Thailand 😊!

Monday: Having struggled to find anything to eat bar rubbish from the 7-11….I settled for rubbish from the 7-11 before heading for the border. In my mind I had this image of this border crossing swarming with lorries and cars and people. Nope. Just me!! Place was deserted! Got out of Malaysia easily and getting in to Thailand was pretty straight forward too! Once in I needed to grab some local currency then get something to eat. I headed off towards the first main village which turns out to a very large town which was chaos! But in a fascinating way. I cycled through the back streets and multiple market stalls, which were heaving with people. One thing I noticed straight away was just how pleasant and friendly the Thais are. So many ‘hellos’ and ‘welcome’, it was great, with lots of eye contact and smiles – something you don’t get in Malaysia. What also caught my attention was the amount of police checkpoints and traffic stalling barriers – it reminded me of the images of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. I then cycled a route that basically followed the Malay-Thai border to the coast, and in to the bargain I got myself my first monsoon style downpour. It came out of nowhere – suddenly the winds whipped up, and down came the deluge. I love cycling in the rain, so I ploughed on, until it simply became too dangerous to ride – the roads quickly flooded, and I couldn’t see my front wheel, so I took shelter with some sensible Thais in one of the many small shelters scattered along the roadside. Great experience though. I made it to Tak Bai on the coast and booked in to a lovely chalet type accommodation right on a ‘lagoon’. All around the hotel is teeming with life – so different from just over the border. I always am astounded at how so much can change because of some seemingly arbitrary line drawn on a map – language, culture, personalities, approach to life, religion. I can actually see Malaysia from here yet it’s a million miles away! One thing they do share – their addiction to plastic. Everything is put in plastic bags even if it’s patently not needed. I refuse, much to their astonishment! The litter here is heart breaking.

Tuesday. Lu’s birthday 😘! I left early to beat the heat but also I knew I had 150ks to do to get to anywhere where there was accommodation. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a bunch of race bikes parked up at a coffee shop so I shared breakfast with a great bunch of Thai MAMILS (middle aged men in lycra!) – a wonderful start to the morning, not least as they paid 🤣! I knew the first 40ks were pretty boring main road riding so I got them outta the way then hit the back roads and was treated to around 90k of incredible riding, beaches, and delicious meals in 2 different street cafes. I drank my body weight in fluids I think! The highlight was definitely taking a dip in the sea – I had the beach to myself and the water was crazy warm. OMG what a treat! Anyways, after hitting the town of Pattani I found the hotels to be full. The sky was darkening and the traffic was absolutely chaos. I was tired and getting worried when I stumbled across a guest house which had a room! Just as I checked in the skies opened!!

Today was a ‘head down, bum up’ type of day – I had to just get through the Ks. But instead of a slog, I was treated to the most wonderful day of riding. Great food, great people, great scenery and the legs felt great too!! It was the longest day in the saddle so far. Plenty of time to also reflect – I’ll share my thoughts another time. Tonight….food, then bed!!