Koh Chang – Klong Yai

6th April 2014    154km    35’C

Today was a beautiful ride from Koh Chang along the coast down to Klong Yai. The road was quiet, the temperature cool in the morning, thanks to a storm that came through in the early evening yesterday.  Other riders, carrying tables on their scooters, kept me entertained also.

I had left the hotel at around 8:30am, hoping to get to the ferry before the Sunday rush of travellers returning to Bangkok. On arriving at the ferry terminal, there was a long line of cars waiting, which I bypassed, riding straight to the toll booth.
Riding onto the ferry, I was moving the bike into the spot the boatman had suggested, when a group of Chinese tourists started grabbing at me. I was still moving on the bike, and one guy was trying to pull my hand off the clutch so he could get a photo with me! The deck of the boat was timber, covered in rainwater and engine oil, so not the ideal place to be dropping the clutch unless I wanted to lay the bike on its side for the ferry crossing.
I had to tell him firmly “WAIT” and shake him off before things went pear-shaped and we both ended up under the bike on the greasy deck.

Once I had the bike parked, then they all descended for a photo shoot. Everyone wanted a photo, and it took about 5 minutes until the crowd dispersed the the upper deck.  They were all very friendly and a congenial bunch of tourists, but displayed a complete lack of awareness of other people. Perhaps this might be a taste of things to come, once in China.

I really enjoyed the ride along the Thai coast today, the area is very scenic with the road winding between a mountain range and the sea, with islands dotted off the coast.

On arriving at the hotel, they didn’t want to honour the rate on the internet and quoted me about 1000 baht more than the internet. But they said if I book the room online that would be ok, and I could have the cheaper rate.  So I asked them if I can use their wifi to make the booking. What ensued was a 35 minute process, with me walking to the different parts of the hotel to try to gain access from various wireless access points. None of which worked.

I suggested they try “turning it off and back on” as I’d seen them do that on The IT Crowd.

BINGO! Wi-Fi now working.

So after making the reservation booking, they checked me in and I set up in the restaurant for the afternoon to do administrative tasks. Paying bills, filling in customs forms in preparation for crossing into Cambodia, loading new maps on the GPS, updating the blog, sorting out finances, etc.

The view over the sea from my temporary office was magnificent, and while I worked away the hotel provided a soundtrack of love songs to listen to.  Just some of the gems for my aural delight were; Nothin Gonna Change My Love For You, Careless Whisper, Please Forgive Me, Somethin’ Stupid, The Day You Went Away, even Richard Marxs’ Right Here Waiting For You.

I endured, and even hummed along occasionally, at least four hours of soppy love songs, before taking a quick swim and then watching the sunset.  The hotel is on the top of a cliff overlooking the sea, with a small, white sandy beach down a steep set of stairs. It really is paradise.   I ensured the next generation of mosquitoes were well fed while I snapped a few photos of the sun going over over the Gulf of Thailand with Kho Kut in the distance.

Having not really heard enough Bryan Adam’s, Maria Carey or Boyz II Men for one day, I returned to the restaurant for a huge fried fish with three flavours sauce, and a chat with the hotel staff about their collection of love songs.

Tomorrow morning it is an early start before riding into Cambodia.