I was expecting to do about 72 kms to a beach place that looked ok – based on my very limited research.
I stopped after a couple of kms and picked up some bananas along with some roast chicken and rice for breakfast from a local market. I was hoping to sit near the beach and eat, but there was no place that stood out. So I ended up going another 5 kms or so and eating in the shade of rubber trees by the road. Much cooler.
Didn’t stick to the Komoot suggested route for long today, as there seemed to be lots of quieter options closer to the beach. Consequently, progress was slow but nice. There were wrong turns and plenty of dogs along the way. I spent a fair amount of time on the Royal Coast road and visited a really strange temple that I’d read about.
There were life size figures of people being tortured, with all sorts of afflictions and some strange humanoid figures as well. There was construction taking place, so the figures were out of their usual places and crammed together in an area I walked through. Really creepy.
At the top was a massive Buddha with the usual serene outlook in stark contrast to the tortured souls below. Buddha also had a dozen or so bee or wasp nests on him, and I’d hate to be the guy that has to remove them.
The area was full of bays, karsts, hills and villages and it made for one of my best days so far.
I got to my intended destination and had lunch, but the whole area was almost completely empty, so I decided to push on to the next option in about 20 kms.
I pulled into Ban Saphan Noi as the heavens opened, and stayed near the beach.
