Sam Roi Yot to Prachuap Kiri Khan

January 3, 2023

Sam Roi Yot National Park

This is a truck from the '70's. The wood is probably teak. They used these trucks, and bigger versions, to transport harvested rice to the processors. This one has been kept in great shape.

We hadn't ridden 50 meters when I noticed a man with a tremendously long bamboo pole that he was using to jab at a large cluster of coconuts high up in a coconut palm. The palm was quite close to the road so I slowed and moved into the opposite lane. I wanted to try to be safe in case coconuts came raining down and fortunately there was no traffic yet. Two seconds after that the entire cluster did come down and when it hit the ground coconuts exploded every which way. Coconuts bounce like ten pound footballs which meant they were completely unpredictable as to the direction they were going. Because they had come from such a high height they had momentum. We were laughing as well as exclaiming loudly. One came very close to Andrea's front tire and I too had one come close enough for me to quickly brake. The guy just laughed. It was a rather exciting way to start the day!

Right away our route entered the dramatic karst hills of Sam Roi Yot National Park. The rocky hills were so photogenic that I had to stop repeatedly to take photos. We encountered little traffic and the winds had increased a bit from yesterday, winds in our favor. Part of the park was desolate where we rode but the view of the nearby hills was constantly breathtaking. I'm always amazed at what's just outside a national park's boundaries and often wonder if it actually is outside the boundaries.

A homestay (guest house) on the edge of Sam Roi Yot National Park.

Fish or shrimp farms seemed to go right up to the base of the hills in some areas. Fish/shrimp farms are huge deep rectangular holes dug in the ground with a rubber lining, filled with water and mechanical rotating aerators on the surface of the water circulate constantly. They are not pretty things and the aerators, and motors that run them, are not silent in any way either. They are all over the place in southern Thailand. So, their presence kind of took away from the beauty of the hills but not too much. They are worse looking when they are right next to beautiful beaches, as they often are!

Fish/shrimp farm. The splashing is caused by the aeration wheels constantly spinning.

Fish/shrimp farm that doesn't look too bad because it is kept quite full.

We were basically viewing the hills from a distance and never felt as though we were part of a national park except for one viewpoint where there were some monkeys. I mean, if there are monkeys it must be a special wilderness place such as a national park. There may be trails in the park but if there are they would have to be quite rugged. We saw a large cave entrance in the side of one of the hills which I'm sure was an attraction. But when on loaded bikes with a destination in mind we rarely stop for such sights that are several kilometers out of our way. It's not only the distance but the time involved to explore adequately something like that. We sometimes see signs for waterfalls that are many kilometers up dead-end roads that go unseen by us. This is the only drawback from riding loaded from point A to point B in a day. That's when it's best to find a place to stay and have a day off and go exploring which we maybe don't do often enough.

OK, so there is a temple at the end of this road but from the looks of the head monk I'm not sure I'd want to go there. Maybe he is deceased and you go to this temple to pay homage to him. Not sure but he doesn't look like a fun sort of guy to me.

Today, however, was a fantastic day to simply ride alongside such beautiful hills. We had the wind at our backs but it was fairly hot and we had to get to Prachuap in a timely manner. As it was, we stopped dozens of times to take photos and marvel at the change of scenery so close to the sea. The rocky hills were certainly not a beach experience. The hills were the stars today and the beach would come later. In fact, we couldn't ride right along the beach because of all the fish/shrimp farms taking up that territory. We did ride alongside the train tracks for quite awhile.

Sorry, I never got any photos of monkeys. Since no one feeds them (a good thing) they are rather shy and off finding food on their own. We saw a few from afar eating leaves off bushes.

This was an area with a whole lot of egrets.

The entire time we were on the train from Bangkok to Hua Hin we passed brand new and unfinished enormously long cement platforms on either side of new tracks. We also saw dozens of brand new bridges over the tracks. Underpasses. All the many depots had been completely refurbished and additional depot type buildings were built nearby in the old style! Beautiful and such a Thai thing to do. There was also brand new stainless steel fencing all along the tracks. From now on no one can actually drive or walk on the tracks at all due to the high speed rail that is coming soon. It's the next chapter of rail in Thailand. China is the driving force. The high speed rail is finished in Laos and will soon pass directly through Thailand and Malaysia to Singapore. It's a huge huge infrastructure project, only one of which Thailand has embarked upon in the past two or three years.

An example of the new platforms and improved track plus all new buildings. The old depots were so beautiful that they have only restored them and a huge plus, they have built additional buildings in the old style.

