than I thought too but they are mostly on the expensive side and stand-alone ones. I was keen to have some more real life around me though, if possible the typical Thai beach as you find them along this southeastern part of the country. Not the textbook palmtree beaches the western visitors are looking for. Thai people want to sit in the shade and enjoy their seafood while the kids play in the shallow waters. And I found exactly what I was after: Hat Banchuen!
Nok runs the "By Panan Resort"as it is called on google maps. A seafood restaurant with several huts and tables on the beach, a really nice cafe on the other side ofthe road and just a few bungalows attached. Different to all the resorts further south she does not ask for 1000+ Baht but acceptable 500. Mind you it is fan and cold water only but my bungalow itself is brand new. So new it hasn´t even got a mirror in it yet... My ideal constellation, two nights please!
...and that´s where I had one of the best seafood meals ever. I know I am overusing the "ever" superlative but I would come back just for this "crunchy seafood platter" as it was introduced to me. Divine!
On the way back to my bungalow I wished "ratri sawat" to Nok in her reception. The nice cafe in the background is hers too and does really good coffees.
