January 29, 2006

Ban Krut: Ban Krut was a blast. It seems the beach is very flat near the shore but further out if falls off rather quickly. When the waves come in from the deep ocean they build quickly and topple on the beach. The waves were not big but perfect for body surfing. Catching the waves took little effort and we could ride them all the way up onto the sand. We surfed for several hours all the time giggling and racing around in the shallow water to the next incoming wave. Once while walking out from a surf I stepped on something that felt like stepping on a mini tramp and I thought jelly fish but kept quiet since I knew it would send Jodi flying out of the ocean. About five minutes later a huge jelly fish (24" diameter) washed up and I had to tell Jodi about my encounter. She quit surfing for awhile but returned a little later when she saw how much fun I was having. It was nice to see her having fun and laughing so much. After a couple hours a Thai girl approached tell us that the hotel had told her to tell us that the beach was very dangerous. We both laughed and surfed a little while longer.
That night we had our usual peanuts and beer while watching the sunset. A roti vendor stopped and I purchased 4 roti sy khai (fried bread with egg) and we called that dinner. In the morning neither one of us wanted to move because the bed was so comfortable and we were both so tired from all the riding. We laid about and later I went outside to watch the sunrise in a hammock on the beach. I had a great time and the sunrise was the best I have seen (I took some pictures but I was too late to get it at its’ best).
As we ate our breakfast we talked about laying over and how it affected our schedule. We read the guide book and it said the next town had two really great night markets and with it being Sunday (usually the best night for the markets) we both decided to move on. It was our latest start of our Thailand trip...8:30am. We both thought the heat was going to kill us but ever since a cold front moved through late last week it hasn’t been as hot. After looking at the map and I estimated it to be 50km to our destination and Jodi guessed 60km. The ride went well, it was a short ride to highway 41 and a fast ride with the smooth wide shoulder. The ride was about 71km overall and we both commented on how that distance feels like a short jaunt now that we are both in shape.

Prachuap Khiri Khan: I am really excited to be here. We are staying at AO Noi Beach in a new guesthouse. The beach is across the street, the night market 100m away, a great restaurant next door, internet two doors down and a convenience store three. While riding to the beach we encountered two other cycle tourists going the other direction and tried to stop to chat them up but they just rode on past and waved. (Cycle touring needs an infusion of friendly people, it seems everyone we encounter just looks at us and rides by or if we do chat they find out we are American and they shut down and take their leave. So if anyone reading this is friendly and wants adventure please cycle, I would love to meet some smiling faces in my travels.) We ate lunch on the beach and a whole herd of cycle tourists road by and again I tried to chat but they just kept on going, I think they and the first couple were German.
Tonight we plan on going to the night market, I can’t wait since they have become my favorite hobby on the trip. It is so much fun tasting all the new treats and trying to speak Thai. Sometimes they have Kar-e-oke and I enjoy following along with the words trying to pronounce them. It is a rapid language class, I have no idea what the words say but I find it helps with the phonics of the language (hooked on phonics). Most Thais seem to like my enthusiasm and my efforts....I sometimes get the thumbs up and they all enjoy watching the goofy farang.