12/3/25
We slept well, though maybe the air conditioning was a little too cold. It’s hard to get the balance right, and easy to forget how warm it is outside. We woke early enough to be ready to go just as it became viable to cycle safely.
It was a bit disappointing that the 4 was a dual carriageway. A different character of road. We passed through steamed bun ‘alley’ again. It went far further than we’d previously known. At least another kilometre of steamed bun shops. We couldn’t help but be perplexed by the sheer lack of competition with each other. More like a cartel, all sticking to the same prices.
Shortly afterwards we passed a majestic looking temple on the hill. It had some kind of spire rising through the jungle. It looked incredibly interesting but also like it would steal precious cool cycling time from us. There was also a mighty central reservation between us and the entrance so it would take a good few kilometres to find a U-turn, twice. So we merely enjoyed the view of the spire against the golden sky and moved on.
In the shadow of the elusive temple we stopped to get some morning pudding snacks. A helpful woman who spoke some English helped find vegan friendly food. Frankie hung them on her handlebar until we stopped at the next appropriately located bus shelter. The pandan was a little weird and had sweetcorn in it. But the sesame seed covered deep fried balls were incredible. We think they had sweet potato as a filling.
We continued riding the highway. It was the easiest and best way through to Chumphon. We went up the occasional climb and were treated to beautiful vistas of the rainforest with the hills coming into view behind the hazy mists. Then it was all downhill into Chumphon but we were only dropping 50m over 20 kilometres or so. But the whole thing was predominantly downhill so it was a relaxing ride into the city.
Once we got to the city it was horribly busy. We had to cross a large interstate on a bridge, it was the largest road we’ve seen here yet. Then we navigated a big junction before ending up on an annoying stroad that was an arrow to the heart of the city. In hindsight we should have searched for a better route. The hard shoulder was half made of concrete which made finding a good line to ride really difficult, especially with the large volume of traffic.
We were headed to a restaurant that actually had vegan in the name. It was on the other side of the town which suited us, because afterwards we were gonna start heading north along the coast. The restaurant was affordable and delicious, although we ordered teriyaki tofu and were delivered teriyaki mushrooms. Still delicious. We also had salted ‘fish’ with kale. There are no rules in Thailand about calling vegan food meat based names, which actually makes it really confusing!
We bought some bags of homemade sticky soya bites as a snack but we should’ve bought even more really. Before we left town we stopped at a 7-eleven to get water. We met a man from St. Ives, that’s just 15 miles from our house, outside the shop. He seemed quite accustomed to Thailand and was scooting around the coast. Apparently he’d tried cycle touring but couldn’t handle the hounds.
We were finally on quiet coastal roads, after we’d stopped at yet another 7-eleven to buy forgotten coconut milk. Cruising along the well sealed roads by the coast was a delight. That is until they had some irritatingly steep uphills to overcome. We’d managed to end up cycling at the hottest time again, what with all our little stops.
We’d hit the Thailand Riviera. A big open coastline with beautiful islands and golden sands. We had no idea that it was here. It wasn’t anywhere near as busy as the resorts down south. We were staying at a little place called Albatross. Cheap and cheerful as always.
After we’d arrived and cooled down sufficiently, we went for a walk on the beach. We had to. But we didn’t go in. As we’d already eaten we happily settled down in our room to chomp on bananas, nuts, chocolate compound and mango. We ended up deciding to hit the hay at a balmy 7pm. We were just so tired from our early starts and we’d need to do it again tomorrow.
Surly They Won't Make It 