August 9, 2017
Ao Thai Resort to Ban Thale Noi: Time to do some bird watching again
Today's target was the waterfowl reserve near the village of Ban Thale Noi with the hope of avoiding the busy 408 as much as possible.
We started off soon after six o'clock this morning sticking to the back road along the coast until about ten kilometers when we turned left towards the 408 to find some breakfast. Then it was back to the small roads that run parallel to the 408 and the coast. Unfortunately we started to struggle to find a straight line northwards so we cut across the 408 to the west and tried to find a route northwards there. We didn't do much better here and did quite a few kilometers on a dirt track running alongside an irrigation furrow. Eventually we stumbled upon the 4009 which took us northwards towards Ra Nod (or Ranot as it is sometimes spelled). Four digit Thai roads are usually a good bet.
By this stage we were starting to get hot and doubts as to our choice of destination started creeping into our minds.
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At around the seventy kilometer mark the road became a raised bridge stretching over the wetland between Thale Noi and Thale Luang to the south of it. Suddenly it was all worthwhile. We ignored the heat and had a great time ticking off the waterbirds including a lifer in Bronze-winged Jacana.
We stopped for lunch at a busy restaurant just outside Ban Thale Noi and then wandered into the village to look for accommodation for the night. We are staying at the Lan Bua Resort. Overpriced and underspec'd, but I had been warned via a birding report that Ban Thale Noi is a bit of a rip-off.
Today's ride: 81 km (50 miles)
Total: 4,028 km (2,501 miles)
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