Down South

December 31, 2021

I would have mentioned in one of my previous journals that I have been renting a house in Trang since early 2019 as I was getting tired of packing up my bike and gear for air transport before and after every single visit to South East Asia. So I left my Patria Rohloff and the modified Rose racer down here, not knowing they would be sitting in the house unutilized for 2 years since I left Thailand just before New Year's Eve 2019. Fortunately my close friends from the Bussabongpeerapat family who organised the house for me in the first place looked after it and the monthly bills so it took me only the first day upon return to get everything ready for use again. Thank you very much, Nong Pom in particular!

So I was able to start improving my deficient fitness and reducing the accumulated extra weight instantly. And I assure you there is no mercy for unfit cyclists in the heat of South East Asia. After one week with at least two hours in the saddle every morning I do notice some progress but there is still a long way to go. That's one of the reasons why I delayed my departure and changed my intended route. While I was initially considering riding from South (Trang) to North (Loei or further) from the end of December I will now do two separate stages: On January 6 I will be on the direct overnight train from Trang up to Phetchaburi and then on the bike down my favourite section in Thailand - via Hua Hin, Prachuap Kiri Khan, Chumphon, Surat Thani, Koh Samui and Nakhon Si Thammarat back to Trang. I have done those precisely 1000 km several times but never seem to get tired of it.

I was and am still a bit hesitant whether I should actually edit a post on that first Gulf of Thailand stage as I've written about it a few times before. But I guess hardly anybody reading this has been doing any international cycling over that awful Covid period and might be as curious to see what happened here in Thailand as I am. Will it be as easy to find accommodation and food or have a lot of establishments been forced to shut down? Will the Thai people be as friendly and welcoming as they have always been or will they make the farang people responsible for bringing the virus into their country as I read somewhere else?

The details of the second stage are still to be decided on but I would love to ride along the Mekong where it forms the border between Thailand and Laos. Loei down to Khong Chiam that is. See how the first few weeks along the Gulf of Thailand go and - even more importantly - how Omicron spreads in Thailand.....

Back to what I know now:

1. Regarding the train up to Phetchaburi....I was delighted to see their new (at least to me!) booking site and am happy to share the link. I will run you through the process and my recommendations as soon as I can accompany my words with some corresponding photos in January.

2. The purchase of SIM cards for my mobile phone and my internet connectivity. I arrived on the Test&Go scheme and knew I would be picked up by the hotel shuttle as soon as I would leave the enclosed Immigration/ Customs area with no chance to visit the various mobile phone stalls in the arrival hall. But the Thais have reacted well and there are two official sim card booths before you go through customs, one of them being the one I wish to recommend: dtac.

I think they have by far the easiest to manage app and their offers meet my dara demands best too. I always want two prepaid cards - one for my pocket WiFi which serves as a mobile router for my netbook and the other one for my mobile phone. I always buy the basic Happy Tourist SIM at 49 Baht and let the guys in the stall register them both on my passport. Later on in the hotel I pick the packages suiting me best and top up precisely the amount I need with my credit card. Easy as!!! This time I picked the 10 mbps/unlimited data for 90 days at incredible 900 Baht (27 USD / 24 EUR) for my pocket wifi and a smaller package for the phone. I have done that several times now and I strongly believe you get the much better deals than the packages they offer in the stalls. In particular when your focus is clearly on data usage more than free minutes or text messages.

Basic but I am still delighted with my decision to rent the house in Trang´s "Sahm Roi Hong" quarter. It certainly has developped into more of a home than a storage place nowadays and I am happy to spend a lot of time here, doing day trips in the very attractive hinterland.

How is that for an everyday lunch? The Bussabongpeerapat family runs several businesses and have their own cook. I almost need excuses not to join them every day. From left to right: prawn curry, squid in tamarind sauce, oysters in chili sauce. Even the coconuts and the rice come from their own farms.

My favourite half-day trip inland to the Khao Chang Hai cave.

Up at the Andaman Gate between Trang and Phattalung. The only elevation around here you could call a "pass".

At Krabi´s Ao Nang Beach, where I spent one night over Christmas to dine at my much adored Indian restaurant Taj Palace. This is certainly one of Thailand´s tourist hotspots but there were very few visitors taking the longtail boats out to the islands.

My little pocket router and the SIM cards I talked about. The silly name indicates a tourist trap but it certainly isn´t if you follow my advice above.

Stage 1: By the direct overnight train from Trang to Phetchaburi and then all the way down the Gulf of Thailand via Koh Samui back to Trang

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Andrea BrownDefinitely you should keep a journal on both Stages of your Thailand riding. We who are stuck in the cold winters who daydream of where you are would be most grateful.

As far as the Mekong leg goes, we have done that twice and probably won't do it again because the cute little highway 212 was in the process of being expanded to four lanes for a significant portion of the way (January 2020). There are still some byways in certain areas but it was kind of sad to see the shady highway turn into sun-blasted construction zones. No doubt the construction is nearly completed by now, but just be aware that the route has changed a bit from what it used to be.
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2 years ago

Frank RoettgenThank you, Andrea. Obviously bad news but this will certainly stop me from going there and find my high expectations disappointed. What section exactly are you talking about? The whole 212 from Nongkhai down to Khong Chiam or just parts of it?
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2 years ago

Andrea BrownTo Frank RoettgenI'm sorry, I didn't see your question until today, but it's pretty fuzzy now on just where there was construction on 212. It definitely was not the entire road. The section between Khemmarat and Khong Chiam, which was new and smooth when we rode it in 2015, has worn down some. Not potholes but just sort of roughened. Maybe our last journal will be informative on that section. We love it too but everything changes, right? No doubt the construction we went through is finished and they've started something else. We took as many back roads as we could.
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2 years ago

Andrea BrownFor example, if you go to 17.719524930269657, 104.37614554002059 on Google maps and look at the satellite view you see that there are four lanes, but the street view from 2019 still shows the beautiful tree-lined road.
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2 years ago

Bruce LellmanHi Frankie,
So good to have you back. You definitely need to keep a journal of this section even if you have done it several times because everything changes in a good year but with Covid who knows what has changed and we, for two, would like to know what's happening now.

Riding along the Mekong is my favorite thing to do in Thailand. I absolutely love riding from Mae Sai to the Mekong and down to Chiang Khong. And then from Loei to Khong Chiam, as you said. The two times we have done this route I have had the rule that we stay as close to the Mekong as possible even if it is a dirt track. It's way more quiet, peaceful and interesting than the main highways. I highly recommend this way of riding and visiting these small villages and temples. We, of course, are never trying to go far everyday. It's surprising what great guest houses we have always found even in the middle of nowhere.

My second favorite route is the one you are about to do. Have a great trip.
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2 years ago

Frank RoettgenTo Andrea BrownThank you, Andrea. Will make some more enquiries and then decide. Nothing worse than high expectations not being met....And I absolutely adored this ride!
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2 years ago

Frank RoettgenTo Bruce LellmanThank you very much, Bruce! Andrea made ne think again about the Mekong section. I used to love it as much as you do but I have always been more of a roller. I still don't want to roll along dual carriageways all the time....I will make that decision once I am back in Trang though. Now it's time to enjoy the Gulf-cycling. And I'm lovin it....
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2 years ago