I woke up to an ongoing disappointment this morning. I have been getting a slow puncture on my front tyre for a few days now and can´t identify the reason for it. I have patched and changed the tube several times but even most thorough inspections of the tyre didn´t give me a clear idea how these very small perforations in the tubes are being caused. I guess it must be a tiny piece of glass embedded in the profile getting active under 4 bar pressure with the loaded bike rolling along. I thought the solution would be close as Nong Pae´s excellent Mars Touring bike shop in Krabi is usually very well equipped, even with parts for my Rohloff hub. Unfortunately the Covid situation causes big shortages for quality parts and he didn´t have the required 26 x 2.00 rubber in stock. This is a very unpleasant situation and may well cut my current island trip short. I will have to make that decision over the next few days.
On to island #3, Ko Si Boya (aka Sriboya) first though. From Krabi it´s only 35 kilometers down to Laem Hin, the fishing village where the longtails leave every 30 minutes between 7.30 am and 6 pm. Incredible 40 Baht (20+20) they charge for the one-way ride and due to the wooden loading ramps it´s super easy to get the bike on. On arrival in Si Boya it becomes even more rustique. The boats moore on what is more a sandy beach than a ramp and I instantly knew I made the right decision to come here. I love those sort of back-in-time destinations.
The 6 km down to the Siboya Bungalows are not very attractive along different plantations but all on good concrete surface. The real cracker is the resort itself. A huge palmtree compound right on the water with around 25 houses and bungalows, most of them owned by internationals spending their winters here. I met eight of them at dinner-time, predominantly Suisse nationals. Very pleasant people and the most pleasant of all is Khun Chung, the owner. I instantly felt comfortable and was even more surprised how good their food was. Resort prices but value for money. At least two nights here....
Can you see a monsoon storm coming ? Yes, you can....At the end of my island loop yesterday afternoon I had a late lunch at Umberto´s and I could see and hear the thunderstorm moving in from the mainland. I packed up in time and just made it back to my bungalow before it started hammering down. I love the atmosphere just before the storm takes off though! And so do the local boys, while....
Much better conditions this morning and on my way to the pier I rolled past the Holiday Resort, another set of bungalows I would definitely stay at. Very well equipped they come at 1000 Baht. There are more bungalows behind me, built in a slope overlooking the sea which is directly on my right. The resort has an attractive restaurant and menu too but I never ate there. Umberto´s pasta and pizza were too good...
At 350 Baht the speedboat ride was a touch more expensive than coming over but my bike bike got the whole passenger compartment and was guarded by the captain himself.
This photo gives you a rough idea how spacious and well maintained the resort is. My simple but nice bungalow came at 500 Baht. Check out all your options at http://siboyabungalows.com/
"Our" private beach. As you can figure out by the mangroves on the left it´s very shallow water and you need high tide if you don´t want to walk a long way.
