From Island Paradise to Paradise Resort

January 12, 2017

For the resort, that's a name, not a descriptor.

I headed out to the pier for the 8 am departure. It still seemed windy, but the speedboat staff showed up and took my ticket, and didn't say anything about going to a different pier.

The monks, out for a morning walk on the beach, not collecting alms.

Goodbye, Ko Mak. A bit hazy at the pier. Actually, it's condensation on my camera lens, but I wanted a picture.

The boat ride back to the pier at Laem Ngop was uneventful. We arrived, I loaded my bike, and took off. I passed the Laem Ngop Naval Memorial.

I chose to take the road that follows the coast back toward Bangkok, not the road through Trat, the way I came. The coastal road didn't have any views of the sea, but it was a nice, small road with rolling hills and not much traffic. It passes the Trat Airport, but the airport has just a few flights a day on Bangkok Air that go back to the city.

I stopped for an iced coffee, and was confused by the sign on the counter.

Although I was initially told nothing was available, I was able to get an iced coffee. I didn't want it frappe.

But was able to cool off with a drink.

The coast road runs into Sukhumvit Road on a section I had ridden the other way. I stopped at a fruit stand, had some fresh papaya, and asked about a hotel heading west. Communication wasn't great, but the vendor shook her head and pointed east, and said 6 km. Or at least said kilometers in Thai, which I can actually recognize now, and held up 6 fingers.

Since I was already over heating, having gotten a late start after the boat ride, and against my better judgement, I turned east. I'll have to backtrack tomorrow. I found the first hotel, the Khao Saming Paradise Resort. It had an adjoining restaurant, so I stopped. They wanted 750 baht for a room. I tried to ask if it has air conditioning, and they lowered the price to 700 baht. I worked out that, yes, it had air conditioning, and took the room, which includes breakfast, for 700 baht. On-line, I could have gotten it for 680. The room is not bad. It's hotel style, although there are some more expensive bungalows available. There really isn't anything close, other than the attached restaurant, so it's really just a highway stop.

I got cleaned up and had a bite to eat in the restaurant. It was just okay, and over-priced.

So I'm on my way back to Bangkok. I could make it in a few days if I wanted to, but I have some time and will be stretching out the trip back. I hope to stay off of Sukhumvit as much as possible, heading toward the coast when I can. The beach resorts can be expensive and busy on the weekends. Tomorrow is Friday, so I've booked a room. I'll see how that works out and how busy things are, and decide whether to book for Saturday, too.

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Today's ride: 41 km (25 miles)
Total: 2,525 km (1,568 miles)

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