0.1km   39’C Today was the shortest distance I’ve ridden in a week of riding. Just 100M, from one hotel to another. I decided to make a day off riding into a day off exploring, and joined a tour to Erewan National Park.  The highlight of the park is the magnificent 7 levels of waterfalls, which requires a good amount of climbing to reach the top. We set out at 8am, and by 10am it was already 38’C, the afternoon saw the temperature peak at 39’C Needless to say,…

29th March 2014    240km     38C Headed out this morning from Hua Hin, along the coast passing Chaam and then up route 4 to Kanchanaburi. Along the way I took a bit of a diversion, to stop at the floating markets of both Amphawa & Damnoen Saduak. They were both fairly interesting, and the backroads had many interesting temples in the villages, so it was worth the extra time and distance to explore. All the tourists at these markets were Thais, mostly from Bangkok. One of…

29th March 2014 280km 34’C An early morning breakfast by the sea in Chumphon, before heading up the highway to Hua Hin.   I had a bit of a situation at the first petrol stop, when I asked the pump attendant to fill my tank, then realised I didn’t actually have any cash.  There was much deliberation and discussion as they didn’t accept credit cards.  The pump was stopped and I tried to explain that I’d leave my drivers license with them while I went till get cash from…

28th March 2014              350km     38’C And the other foot… In the morning, I woke at sunrise and went down to the sea again for a swim.  I must have floated around for about 4o minutes and was just walking out of the sea when I felt the burning pain on my right foot of a jellyfish sting.   I asked the girls in the kitchen for some vinegar, even showing them the word for vinegar in Thai, but they responded with “me Burmese, not Thai”   So then I spent…

27th March 2014               240km     38.5C This morning I met up with Goran from Phuket and we rode together to Ko Kao Khao. Goran knew a great little place for lunch by the river and we had a good feed there, although as we pulled into park, his rear tyre let go with a flat.   We decided to call in some help while we had lunch, and in a short while a mechanic showed up on a scooter with two new scooter tyres. (which were never going to fit)…

26th March 2014       15km Non riding day. Spent the day checking out Railay, which it turns out is far nicer than Ao Nang.  Very relaxed, chilled out place, with a beautiful beach and none of the development of Ao Nang. I moved into a different hotel, further away from the main street and under the mountain.  A great little place call Phu Pha Resort, timber cottages nestled in the jungle. In the evening the mosquitoes were quite bad, so I walked out to reception to…

25th March 2014      314km      38.5’C Tuesday night was the opportunity to catch up with some friends in Hat Yai. And after a reasonably large evening out in Hat Yai with Kev Le Rat, Eddie & Mai (who knew all the good restaurants and bars)    The evening ended around 3am, which meant no early ride, so it was 11am before I got rolling to Ao Nang.   It was stinking hot all day, 38’C and the usual crazy Thai traffic on the highway.  Cars…