The Thai government decided to go into debt more than just about any other country in the world and put all the borrowed money into infrastructure projects such as the high speed rail but also a dizzying array of projects in Bangkok. It was an enormous gamble on the government's part and then Covid hit which meant that the tourist dollar revenue dried up completely. Even so, the Thai government did not leave its people hanging. It gave all businesses 50% of what they normally made just to keep them afloat. I think they had to dip into the infrastructure loan money in order to do that.

But during Covid they kept building which kept workers employed. The new bridges, underpasses, platforms, stations/depots, track and fencing is just one of the projects that has come about in the last two years. It's absolutely amazing to see. This is an enormous undertaking. I'm not sure when the high speed rail will be completed in Thailand but it won't be long, it looks like. I compare the sorry state of infrastructure, especially passenger rail service, in America and I guess I will have to shift my thinking of Thailand as a third world country and start calling the United States the third world instead. In many ways these S.E. Asian countries are leaving the U.S. in the dust.

And that was the last we ever saw of Andrea.

Just another example, briefly, is how people pay for stuff here in Thailand. We have noticed that people rarely use money to pay for anything. They use apps on their phones called Joy Pay or Prompt Pay. Say they are purchasing a coffee. They open their payment app and aim their phones at the QR Code that the coffee seller has posted on her stall and it's done before the coffee is. They hold the phone up to the coffee seller that the deed is done and that's that. It's super quick. If the people know each other there isn't even a need to hold up the phone to show proof that they paid. They simply tell the seller they paid. I wonder how many years it will be before this is as common in the U.S. Right now it seems like the vast majority of simple payments are done this way in Thailand. It also promotes spending because it is so easy. Like credit cards used to be easy, this is easier.

These payment methods accelerated enormously during Covid in Thailand and now Thailand is recognized as one of the leaders in the world in digital infrastructure. It shows how creative and tech savvy Thais are. With their bold investments in infrastructure they are positioning themselves to be S.E. Asia's leader. It's remarkable to witness the transformations taking place.

After Sam Roi Yot National Park it was rather desolate, dry, sandy and hot. We passed through an area of pineapples growing in the sand. It seemed odd to see fields of pineapples overlooking the ocean because in my way of thinking, pineapples don't need such a wonderful view. But what do I know. Maybe the salt air makes them taste better. I do know that the pineapples grown in the Prachuap Kiri Khan area are some of the best I've ever eaten and possibly some of the best in the world. I actually would take a field of pineapples next to the ocean over a high rise hotel anyday.

This looked like some sort of small festival ground they were setting up but we had no idea.

This looks more like a huge wedding was going to take place here. The model supposedly wishing the couple to have a nice house someday. On the other hand it looks more like a temple so I have no idea what was going on. The men were tying it down because of the winds.

The new road right outside the new fence to keep everyone and everything away from the eventual high speed train. And that's why all the bridges and underpasses too. No one can actually cross the tracks anymore and that changes everything.

We finally made it to the seaside road just a few kilometers north of Prachuap, one we have been on before. Prachuap is a special place for us due to a lovely time we had there eight years ago on our first ever bike trip. To celebrate our return to the area we stopped at the first busy looking restaurant we saw and ordered pad krapow muuk which is rice, lots of holy basil, some veggies and squid all fried together. The place was a bit rough but we braved it anyway. There is always added risk ordering seafood from a rough looking place but we were hot, tired and hungry....and celebrating. What's a trip without a little food poisoning!

The rather rough (dirty) looking restaurant. But we were hungry.

Just after we ate we swung around a turn and there was the bay in front of Prachuap looking as familiar as a bay can look. It was an easy seaside ride on a bike path along the seawall, past the newly built pier and on through our old stomping grounds but to a hotel we had never been to before, the very nice Prachuab Place Hotel, 690 Baht or almost $20.

The Prachuab Place Hotel in Prachuap Kiri Khan, Thailand.

It had been wonderful to finally see the area by bike between Hua Hin and Prachuap, especially Sam Roi Yot National Park. It really is beautiful. But it was also exciting to be back in Prachuap which is a wonderfully laid back town with a beautiful curving bay and its protective islands. Good to be back to see what's new.

lovebruce

Today's ride: 42 miles (68 km)
Total: 851 miles (1,370 km)

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Scott AndersonGreat to see you stringing a couple of fine days in a row. Looks like a wonderful place to be on a bike.
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1 year ago

Rachael AndersonWhat a great day!
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1 year ago

Bruce LellmanTo Scott AndersonThe bikes get us to places public transportation can't, so that's nice. But our trips are always more culture driven than cycle driven.
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1 year ago

Bruce LellmanTo Scott AndersonWe took three days off after these two days of riding.
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1 year ago