Day 12: Koh Samui - Sichon - Frankie goes to.....the Gulf of Thailand (2022)

January 21, 2022

Day 12: Koh Samui - Sichon

When I checked the Seatran internet site last night it said there are ferries every hour on the hour except at 9 am. I still left very early for the 10 am departure for three reasons: To get over and done with that horrible steep section half way through; to avoid the nowadays insane traffic on Samui´s ring-road which usually seems to pick up at 9ish and last but not least to get something between my teeth in Nathon before departure.

When I got to the ticket booth which is now located 200 m short of the pier on the left hand side the LED display indicated they were still selling tickets for the 9 am crossing. The girl told me it is only a very small ferry and it is sold out for vehicles but I could still get on with the bike. What a bonus, breakfast could easily wait until the terminal in Don Sak. Once again I handed over 180 Baht for the bike and myself; rolled straight onto the ferry and off back towards the mainland after only three nights.

As great as it was to see my friends in Maenam again - Koh Samui has certainly changed considerably over the three decades that I have been visiting now. What used to be a rather charming venue apart from the tourist hotspots in Chaweng and Lamai on the west coast is now Phuket no. 2 and the ring-road is completely overwhelmed with traffic nowadays. On two occasions it took me several minutes just to cross that road and this despite the beaches and the resorts themselves looking rather deserted. Anyways, still a good place if you are after a rest on a decent swimming beach. I can only speak for Maenam in the very North though as the road conditions stopped me from doing my normal full 75 km loop around the island.

What a different story when you leave the ferry on the other side. As soon as you turn left from the Don Sak compound you are entirely off the beaten track as anybody else seems to go towards Surat Thani. I always enjoyed riding along that stretch of coast and my target for today was always Sichon, leaving me plenty of time to explore a few beaches and side roads away from the #4142 which is actually a pleasant enough road itself. So I was off to the left towards the Kwang Pao Beach after only a few km and in succession rolled down along the coast and definitely rural roads to Khanom Beach and Khanom township. Delightful morning it was!

By the time I was having some late lunch in the fishing port of Khanom there were a lot of dark clouds accumulating in the sky. I needed to go away from the coast here anyway so I decided to stay on the #401 for all the last 30 km into Sichon. I could actually have gone back towards the coast later on by zigzagging my way down to Sichon Beach but did that the last two times along here. Today I wanted to stay in the town itself, which I had never done before. Sichon is one of the typical Thai small rural self-contained townships. Anything you need but nothing you would write home about.

On arrival I rolled around town for at least 30 minutes looking at various accommodation options google maps pointed out. In the end I settled for one of these very typical motel-type "establishments", mine being right opposite the Post Office. These places always look the same: Flat blocks of windowless rooms and a huge box to park the car in front of it. Very much a part of the Thai social infrastructure frequented either by younger people who still live with their families or quite obviously extra-marital activities. That´s one of the reasons why a lot of the places have mobile screens to shelter the view into the box with the vehicles.... Nothing flash but inexpensive and I never had a filthy place myself. Actually good for us cyclists as they are a reliable resource for accommodation even in very small towns.

As much as I enjoyed the day I was really exhausted as that persistently strong east-southeasterly requires so much extra energy. So the nice restaurant right next to the motel came in handy and after a good bite I was in bed very, very early.

One of the simple new features on the Seatran ferries that make the sailings even more enjoyable for me: A REAL coffeemachine instead of the Nescafe sachets that were sold aboard beforehand

The well appointed compound with my ferry in the background. The new terminal with several shops and restaurants will be on the left and the ablution block on my right. I am always happy to add an hour at the pier and enjoy that unique "travelling-atmosphere" that ports and airports have about them

Had Kwang Pao, one of the typical Thai beach resorts. Set up to provide the visitors with food right on the beach and some bungalows behind the road. I would certainly consider staying here if the conditions are less windy.

If you like plenty of colours like me these Chinese temple can be a delight

The much larger and wider Had Khanom. Plenty of resorts along it but to me less attractive than Had Kwang Pao or the beaches further south.

Celebrating the big agricultural product of this region, the Durian fruit. Fortunately this one doesn´t smell as much as the real ones do once opened

And that´s the precious fruit. Have a look a the price tags, the smallish one in the background is 720 Baht, almost 20 €.

Plenty of space for the bike outside....

....very little atmosphere inside but good enough for one night for me. This room was 400 Baht, 11 €.

Much more atmosphere in the little al-fresco restaurant basically next to the motel.

And the owner made sure I enjoyed my most delicious meal: a seafood curry; a crab-shrimp omelette; fried veggies in oyster sauce; a seafood broth and some rice of course. Six hours of cycling against the wind ask for some refueling.....

Today's ride: 70 km (43 miles)
Total: 797 km (495 miles)

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