Surly They Won't Make It

21/3/25

We enjoyed our rest but was time to go. We really felt like we could probably end up staying here a little while longer if we let ourselves. It was very cloudy and relatively cool. A strong northerly wind was pushing us back, so even though we’d lost the hills we had gained a new resistance. The road followed the channel of water on our left had side. Perhaps it used to be a river but it was canalised now.

We stopped at a roadside market on the other side of the road. There was actually a good cycle path, but it wasn’t segregated and required going against the traffic. It didn’t matter. The market had completely blocked it anyway. We were quite happy cycling on the correct side of the road and utilising the hard shoulder. 

It was a bit of a drag. The sky was grey. The wind was tiring. The dreary looking canal was monotonous. It felt like we were cycling in a dystopian cloudy haze. Shrouded peaks forever in the distance.

We were passed by some friendly Thai guys out for a ride. A grumpy westerner riding an S-works went flying towards Hua Hin. He looked as though he thought we didn’t know he had a ridiculous tailwind.

We finally escaped the 3177 and crossed the railway on yet another another concrete U-shaped structure. We were back by the coast. It felt like every bit of coastline had been purchased. Every square inch had beachchairs on it. We were just looking for somewhere to stop and have a snack.

Eventually we found a suitable place in front of the sea. It had some confusing statues of crabs. Considering they just like to eat them, why pretend to praise them.  It was evidently a popular area for domestic tourism. Peak westerner season was over.

We took an extended break before continuing to head north again along the coastal road. It was busy and full of stalls. It was just like a seaside resort that you’d find at home to be honest. We passed a small market and bought a couple of mangoes. We were leaving the busier town and heading out into a quieter neighbourhood.

We passed some large resorts, including a Sofitel, then we ended up on a segregated cycle path back into the wind again. The miles were stubborn and the wind was just getting stronger as the day went on, peaking at 12pm.

We stopped for some coconut pancakes. We’d eaten quite a lot of deep fried food this morning. It just felt good. The road was as flat, well, as a pancake. How fitting. It was a boring ride really. We had a nice cycle path sure, but nothing was happening. We passed some more flooded rice fields and fish farms. It was depressing to see thousands of fish laid out drying in the Sun.

We decided to head inland Petchaburi. There was a limited number of resorts on the coast and in the town there were like a thousand hotels. Not only that but there were some places of interest and importantly a vegan restaurant. The 3177 was a completely straight dual carriageway, with a hard shoulder. Now we were heading west we’d lost the northerly wind. It made it a treat for us. We picked up some speed and ploughed through the 16km into the town.

The vegan restaurant was on the outskirts of town. We’d already eaten so much deep fried gunky food already, that we’d prefer to have something later. But we didn’t want to come back out later. Perhaps we could get a takeaway. It was down a rough track, a little unusual, but we could see a gazebo and a large number of chefs. As we got closer a woman and a young girl seemed to be stopping us. It must be closed.

Or not. They were in fact welcoming us. Extremely excited to have us would be an understatement. We were soon tucking in to an incredibly tasty meal. For free. While also being filmed and quizzed on our veganism by the 14 year old girl. And simultaneously being the subject of attention for many of the other people preparing food. They were keen to have our praise. And we were keen to give it. 

They brought us sweet iced coffee and plastic jars of water too. Then a plate of mango, green and orange. Spoilt. We ended up staying there for a few hours. The young girl and one of her friend were eager to show us a performance. It was soon revealed that it was all in preparation for a funeral. The woman that had died was an awesome vegan lady. She had started the restaurant and was clearly beloved by all. Napassanan showed us vegan trailblazers she knew on facebook and youtube. She was a very enthusiastic vegan!

When it was time to leave we carried on north into the busy streets of Phetchaburi. We were staying at a little hotel that was not only reasonably priced but which had been recommended by other cyclists as it had a separate room for the bikes and they’d received a vegetarian breakfast too when they’d left early. We passed some magnificent looking temples on the way. 

The proprietors spoke excellent English. The daughter of the owner had gone to university and studied English. Speaking English to a high standard was still rarer than we’d anticipated. The room was clean and had a fridge, that didn’t work unless the key was present – so useless – and no kettle. But it was a nice room.

We decided the spend the remainder of the afternoon visiting some of the more elaborate temples. There was a map on the back of the room door which showed there were at least 20. We chose to visit the oldest, and closest, ones. Wat Yai Suwannaram with its hundreds of years old intricate carvings and murals. Wat Kamphaeng Laeng, a product of the Khmer empire, with temples from the 13th century. 

Wat Phai Lom was an old temple with an unknown history that we just happened to walk past. Phetchaburi was chocked full of old structures and relics. At the end of the road, directly in front us, Wat Mahathat Worawihan majestically rose up in front of the golden Sun. We browsed a couple of shops on the way. A bustling street market adorned the streets. We bought a couple of parcels of plain rice.

The temple was another product of the Khmer era. A large white tower surrounded by four smaller ones. A newer temple had also been built. Inside we witnessed locals praying and applying more gold to the already extremely well gilded Buddhas. It was eye opening to see how much money was being gifted. Many wooden boxes, all with different ‘causes’ outlined on them, lined the perimeter. 

We soon headed home. We felt like the town deserved a whole extra day of exploration that we weren’t going to give it. Perhaps we should have found ourselves here instead of relaxing in a featureless hotel in Hua Hin. There was a limit to the number of temples we’d be able to find ourselves invested in though. Probably. 

We cobbled together our usual mango sticky rice. Following it up with banana and peanuts. It’s funny how each country ends up with us eating a particular kind of food regularly. We watched the apprentice and white lotus, getting ourselves up to date. Apparently the latter has inspired a lot of interest in Thailand. 

Addendum: Nummon has since posted about us on Facebook.