I had two weeks in Thailand, most of it hanging out with my old uni mate Paul Kenny and his lovely wife Panadda.
I slept for two days on arrival. It’s just too easy for me to sleep right now but I’m sure I needed it. Well, after a couple of days, I was more sociable, and we went to their villa on Koh Samui. It was stunning and in a really quiet, interesting area. There was a lot of hanging out and talking about all sorts of things. I worked out that we’d known each other for 47 years !
We’ve both had our ups and downs but Paul and his wife are truly lovely people and I enjoy their company. I hope they enjoyed mine because they were stuck with me for a week both in BKK and at their Villa on Samui.
After Samui, I decided to have a few days by myself and try to get back into some sort of routine before the next flight to Sydney.
I went first to Kanchanaburi. The area has a number of excellent museums that tell the story of the Thai Burma Railway built with POW labour during WW2. It’s an horrific story that brings tears to the eyes. That’s especially true at the Hellfire Pass Centre that shows video interviews of many survivors. Their stories are of oppression and torture but their resilience is inspiring to this day. I can’t imagine working so hard, being beaten and living off a few cups of rice a day.
I then went to Hua Hin, for a few days. I came here because there’s flooding north and south and I didn’t want to be caught up in it
On first look, Hua Hin is a two headed beast. On one hand, it’s a nice beach resort area with tourists and plenty of pleasant areas to wander around. (It’s low season, so it’s not so bad). On the other hand, there are some expat sleazy sections which I just hate. The temples and Thai food kept me very busy, as well as getting more sleep !
I also had an amazing coincidence. I’d met @cyclingtheclouds8 two years ago when I was cycling through Thailand. She was riding to all provinces in Thailand. The morning I arrived in Hua Hin, she randomly liked one of my posts and I saw the notification. So I checked where she was and got in touch. She was working at a juice stall about 400m from my BnB and I’d walked past her without noticing, the night before. She has more travel plans, and it was great to talk – she’s not your average cycle tourer. You have to love random coincidences while travelling.
It’s now three weeks since I stopped riding and my muscles no longer hurt so much and I’ve lost my voracious appetite (but Thai food is my weakness).
It still feels strange without my bike. I have the urge when booking a room, to ask if they have a place to park the bike, and, especially in Thailand, I no longer have to concern myself with wondering where I can find food or water – it’s everywhere here.
I’m simply loving the food and although my resistance to chillis wasn’t as good as it was two years ago, it wasn’t bad and it’s improving with every meal.
Right now, my mind is filled with things to do on my return – there’s a lot and it’s really exciting.
I took an early train (I was at the station at 6am) to Bangkok the day before my flight. On my way to Paul and Panadda’s place, I caught up with Julia Waddell who’s been doing this travel thing longer than me and she warned me about what was to come when I return home. Well … Let’s see !
