Today started with some breakfast at the hotel. I had some chicken jok which is rice porridge similar to congee. Beautiful.
A full stomach is always a great way to start. I also pumped up the tyres and got going. That is, until my rear tyre deflated. I couldn’t find the hole or the cause, so, I put the tube back in, pumped it up and got going – all good.
Then on a dirt road 15 kms further on, it deflated again. I pushed for a few hundred metres to a good spot and changed the tube. This is a strange puncture as the hole is on the inside and I haven’t found the cause I was a little nervous but decided to continue, and investigate later tonight.
The result was that I’d lost a fair amount of the best riding time in the morning. So as usual, I decided to relax, take it easy and eat.
I stopped at a small place beside the highway and had a fantastic Khao Pad Moo, and continued on. In a couple of kms, I saw a nice looking cafe and stopped again, this time, for an excellent iced coffee.
It was starting to get hot, but as has happened a lot recently, some thick clouds came over and made things pleasant as I entered the National Park.
The Park was beautiful – karst peaks, a temple or two and the ever present fish farms. I think I’ve seen enough Karst to last me a while, so I probably didn’t appreciate the grandeur of the park as much as I should have. That said, it was great riding.
Pretty soon, I was approaching Sam Roi Yot. I found a nice place to stay over the road from the beach. This really is a very sleepy place, so I’ll stay another night, check the wheel, eat lots and take it super easy.
